July 2, 2024 • 50 mins
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Welcome back to "Tried and True with a Dash of Woo"! In this episode, we dive deep into the world of client experience with the talented Breeanna Farmer, an intimate wedding photographer and videographer. Breeanna shares her journey from the corporate world of accounting to capturing raw, unposed moments that make your heart skip. We discuss the importance of a positive client experience, how to set the right tone from the first contact, and the magic of personalization in every interaction. Breeanna also reveals her top strategies for maintaining consistency across all platforms and the role of CRMs in managing client communications effectively. Whether you're a wedding photographer or any creative business owner, this episode is packed with valuable insights to elevate your client relationships.
Show Notes:
- Introduction: Meet Breeanna Farmer, intimate wedding photographer, videographer, and podcast host.
- Journey to Photography: From corporate accounting to capturing intimate moments.
- Client Experience Fundamentals: Setting the tone from the first contact and why it matters.
- Consistency Across Platforms: Ensuring your branding and personality are cohesive everywhere.
- Personalization: The importance of personalizing responses and making clients feel valued.
- Timely Communication: The impact of prompt responses on client trust.
- Positive Client Experience: Why it's crucial for both photographers and clients.
- Discovery Calls: How they help in aligning with clients and setting expectations.
- Using CRMs: Streamlining client management without losing the personal touch.
- Social Media Engagement: Enhancing client experience through genuine interactions.
- Magic Question: Breeanna's approach to gathering client feedback and ensuring satisfaction.
- Mindset and Creativity: Breeanna's morning routines and spiritual practices for productivity.
CONNECT WITH BREEANNA:
Website: https://breeannakay.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breeannakayphotography
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My thoughts are that if you have something that
clients are continually askingyou about over and over again,
especially if it's creating thatsense of like anxiety I know
when I used to get those emails,it would just be like instant.
I would feel like I was behind,even if I wasn't.
So when you're getting that,it's time to build a step into
(00:20):
your process so that you cananswer this question before they
have to ask it.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Tried and True with a dash of woo, where
we blend rock solid tips with alittle bit of magic.
I'm Renee Bowen, your host,life and business coach and
professional photographer atyour service.
We are all about gettingcreative, diving into your
business and playing withmanifestation over here.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
(00:47):
Today we're talking withBrianna Farmer, or you can just
call her Bri.
She's most known for being anintimate wedding photographer
and videographer and also thehost of her own podcast.
You can find all thatinformation in the show notes,
by the way, so y'all can connectwith her.
She's just absolutely a delightto chat with, and we are
(01:07):
talking all about clientexperience today.
Rihanna wasn't always afull-time photographer and in
fact, she used to work in thecorporate world crunching
numbers as an accountant whichis very interesting, I think.
But deep down, she knew thatsomething was missing and she
really wanted to capture momentsthat really mattered, really
(01:29):
raw, you know, unposed momentsthat just kind of makes your
heart skip.
And that's when she decided totake that leap of faith and
follow her true calling Fastforward to today.
She is also really, reallypassionate about helping other
fellow photographers manifesttheir full potential and turn
(01:49):
their hobby into a profitablebusiness, which I absolutely
love, because I do that as well,and I think that the more
people we have talking aboutthat and walking that walk the
better.
So we have a really greatconversation, like I said,
centered around clientexperience, and she walks us
through her processes and whyshe does what she does and some
(02:11):
really good tips that a lot ofyou guys are going to find super
helpful.
So let's dive into myconversation with Bree.
Hey, Bree, thanks for beinghere with us today.
I am really excited to chatwith you about client experience
.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, I'm really excited to talk with you too.
Thank you so much for having me, of course.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Okay, so, like I said , we're going to be kind of
going deep into this clientexperience conversation today
and something that I'm like areally big believer in and that
I've leaned heavily into sincethe beginning of my own
photography business, especiallyin reference to seniors,
because that's what I specializein, you know.
So I'm always kind of talkingabout this, but I really kind of
(02:52):
want to start us off asking youhow you approach this in your
business and, specifically, howdo you set the tone for that
positive client experience from,like the very first contact
with you and like, why is thatso important to you?
So, like a two part questionwhy is it so important for you
(03:12):
to implement that as an intimatewedding photographer and
videographer?
So I guess, like you know whatdoes that mean for you from the
very start?
And then, why is it important?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah.
So your client experience, Ithink, actually starts with the
first time your client sees you,whether you know that they are
looking at you yet or not.
So it could be on your socialmedia, your website, because
that's like the first timethey're consuming your content
and they feel like they'reconnecting with you, even if
you're not quite connecting withthem yet.
So a lot of people do assumethat the client experience
(03:46):
starts with your inquiryresponse, but that's likely just
the first time that you areaware of that potential client
following along.
So, across all of yourplatforms, you want to have a
positive and supportive clientexperience.
You also want your branding andyour personality to be cohesive
everywhere that you are.
So when a potential client goesto reach out to you, when they
(04:09):
get to the point where they'reinquiring, make sure that you're
taking the time to answer anyspecific questions that that
client has and to personalizeyour message and your response
even if you're using an emailtemplate to start off, so that
you can touch on something thatthey've shared within their
inquiry.
So, for example, if a clientsays I have two dogs, you can
(04:30):
say, oh my gosh, I love that youhave two dogs, so do I.
Are you thinking of having thembe a part of your engagement
photos too, or you could saywill they be there on your
wedding day?
Just something to let them know, like they're not a number to
you.
You actually are listening andpaying attention to what they
said.
And then I think it's alsoimportant that we're getting
(04:51):
back to our clients within atimely manner.
This is one of the thingsthat's so easy to do.
Well, but it can absolutely tanka client experience if you
don't prioritize responding toemails or responding in whatever
way your client reaches out.
If you're away from the office,you can set vacation responders
, or if you're doing somethingand just like won't be able to
(05:12):
fully give the attention backthat the email requires for a
while, shoot them an email backand just say hey, I saw that you
sent this message.
I just want to let you know.
I'll have time to sit down withthis.
They can't get back to you onthis date, so they don't feel
like you are ignoring them,because then that creates a
sense of fear and they mighteven be worried like is this
person reliable?
(05:33):
Are they going to show up formy shoot or for my wedding date,
which is not a place that youwant your clients in.
And then to answer the otherpart of your question, I think
that having a positive clientexperience is extremely
important to me as both aphotographer and a videographer,
because I'm in the serviceindustry and ultimately I'm a
service provider and if I makemy couples feel icky then that's
(05:56):
going to carry over into howthey feel about their galleries
or their films when they'redelivered.
So they could have an awfulclient experience with me.
And even if I deliver gorgeouswork, in the end they're never
going to recommend me or want towork with me again, moving
forward, if I make them feelgross or unsupported throughout
the process.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, that's a really big one.
People don't really I feel likethink about it in those terms,
maybe because it really doesmake a huge difference how you
leave people feeling you know,and yeah, you're so right, like
you know and and your website isso awesome, like you really get
it from the very beginning.
Just as a little side note, um,that little point about your
(06:39):
branding needs to be, like yousaid, consistent and sort of
like exude that vibe somethingI'm always kind of talking about
and you can tell that youreally did that deeper work of
you know on yourself, like whatyou know your purpose is and
really expressing it throughwhat you do, which is really
(07:02):
hard, I think, for a lot ofcreatives to sort of wrap their
head around sometimes.
At least, I've seen that a lotin my coaching and I feel like
when you see examples of thatout in the wild, I always like
to call it out so that's a bigbig thing.
I think people really get it.
Like you said, we don't know,we might think that, oh, this is
(07:24):
our first experience with them,but that person could have been
following you and stalking youon social media for months.
You know I get stuff like thata lot with, especially with
seniors.
I just recently had thatexperience and I was like wow,
like I had no idea who thisperson really was, but she just
(07:45):
booked a session with me andwhen she booked her initial
reach out was I've beenfollowing you since I was in
middle school and you shot thisperson blah, blah, blah, like
you know, years and years agoand ever since then I knew that
I wanted you to do my seniorphotos and I was like that is so
cool, like I, you know what Imean.
I didn't know that I wanted youto do my senior photos and I was
(08:07):
like that is so cool, like I,you know what I mean.
I didn't know that I was havingall these touch points with her
all these years and so that'ssuch a good point that people
really need, like you guys.
I hope that you really hear.
That is like that's why theconsistency is so important as
well.
Like, even if you pivot andshift and you've got like
something going on, you want tomaybe do a brand refresh or
whatever but your messaging andyour voice, that consistency and
(08:30):
letting people know that youare who you say, you are
basically right.
What kind of strategies do youuse to understand and meet those
unique needs of each of yourclients?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So before I officially book any of my
wedding couples, I'll hop on thephone for a discovery call with
them.
So on that call I'm going topick their brain on what really
matters to them and what theyhope to see from their final
galleries and their film.
So during the call I take notesand I reference back to the
notes before their engagementsession and before their wedding
.
Because it's awful when youlike spill your heart out to
(09:07):
somebody and give them all thisinformation, especially when
they have to kind of go out oftheir way to connect with you
and to give you the question orthe answers to the questions
that you're asking, and then yourealize down the road that they
forgot everything you said tothem.
So it's really important thatyou don't just ask questions and
then never reference back orforget what they said.
So if they're telling you likewe want photos that feel like
(09:31):
really organic in theirdiscovery call, don't show up to
their engagement session andshoot super posed and not give
them what they specificallyasked for, otherwise they're
going to feel unheard and unseen.
So I send out questionnaires,also before the engagement
session and before the wedding,where they can tell me anything
(09:52):
from ideas that they have forphoto locations or things that
are on the more technical side,to who they are as humans, and I
ask, like, what is the essenceof this season of life that they
want to capture?
Because that kind of touchesmore on, like the feeling behind
what they're getting versusjust how it's going to happen,
and then I can take thatinformation and use it to
(10:13):
personalize the way that Iapproach shooting their wedding
day, both in the timeline andthe structure of the day and
also in my posing and myprompting for them.
So, because I'm taking the timeagain to ask these questions
and then I'm listening to theiranswers and reflecting their
wishes and their wants and needsin the service that they hired
(10:33):
me for, they feel seen and theyfeel heard by me and ideally
then the end result is going tobe so in alignment with who they
are and what they're hoping forfrom their photos or their film
.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I love that attention to detail and you're right,
like I see, you know, a lot ofpeople do use questionnaires and
forms and things like that.
But you know that's a very goodpoint about making sure that
you are actually using thatinformation to let the clients
know that you have using thatinformation to let the clients
know that you have read it,you've integrated it, you
(11:13):
understand it.
Bringing that up inconversation during the consult
and things like that is superimportant and I know a lot of.
Have you always done consultswith your clients prior?
Is that something you've alwaysdone?
Speaker 1 (11:22):
No, I haven't.
So I actually am a millennialand I think it's a millennial
thing.
We hate getting on the phone,yeah.
So yeah, I would avoid phonecalls at all costs.
Like if a couple ever asked meto hop on the phone, of course I
would, but no, I did not startincorporating discovery calls.
I would say, gosh, I'm not sure, maybe like four years ago.
(11:45):
So I've been doing photographyprofessionally for nine years,
so it would have been a whilebefore I started making sure
that I connected with couples inthat sense, before I actually
locked them in.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, and you feel like it made a big difference in
the quality of everything.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah, I definitely do .
I think that you can get areally good feel for people on
the phone, and also I've hadcouples that I've connected with
on calls and realized I mightnot be the best photographer for
them and then that saves themand me from kind of an awkward
situation down the road wherewe're not really able to work
together in the best waypossible and there are other
(12:27):
photographers who might be anamazing fit for them, so I'm
able to actually serve thembetter by referring them to
somebody else.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, that's a really good point, and sometimes you
just can't really vibe that inan email.
You know, yeah, yeah, okay.
So what?
I know?
There's probably a lot ofthings you could say, but what's
one main piece of advice thatyou would give to new
photographers about buildingstrong client relationships in
(12:57):
particular?
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Um, my favorite thing to tell people is to always let
your clients know what toexpect next.
So have you ever seen inFacebook groups where people
post saying, oh, my clientemailed me to see if their
galleries do, but the commentsection it says, well, why don't
they look at the contract?
(13:24):
And people are siding with thephotographer.
But I'm going to go ahead andsay that we all know how well
most people read their contractsand a lot of clients are going
to find sending a quick email toyou to be easier than tracking
down and reading through yourcontract, and some probably
don't even realize that youmight have this information in
there.
And my thoughts are that if youhave something that clients are
(13:48):
continually asking you aboutover and over again, especially
if it's creating that sense oflike anxiety I know when I used
to get those emails it wouldjust be like instant.
I would feel like I was behind,even if I wasn't.
So when you're getting that,it's time to build a step into
your process so that you cananswer this question before they
have to ask it.
(14:09):
So my turnaround times are in myclient engagement session
preparation info and forweddings they're also sent out
in an email titled what toexpect after your wedding.
That goes out the day followingtheir wedding, and then I
always, always tell my clientsat the end of their session or
their wedding just really quick,you can expect to see previews
(14:30):
on this date and the fullgallery by this date.
So not only am I putting it inwriting multiple places, but I'm
also letting them know because,like, the first thing on their
mind is when am I going to seephotos?
So I'm letting them know rightthen and there, as soon as the
wedding is finished.
The next steps are previews,and here's when you can expect
them.
And then the step after that'syour full gallery and this is
(14:52):
when you can expect that.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, managing those expectations is huge.
That's one of the things that Isee all the time in my Facebook
groups all the time, and eventhough I only do like a handful
of weddings these days, it'sstill the same.
With, like any any niche ofphotography, like seniors
portraits, you know everything.
(15:15):
Like.
If your clients don't knowwhat's coming, they're going to
ask you those questions and yes,you might have that wording in
your contract, but we know thatpeople don't read all of that,
so I've always really kind ofharped on that as well.
We need to be kind of tellingthem in many different places,
but also in many different ways,and mainly because we know that
(15:36):
not everybody learns the sameright, nobody has the exact same
brain and not everybodyprocesses their world and
information in the same way.
Some people are more auditory,some people are visual, some
people have a mix of all of that, and so we need to make sure
that we're meeting our clientswhere they are, I believe, and
(15:58):
really like providing thatinformation in various forms
over and over again.
So it's going to make our job alot easier in the long run, but
it's also really there to helpthem feel calm and to know
what's coming, because if yourclient is calm and always knows
from the get-go what's comingnext and what those next steps
(16:18):
are, they're going to be morerelaxed because we're exuding
that confidence in telling themall those steps.
And I do feel like this is oneof those learning curves that I
see a lot of new photographersin particular, you know, get
thrown at them right.
Like they learn the hard way,like, oh, I did not realize I
(16:41):
had to like provide informationin so many different ways and so
many times, even thoselogistics of client management,
like scheduling andcommunications, you know,
without sacrificing yourpersonal touch, like you know,
(17:05):
using a CRM and things like that, what your process is, because
I'm a really big believer thatwhen we utilize the power of
those systems, we can actually,you know, accomplish that goal
of helping our clients feelreally handheld without actually
having to physically handholdthem.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, for sure.
So I love my CRM.
I use Dubsado.
I know a lot of photographersuse HoneyBook.
I just I started on Dubsado sothat's that's where I am and it
works super well for automatedworkflows.
So within each so like if I havea wedding with an engagement
(17:46):
session or a wedding without anengagement session, or a photo
wedding or a photo video wedding, like I have different
workflows set up for each typeof job that I typically book and
then those workflows have thesequence of emails that will go
out to my couples and it willtrigger each different touch
point in our process together.
(18:09):
So like, when I'm ready toonboard them as a client,
they'll get the email that isall about making things official
, and then when I'm ready to dothe engagement session stuff
with them, they'll getinformation on that, and when
it's time to start planning forthe wedding, they'll get
information on that.
And when it's time to startplanning for the wedding,
they'll get a questionnaire sentfor that.
So some of the things in myworkflows have to be approved by
(18:29):
me because it might not alwayshappen or I might have like a
separate conversation going inemail with my couple and I don't
want to send them like a random, obviously automated email when
I'm actively sending thememails on a different topic.
And then I use email templatesfor a lot of touch points, as
(18:58):
I've mentioned session reminderemail, that like recaps where
we're meeting and kind of finalsteps to help them prep for
their engagement session, alongwith my wedding questionnaire
and that what to expect afteryour wedding emails.
All start off as templates andthen I do go in and I
personalize things that are morespecific to the couple or to
(19:18):
the wedding and some of theemails and others are ready to
go as is.
But ultimately having thestarting point helps me to serve
my clients that much betterthan writing those all from
scratch would.
When I have those set up tostart with.
Then I'm able to pump that muchmore value into what I'm
sending, versus if I tried towrite out everything from
scratch, I didn't inevitablymiss stuff along the way and
(19:40):
wouldn't be able to kind of prepthem and like walk them down
that process of what to expectnext again with me as well.
So when couples respond to thoseinitial trigger emails, it's
all me responding with the morepersonalized suggestions for how
we can approach their shoot ortheir wedding day timeline based
(20:00):
on their answers and then justmaking sure that your emails,
even if they are automated,sound like yourself speaking and
that you're infusing your brandvoice into it, versus something
that sounds organic andimpersonal, can be huge.
And I even send out like anemail a couple of weeks before
the wedding automatically thatreminds the couple to remember
(20:22):
the meaning of their wedding dayand to stay fully present and
engaged with their people ontheir wedding day, and I
reassure them that if they dothat, I've got photos and video
covered and we'll take care ofthe rest.
So that's an automated email,but it can be so sweet and feel
so personal, even if it's a partof my process.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah, and well, and that's the importance importance
of really clearly and deeplyidentifying your brand voice and
your website, your socials, allthe things with your voice and
(21:08):
your unique touch points.
Then it'll be a little biteasier to be able to infuse it
into those client communicationsand templates, like you said.
But yeah, the whole clientmanagement.
It's really shocking to me whenI see photographers who've been
in business for a while andthey don't use anything like a
CRM.
It just blows my mind.
I don't know if it's like theVirgo in me, like I am, you know
(21:31):
, and look, I am not.
I don't use my CRM to the bestof its abilities.
I know that, like I know it cando so much more, but I still
like I don't know what I woulddo without it.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
I'm also a Virgo.
I don't know if you saw myreaction, but that's why I had
the reaction.
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
That's one of the questions I like to ask people,
like at the end.
So I'm glad that we alreadycovered it, that's so fun, yeah.
So, like that Virgo, like I'vealways been, like I've got to
get organized, I got to.
I want to know what's coming, Iwant to know you know all that
stuff.
And I have, like, high anxiety,like I'm one of those people
who've been, you know, dealtwith anxiety my whole life,
(22:14):
which is probably why I was ledto help other people in that way
.
But you know that's also partof it is that I feel like that,
will you know, it calms myanxiety to know where I am in
that process and if I'm calm,I'm going to be so much more
present for my clients as well,and it's going to help them if
they have it as well.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Yeah, I always imagine the people who don't use
CRMs and I'm sure not all ofthem are like this.
But I can think back to myselfbefore I used workflows in my
CRM and I feel like a lot ofthem might just be reacting to
when they get an email fromtheir clients, instead of
leading them to the next step.
So when their client wantssomething from them, like, oh,
(22:53):
let's start planning the weddingtimeline, then their client
reaches out and they're justreacting.
But reacting doesn't free youup schedule-wise as well as
taking the steps to start theprocess does sometimes, because
you can do that and kind of makeit fit better into your
workflow.
Then you can when you all of asudden get your wedding emails.
(23:18):
I know that you're not in thewedding space, but we have like
a very distinct wedding seasonhere because I'm in the Midwest,
so it's really cold in thewinter, so then everything kind
of would start coming in at onceif I wasn't taking the steps to
work through things ahead oftime with them.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
That's a really, really good point because, yeah,
the seasonal thing and not onlyam I not deep into the wedding
space, like I said, I still dosome, but they're mainly
previous clients.
I'm in California so I don'treally have a season, like you
know, we shoot year round.
But a lot of my coachingclients, a lot of people in my
(23:54):
communities, even if they're notdoing weddings and they're
senior photographers or, youknow, family portrait
photographers it's still similarin that way where you know you
are limited in the Midwest andon the East Coast by your
weather.
So that seasonal aspect of whatwe do, you know, really has to
be you got to know that so thatyou can project, like you said.
(24:16):
And so using systems and CRMsand things like that templates
to help you not be so reactiveis a really really big,
important piece of that.
And so if anybody's listeningand you haven't done that yet,
I'm not telling you what systemto use.
There's lots of really greatones.
Just find one that works foryou and do the work of just
(24:38):
getting it done.
And if you can't do it yourself, find someone who's a
specialist in it and work withthat person.
Like I'm all about, you know,just finding somebody else if
you need to do that, to walk youthrough it, if you have to,
because just setting it up isgoing to help you feel way more,
you know, secure and justconfident going forward, and I
(25:00):
know it feels like a verydaunting thing, but it's really
a really big, big piece of thepuzzle, so I'm glad that you
brought that up too.
Okay, so you used to be.
You were an accountant, whichactually totally vibes with the
Virgo, by the way.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah.
Yeah, I didn't hate theaccounting work, I just I needed
more freedom in my life becauseI'm a Sagittarius moon.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yeah, okay, so yeah, what's your big three?
So you'm a Sagittarius moon.
Yeah, okay, so yeah, what'syour big three?
So you got a Sag moon.
What's your rising?
It is a Cancer rising.
Oh, okay, yes, yes, yes, yes, Itotally get that All right.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
I'm a Libra rising and an Aries moon.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Oh, I love Aries.
Yeah, I'm married to an Ariessun and he's a lot, but it's
really interesting having themoon with his son.
So, yeah, but it is okay.
So, as a former accountant andyou know how, do you think that
career has influenced yourapproach to client service in
(26:00):
photography and something supercreative?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
So I definitely want to make sure that I'm taking
care of the behind the scenes,the office work side of things
for my clients.
Because of my experienceworking in a corporate office, I
feel like I'm just on top ofthings like planning ahead,
responding to emails and stayingorganized.
Because of that, I also didn'tlove the like passive,
(26:23):
aggressive office emails thatyou get sometimes.
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Okay, yeah, I don't.
They just rubbed me the wrongway.
Even if they were technicallypolite, it just was weird to me.
So I try to not sound soautomated and robotic all the
time.
I mean, sometimes I probably dobetter than others, but yeah, I
(26:43):
try to infuse a little bit ofmy personality into my emails
instead of saying things likeman, what do they say?
Even it's been so long Likeyeah, I totally respond yeah,
yeah, something weird.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah, they go around the back door to let you know
like it's.
This is not.
This is your fault.
So, you need to.
You know what I mean.
Like it's really, yeah, Itotally get it.
Passive aggressiveness ingeneral is I just can't.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
I can't yeah same.
And then I guess, guess ingeneral, just like reliability
and handling certain situationsprofessionally are something
that I learned from my time inaccounting professionally, but
not passive, aggressively yeah,exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
No, that makes a lot of sense, and I mean, I feel
like you probably have thatupper hand too, though, because
a lot of I work with a lot ofcreatives and a lot of
photographers in a lot ofdifferent ways, within groups
and one-on-one, and one of thevery common things is that that
(27:47):
lack of financial understandingI want to say, like it's not
that they don't understand, it'sthat they don't.
They were probably taughtsomewhere along the way as a
creative with, with a creativebrain, that that's just not for
them.
You know, like that's that's,I'm not good at that.
I'm not good at math, or I'mnot good at that.
(28:09):
It's really interesting howthat all just sinks in Right,
because, like, I vividlyremember having that experience
in like sixth grade, and Iremember the teacher like it was
yesterday, you know, and I justcouldn't, like I had such a
hard time with, with learninglike pre-algebra, and from that
point on, it like colored myentire existence with like
(28:33):
numbers and thinking that I wasbad at math, but I wasn't, like
I really, really wasn't.
It was just that I didn'tunderstand it and I needed to
have it explained in a littlebit different way, and you know
my generation.
It was just like well, youdon't learn it that way, you're
out of luck, right?
So I feel like so manycreatives have that connotation,
(28:57):
you know.
And so, as somebody whoprobably doesn't have that,
right, I mean, if you went intoaccounting, you probably like
numbers, or at least understandit, and you know what I mean
like feel a different way aboutit, right?
Speaker 1 (29:11):
yeah, I'm like the opposite of most creatives in
this sense, because I actuallydidn't consider myself creative
until, I would say, like acouple years ago.
So I liked photography and Iwould do this like little dream
journal where I cut things outand like maybe make a little
mural on my wall with post-itnotes or something.
(29:33):
But I just I never saw myselfas creative.
I never felt like I excelled inart classes and that's kind of
what I associated creativitywith.
But then in other ways, lookingback, I definitely did have that
creative side to me because Iwent through like the MySpace
girl scene phase and like Icould say that I went through it
and how I dressed, or just likedifferent ways, and some of
(29:58):
those were taking self-portraitsof myself because I had a
camera and would play with it alot longer than I was
professionally pursuingphotography for.
But I just, yeah, I thought ofmyself as like somebody who
wanted to go to college and thenget the quote unquote big girl
office job.
But I think somewhere along theway something told me I wasn't
(30:20):
creative and I just thought of,like putting yourself out there
in that way as vulnerable andscary, and I never tapped into
that side of myself until morerecently.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
That's super interesting because it's like
the opposite right Of what wewere just talking about, and
it's so interesting because it'skind of the same coin,
different side, you know, beingsort of told or believe that you
aren't.
You know, because of some sortof belief that was installed
(30:54):
early on that yeah, okay, I'mnot good at drawing or I'm not
good at art or whatever, and sothat's what it means to be
creative.
So obviously I'm not creative.
That's just a reallyinteresting.
But so what do you think reallywas the thing that made you
realize that you were like, wasyou know?
You said photography, which issomething you really enjoy doing
(31:14):
, but was there like a moment ora set of moments or something
like that was a catalyst for youthat made you sort of like get
like oh no, I can be thisdefinition of creative.
This is my way of expressingthat.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Honestly, I don't know, that I have like a set
moment.
I think maybe my definition ofcreative just changed or maybe I
started to see like a lot ofthe time I've felt a little
different than my friends in alot of ways, so like they might
be into certain things and I'minto way different things, and
(31:52):
just maybe started to noticethat like creativity is not just
being good in art class andthat maybe my differences in
some ways make me creative.
But yeah, I don't think I havelike a certain moment where I
was like, oh no, this is part ofwho I am.
I think I just finally learnedto embrace my differences a
(32:16):
little bit more and be okay withlike thinking a little bit more
out of the box instead of justtrying to fit into the norm.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Well, and I can also imagine that your previous
career and also being a Virgolike that attention to detail is
well.
It can be construed in a lot ofdifferent ways, but I mean, I
really feel like it can be asuperpower, like I've seen it in
my own business as well,because I do have that attention
(32:46):
to detail and I've had clientstell me many times like oh my
gosh, like thank you forreminding me of that, or like
you know, I can't believe youremembered that, or whatever it
is.
That I think goes a long way.
So I imagine it was probablysimilar for you, right, yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:05):
for sure.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
So let's talk about social media for a second,
because that's definitely like apoint of contention for a lot
of creatives.
You know, like as a whole,there is this you know a lot of
different things, a lot ofdifferent things come up for
people, but mainly it's puttingyourself out there, you know,
(33:28):
showing up the vulnerability andalso the actual logistics of
getting it all done Right.
So, like we know that it isimportant, but how do you
leverage that kind of technologyor social media to, like,
enhance the client experiencethat you are portraying?
You know before, during andafter the photos.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Full disclosure.
I struggle with social media alittle bit.
I took a break from socialmedia for a while and then I've
been trying to pick back up in away that feels good to me and
authentic to me.
So instead of like postingbecause I am meant to post now,
I only post when I truly want topost and feel like I have
something to say and I thinkthat's done a lot of good for me
(34:12):
.
But I'm still struggling withlike the back end of getting
everything that I want to doneon it.
But I think that with enhancingthe client experience on social
media you can do behind thescenes when you're at photo
sessions and make your couplesfeel really loved that way.
And then I try to really keepup with my couples who post on
(34:33):
social media and maintain thatrelationship a little bit longer
than just the amount of timethat I'm actively working with
them for their wedding.
So if I see couples that Iphotographed weddings for, or
even just a session four yearsago on social media and they're
doing something cool, or I seeit's their birthday, you better
believe that I'm in their inboxlike happy birthday or
(34:55):
connecting with them if I havesomething to say or even just
giving them likes or support ontheir content.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
I love that.
That's a really, really goodpoint, because even if you're
not well, there's a couple ofreally good points in there.
So, first of all, yeah, you'renot alone Like that.
That is definitely, definitelya point of contention for so
many photographers and creatives.
Just in general, Social mediais just like this beast that you
know.
It's a love hate relationship,right, and I totally get it Like
(35:24):
.
I absolutely love social media.
I'm one of those rare peoplethat actually really likes it,
so it's not that hard for me todo it and I still even get in
those you know cycles of I don't, I don't want to be out there,
Right, Like so, um, so I totallyget it.
But I feel like honoring whatfeels good, like you said, is
(35:51):
really, really important, and so, yeah, we, we're kind of told
like what you quote unquoteshould be doing, but at the end
of the day, if it's going toburn you out and make you feel
like crap, then it's probablynot a good idea for you to be
doing that and so I love that.
You are just like listening tothat and you know, honoring that
(36:11):
, because that's hard to do alot of times.
Honoring that because that'shard to do a lot of times, but I
really believe it's reallyimportant.
So first of all I wanted to,like you know, acknowledge that
part of it, but then also thatother side of it is that you can
absolutely do these otherthings even if you're not out
there, posting and schedulingand you know keeping up with
(36:32):
trends and blah, blah, blah,blah, blah.
But you are connecting withclients past, you know clients
especially and continuingrelationships with them.
That goes a long way and thatcould take 10 minutes.
You know just kind of goingthrough your feed and just
responding and commenting andyou know cheering somebody on
(36:55):
and making them feel good.
That's a really good point andthat's also just for anybody
listening.
It's a really good way tocombat your inner head trash is
to go out and make somebody elsefeel good.
That's one of the things Ialways tell people is, if you
are in your own head and you'reoverthinking and you're just not
feeling it, if you are in yourown head and you're overthinking
(37:17):
and you're just like notfeeling it, just go on and like
make some nice comments on somepeople's feeds, just make
somebody feel good, like itreally does do a lot for you as
well.
So that can be like a little,you know, a little trick for
when you're feeling bad.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
Yeah, it really does help to just like spread
positivity and to be genuinewith it too.
So if you see somebody who'sdoing something cool, let them
know that whatever they're doingis cool, and it will make them
feel so happy.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
Yeah, it's, it's.
Yeah.
We need to be doing more ofthat, just as a side note, I
think, as a society.
So what does feedback I want totalk about this real quick
feedback right, Testimonials andlike things like that.
This is always also somethingthat's really hard, I think, for
a lot of photographers to askfor and to sort of like get into
(38:08):
a system of implementing intheir business.
So how do you incorporatefeedback right into you know?
Do you incorporate feedbackright into you know, your client
experience, how it?
Speaker 1 (38:21):
reflects your unique style and values.
Yeah, so after I send outgalleries, I actually ask my
couples to let me know what theythink of their gallery and then
I ask them what I call a magicquestion, which is like
partially feedback.
So my magic question is isthere anything you'd like to see
adjusted?
So I feel like this opens upthe door for your couples to
(38:41):
request small changes in theirphotos If there's anything that
they don't love right off thebat and I don't get requests
often, but I have had responsesbefore like oh, my hair in this
photo it's just going a littlebit wonky, or I have a zit on my
chin that I'm self-conscious of.
Can you remove it?
So then I'm able to go in andI'm able to fix this photo that
(39:03):
they otherwise love.
Even though I try to keep an eyeout for things like that, when
I'm editing I occasionally missthings, and that photo could
then turn into the client's veryfavorite image that they want
to post everywhere, and they'rejust so happy that they get to
do that versus having theversion of it.
That made them feelself-conscious, and if you
(39:24):
hadn't asked the magic question,they probably wouldn't have
said anything and then theywould have just been like a
little bit bummed that theydidn't have that perfect shot in
their gallery that they wanted.
So a lot of people, I think,might be thinking like, okay,
that opens up the door forpeople to send you a whole list
or ask for the whole gallery tobe re-edited.
(39:45):
But I haven't had that problemsince I've started asking this
question.
Like I said, very few peopleeven request anything, but when
they do, it's always been reallyrespectful and like a few small
edits that I can just do infive, 10 minutes and send back
to them.
And I think that's partiallybecause I do vet my couples and
get on the phone with them andmake sure that we are so aligned
before booking them in and thenalso at the end of your journey
(40:09):
with them, you should be askingfor feedback and then auditing
your business occasionally andupdating your process based off
of the feedback that they giveyou.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Yeah, that's really cool.
I love that little magicquestion.
I think a lot of people areprobably really afraid to do it,
like you said, because theyfeel like they open up the door.
You know they'll open thefloodgates.
But if you've done that work ofalignment, like you said, and
you really take the time withnot just you know getting on the
phone with them and like makingsure you're aligned in that way
(40:41):
, but even before that, makingsure that your branding, like
your voice, is speaking to theright people, that you know the
kind of people you want to workwith and your website is doing
its job and you know kind ofvetting some of that for you
before they even reach out,that's, that's a really big part
of it as well, so I love that.
(41:01):
Okay, Before we wrap up, I wantto just ask you cause, you know
, tried and true, with the dashof blue, we got to talk about a
little bit of each, so I know wetouched a little bit about
astrology but what are somespecific spiritual techniques or
rituals or things that you dofor your mindset regularly to
enhance your creativity andproductivity?
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Um, so I'm a big fan of morning routines.
Um, I like to journal, andjournaling could look different
for me every day.
Sometimes it might be literallylike journaling and writing
whatever I'm thinking.
Sometimes it's writing downaffirmations.
Um, I really like to write downlimiting beliefs and then cross
those off and rewrite them in away that's actually true.
(41:45):
Um, I'd say that's like one ofmy favorite things that I do in
a journal occasionally.
And then, have you ever triedEFT tapping?
Yeah, okay, I love EFT tappingand I always say that when I do
my tapping, and for me that justlooks like Google or YouTube
searching a Gala darling videoand following along with her.
(42:08):
Um, and whenever I tap, I feellike I make so much more money.
And whenever I'm like in adivot, I'm like, oh, I should
start tapping again.
I don't know like why I'm not,cause I know this and I just, I
don't know, I feel likesomething with it aligns and
makes me like level up a littlebit energetically and just
(42:30):
brings me kind of into a moreabundant mindset.
Um, so I like to journal EFTtop and then sometimes I do
affirmations.
Um, again, that might just belook like, or that might just
look like a YouTube video, um,and then I even like to
incorporate it into my sessionsby maybe asking my couple to set
(42:50):
an intention for their sessionand then check in with each
other to make sure that they'refollowing through with that and
getting the most out of theirsession.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
I have an EFT expert scheduled for a podcast soon, so
I'm really excited to talkabout that even deeper with him.
Yeah, exactly, thank you somuch for being here.
This has been awesome.
Tell people where they canconnect with you.
Where do you prefer to connectwith people?
(43:21):
How can they find you and getinto your world?
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Yeah, absolutely so.
My social media is at Brianna Kphotography and I do spell my
name funny, so it's two E's andtwo N's in Brianna, and then K
is my middle name, so that'sK-A-Y.
And then on TikTok I think I'mjust at Brianna K and my website
is briannakcom, if anybody'swanting to connect with me that
(43:49):
way.
And you have a podcast too,right?
Oh yeah, actually, I just didanother interview too and I
forgot to mention my podcast onthat.
I'm the worst.
I always do that.
Yeah, I definitely do so.
My podcast is ManifestingPhotographer Podcast, and I
actually am going to pick yourbrain on this for a second,
because I've been in innerturmoil about it.
(44:10):
So I feel like, while you'reasking about the name, I'm just
going to ask you.
So I am debating on changingthe name of the podcast, but I
feel like there's pros and consto both, so I want to know what
you think.
The podcast name is obviouslyManifesting Photographer Podcast
, and I like that because I feellike it talks on or speaks to
what I show on the podcast orwhat I speak on on the podcast,
(44:34):
so like the manifesting Luluside and photography.
But it's not just forphotographers, it's also for
other entrepreneurs and serviceproviders, small business owners
.
So I am debating changing thename of the show to Rebel CEO,
but then I'm worried that peoplewon't be as drawn to it because
(44:56):
they won't know if it's forthem, so like if people who are
in a manifesting or photographysee my podcast.
Then they might click on itbecause they are into one or the
other or both, and I don't know.
Might click on it because theyare into one or the other or
both and I don't know.
I like the name rebel CEObetter, but I don't know if it
would like attract people asmuch, because they won't know if
it's for them.
Do you have thoughts on?
Speaker 2 (45:15):
that.
Yeah, well, I think that.
Well, a couple of things.
I think that, first, I thinkwhat really really matters is
that it really has to align withyou and where you want to go
with everything.
You know what I mean.
Like that's a really importantpart of it.
Mine took forever to kind ofcome to fruition because I
couldn't I the naming was reallyhard because I also, like I
(45:36):
have a lot of photographers inmy community but I I speak to a
lot of other creativeentrepreneurs and I wanted to be
able to continue that and alsoexpand it and not just be in
photography.
So I personally didn't wantphotography to be in the name of
my podcast.
However, it is going to speakto a lot of photographers
(45:57):
because I am one and I'll alwaysbe a photographer, no matter
what.
You know what I mean.
So, like that's kind of likewhere my heart is.
So I feel like that's the firstpart of it is that it has to
align with you and if you feelcalled to this other name and
rebranding it is that I feellike you can absolutely do that.
Your photographers willcontinue to find you.
You can.
You know the descriptionmatters the SEO of that, the SEO
(46:22):
of the page of the site.
Like those things will you know.
Like those things will you know, do its job, ideally and
hopefully, of speaking to thepeople and you also can have
that in the messaging of youknow the show intro of social
media, like whatever it is likeyou can embed that who it's for.
(46:47):
Like this this podcast is for,and include photographers in
that, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Yeah, yeah, that's all really good advice.
So you can either find me onthe Manifesting Photographer
podcast or Rebel CEO podcast.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Awesome, yeah, no, and you know they'll.
They'll find all that from yourwebsite because you know you've
got all of that dialed in andyou know you know what you're
doing as far as all that goes.
So I will put all of that inthe show notes for people so
they can connect with youwherever and however, and yeah,
I'm just really excited that wehad a chance to finally connect.
(47:22):
So, thanks again for being here.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
All right, let's talk about some of the takeaways
from today's episode.
I love Brie.
I think she.
Yeah, thank you so much forhaving me that I speak on a lot.
I feel like a lot of newphotographers learn the hard way
, like I said in this podcast,right?
(47:53):
So that's one of the takeawaysis like don't wait until things
go wrong.
Okay, we have resources for you, right?
Whether it's myself or Bree oranyone that you find on the
internet, you can figure out howyou want that client experience
to look.
Be thinking about that now, sothat you don't run into issues
(48:15):
of clients coming back andasking a million questions and
all of that Also.
Another takeaway is that youreally need to be aligned.
This is another big thing I see, especially with newer
photographers or photographerswho might be a little fearful
about turning work down.
This is another big thing I see, especially with newer
photographers or photographerswho might be a little fearful
about turning work down.
Not every client is for you.
You need to be speaking to thepeople that you want to work
(48:37):
with and you need to feelaligned with them and vice versa
for this sort of whole thing.
To you know, go down and workreally well.
Obviously, you got to bealigned, and so getting your
branding and your brand voiceand your, you know, go down and
work really well.
Obviously, you, you gotta bealigned, and so getting your
branding and your brand voiceand your, you know all of that
language on your website, yourcopy, everything really needs to
speak to that.
(48:57):
From that first thing, thatclient's first experience with
you, whether it's on social,whether it's on your website,
all of that has to be reallyconsistent because you know they
, they really want to know, likeand trust you, and the faster
you can do that, the better andthe more efficient I believe you
(49:19):
can do that the better, and sothat's why I'm really big on
making sure that all of thatstuff is dialed in so that you
don't have to continuously berepeating it or, you know,
having to extend, overextendyourself to figure out if you're
aligned with clients.
So you know all of that.
All your branding should dosome of that work for you.
(49:39):
And, of course, the bigtakeaway is your client
experience is paramount.
It's really important and it isan extension of you and how you
feel.
So, once again, if you arefeeling stressed and overwhelmed
and anxious and unsure, that isgoing to bleed into everything
(50:02):
that you do.
It's going to bleed into yourexperience with your clients,
and so making sure you areregulated and you are in a good
headspace you're taking care ofyourself, however.
That looks is important, somake sure you are paying
attention to that.
Thanks again for joining mehere and I hope to see you next
(50:23):
time on tried and true with adash of woo.
Have a great week, you guys.
Love you Bye.
My thoughts are that if you have something that
clients are continually askingyou about over and over again,
especially if it's creating thatsense of like anxiety I know
when I used to get those emails,it would just be like instant.
I would feel like I was behind,even if I wasn't.
So when you're getting that,it's time to build a step into
(00:20):
your process so that you cananswer this question before they
have to ask it.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Tried and True with a dash of woo, where
we blend rock solid tips with alittle bit of magic.
I'm Renee Bowen, your host,life and business coach and
professional photographer atyour service.
We are all about gettingcreative, diving into your
business and playing withmanifestation over here.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
(00:47):
Today we're talking withBrianna Farmer, or you can just
call her Bri.
She's most known for being anintimate wedding photographer
and videographer and also thehost of her own podcast.
You can find all thatinformation in the show notes,
by the way, so y'all can connectwith her.
She's just absolutely a delightto chat with, and we are
(01:07):
talking all about clientexperience today.
Rihanna wasn't always afull-time photographer and in
fact, she used to work in thecorporate world crunching
numbers as an accountant whichis very interesting, I think.
But deep down, she knew thatsomething was missing and she
really wanted to capture momentsthat really mattered, really
(01:29):
raw, you know, unposed momentsthat just kind of makes your
heart skip.
And that's when she decided totake that leap of faith and
follow her true calling Fastforward to today.
She is also really, reallypassionate about helping other
fellow photographers manifesttheir full potential and turn
(01:49):
their hobby into a profitablebusiness, which I absolutely
love, because I do that as well,and I think that the more
people we have talking aboutthat and walking that walk the
better.
So we have a really greatconversation, like I said,
centered around clientexperience, and she walks us
through her processes and whyshe does what she does and some
(02:11):
really good tips that a lot ofyou guys are going to find super
helpful.
So let's dive into myconversation with Bree.
Hey, Bree, thanks for beinghere with us today.
I am really excited to chatwith you about client experience
.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, I'm really excited to talk with you too.
Thank you so much for having me, of course.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Okay, so, like I said , we're going to be kind of
going deep into this clientexperience conversation today
and something that I'm like areally big believer in and that
I've leaned heavily into sincethe beginning of my own
photography business, especiallyin reference to seniors,
because that's what I specializein, you know.
So I'm always kind of talkingabout this, but I really kind of
(02:52):
want to start us off asking youhow you approach this in your
business and, specifically, howdo you set the tone for that
positive client experience from,like the very first contact
with you and like, why is thatso important to you?
So, like a two part questionwhy is it so important for you
(03:12):
to implement that as an intimatewedding photographer and
videographer?
So I guess, like you know whatdoes that mean for you from the
very start?
And then, why is it important?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah.
So your client experience, Ithink, actually starts with the
first time your client sees you,whether you know that they are
looking at you yet or not.
So it could be on your socialmedia, your website, because
that's like the first timethey're consuming your content
and they feel like they'reconnecting with you, even if
you're not quite connecting withthem yet.
So a lot of people do assumethat the client experience
(03:46):
starts with your inquiryresponse, but that's likely just
the first time that you areaware of that potential client
following along.
So, across all of yourplatforms, you want to have a
positive and supportive clientexperience.
You also want your branding andyour personality to be cohesive
everywhere that you are.
So when a potential client goesto reach out to you, when they
(04:09):
get to the point where they'reinquiring, make sure that you're
taking the time to answer anyspecific questions that that
client has and to personalizeyour message and your response
even if you're using an emailtemplate to start off, so that
you can touch on something thatthey've shared within their
inquiry.
So, for example, if a clientsays I have two dogs, you can
(04:30):
say, oh my gosh, I love that youhave two dogs, so do I.
Are you thinking of having thembe a part of your engagement
photos too, or you could saywill they be there on your
wedding day?
Just something to let them know, like they're not a number to
you.
You actually are listening andpaying attention to what they
said.
And then I think it's alsoimportant that we're getting
(04:51):
back to our clients within atimely manner.
This is one of the thingsthat's so easy to do.
Well, but it can absolutely tanka client experience if you
don't prioritize responding toemails or responding in whatever
way your client reaches out.
If you're away from the office,you can set vacation responders
, or if you're doing somethingand just like won't be able to
(05:12):
fully give the attention backthat the email requires for a
while, shoot them an email backand just say hey, I saw that you
sent this message.
I just want to let you know.
I'll have time to sit down withthis.
They can't get back to you onthis date, so they don't feel
like you are ignoring them,because then that creates a
sense of fear and they mighteven be worried like is this
person reliable?
(05:33):
Are they going to show up formy shoot or for my wedding date,
which is not a place that youwant your clients in.
And then to answer the otherpart of your question, I think
that having a positive clientexperience is extremely
important to me as both aphotographer and a videographer,
because I'm in the serviceindustry and ultimately I'm a
service provider and if I makemy couples feel icky then that's
(05:56):
going to carry over into howthey feel about their galleries
or their films when they'redelivered.
So they could have an awfulclient experience with me.
And even if I deliver gorgeouswork, in the end they're never
going to recommend me or want towork with me again, moving
forward, if I make them feelgross or unsupported throughout
the process.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, that's a really big one.
People don't really I feel likethink about it in those terms,
maybe because it really doesmake a huge difference how you
leave people feeling you know,and yeah, you're so right, like
you know and and your website isso awesome, like you really get
it from the very beginning.
Just as a little side note, um,that little point about your
(06:39):
branding needs to be, like yousaid, consistent and sort of
like exude that vibe somethingI'm always kind of talking about
and you can tell that youreally did that deeper work of
you know on yourself, like whatyou know your purpose is and
really expressing it throughwhat you do, which is really
(07:02):
hard, I think, for a lot ofcreatives to sort of wrap their
head around sometimes.
At least, I've seen that a lotin my coaching and I feel like
when you see examples of thatout in the wild, I always like
to call it out so that's a bigbig thing.
I think people really get it.
Like you said, we don't know,we might think that, oh, this is
(07:24):
our first experience with them,but that person could have been
following you and stalking youon social media for months.
You know I get stuff like thata lot with, especially with
seniors.
I just recently had thatexperience and I was like wow,
like I had no idea who thisperson really was, but she just
(07:45):
booked a session with me andwhen she booked her initial
reach out was I've beenfollowing you since I was in
middle school and you shot thisperson blah, blah, blah, like
you know, years and years agoand ever since then I knew that
I wanted you to do my seniorphotos and I was like that is so
cool, like I, you know what Imean.
I didn't know that I wanted youto do my senior photos and I was
(08:07):
like that is so cool, like I,you know what I mean.
I didn't know that I was havingall these touch points with her
all these years and so that'ssuch a good point that people
really need, like you guys.
I hope that you really hear.
That is like that's why theconsistency is so important as
well.
Like, even if you pivot andshift and you've got like
something going on, you want tomaybe do a brand refresh or
whatever but your messaging andyour voice, that consistency and
(08:30):
letting people know that youare who you say, you are
basically right.
What kind of strategies do youuse to understand and meet those
unique needs of each of yourclients?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So before I officially book any of my
wedding couples, I'll hop on thephone for a discovery call with
them.
So on that call I'm going topick their brain on what really
matters to them and what theyhope to see from their final
galleries and their film.
So during the call I take notesand I reference back to the
notes before their engagementsession and before their wedding
.
Because it's awful when youlike spill your heart out to
(09:07):
somebody and give them all thisinformation, especially when
they have to kind of go out oftheir way to connect with you
and to give you the question orthe answers to the questions
that you're asking, and then yourealize down the road that they
forgot everything you said tothem.
So it's really important thatyou don't just ask questions and
then never reference back orforget what they said.
So if they're telling you likewe want photos that feel like
(09:31):
really organic in theirdiscovery call, don't show up to
their engagement session andshoot super posed and not give
them what they specificallyasked for, otherwise they're
going to feel unheard and unseen.
So I send out questionnaires,also before the engagement
session and before the wedding,where they can tell me anything
(09:52):
from ideas that they have forphoto locations or things that
are on the more technical side,to who they are as humans, and I
ask, like, what is the essenceof this season of life that they
want to capture?
Because that kind of touchesmore on, like the feeling behind
what they're getting versusjust how it's going to happen,
and then I can take thatinformation and use it to
(10:13):
personalize the way that Iapproach shooting their wedding
day, both in the timeline andthe structure of the day and
also in my posing and myprompting for them.
So, because I'm taking the timeagain to ask these questions
and then I'm listening to theiranswers and reflecting their
wishes and their wants and needsin the service that they hired
(10:33):
me for, they feel seen and theyfeel heard by me and ideally
then the end result is going tobe so in alignment with who they
are and what they're hoping forfrom their photos or their film
.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I love that attention to detail and you're right,
like I see, you know, a lot ofpeople do use questionnaires and
forms and things like that.
But you know that's a very goodpoint about making sure that
you are actually using thatinformation to let the clients
know that you have using thatinformation to let the clients
know that you have read it,you've integrated it, you
(11:13):
understand it.
Bringing that up inconversation during the consult
and things like that is superimportant and I know a lot of.
Have you always done consultswith your clients prior?
Is that something you've alwaysdone?
Speaker 1 (11:22):
No, I haven't.
So I actually am a millennialand I think it's a millennial
thing.
We hate getting on the phone,yeah.
So yeah, I would avoid phonecalls at all costs.
Like if a couple ever asked meto hop on the phone, of course I
would, but no, I did not startincorporating discovery calls.
I would say, gosh, I'm not sure, maybe like four years ago.
(11:45):
So I've been doing photographyprofessionally for nine years,
so it would have been a whilebefore I started making sure
that I connected with couples inthat sense, before I actually
locked them in.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, and you feel like it made a big difference in
the quality of everything.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah, I definitely do .
I think that you can get areally good feel for people on
the phone, and also I've hadcouples that I've connected with
on calls and realized I mightnot be the best photographer for
them and then that saves themand me from kind of an awkward
situation down the road wherewe're not really able to work
together in the best waypossible and there are other
(12:27):
photographers who might be anamazing fit for them, so I'm
able to actually serve thembetter by referring them to
somebody else.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, that's a really good point, and sometimes you
just can't really vibe that inan email.
You know, yeah, yeah, okay.
So what?
I know?
There's probably a lot ofthings you could say, but what's
one main piece of advice thatyou would give to new
photographers about buildingstrong client relationships in
(12:57):
particular?
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Um, my favorite thing to tell people is to always let
your clients know what toexpect next.
So have you ever seen inFacebook groups where people
post saying, oh, my clientemailed me to see if their
galleries do, but the commentsection it says, well, why don't
they look at the contract?
(13:24):
And people are siding with thephotographer.
But I'm going to go ahead andsay that we all know how well
most people read their contractsand a lot of clients are going
to find sending a quick email toyou to be easier than tracking
down and reading through yourcontract, and some probably
don't even realize that youmight have this information in
there.
And my thoughts are that if youhave something that clients are
(13:48):
continually asking you aboutover and over again, especially
if it's creating that sense oflike anxiety I know when I used
to get those emails it wouldjust be like instant.
I would feel like I was behind,even if I wasn't.
So when you're getting that,it's time to build a step into
your process so that you cananswer this question before they
have to ask it.
(14:09):
So my turnaround times are in myclient engagement session
preparation info and forweddings they're also sent out
in an email titled what toexpect after your wedding.
That goes out the day followingtheir wedding, and then I
always, always tell my clientsat the end of their session or
their wedding just really quick,you can expect to see previews
(14:30):
on this date and the fullgallery by this date.
So not only am I putting it inwriting multiple places, but I'm
also letting them know because,like, the first thing on their
mind is when am I going to seephotos?
So I'm letting them know rightthen and there, as soon as the
wedding is finished.
The next steps are previews,and here's when you can expect
them.
And then the step after that'syour full gallery and this is
(14:52):
when you can expect that.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, managing those expectations is huge.
That's one of the things that Isee all the time in my Facebook
groups all the time, and eventhough I only do like a handful
of weddings these days, it'sstill the same.
With, like any any niche ofphotography, like seniors
portraits, you know everything.
(15:15):
Like.
If your clients don't knowwhat's coming, they're going to
ask you those questions and yes,you might have that wording in
your contract, but we know thatpeople don't read all of that,
so I've always really kind ofharped on that as well.
We need to be kind of tellingthem in many different places,
but also in many different ways,and mainly because we know that
(15:36):
not everybody learns the sameright, nobody has the exact same
brain and not everybodyprocesses their world and
information in the same way.
Some people are more auditory,some people are visual, some
people have a mix of all of that, and so we need to make sure
that we're meeting our clientswhere they are, I believe, and
(15:58):
really like providing thatinformation in various forms
over and over again.
So it's going to make our job alot easier in the long run, but
it's also really there to helpthem feel calm and to know
what's coming, because if yourclient is calm and always knows
from the get-go what's comingnext and what those next steps
(16:18):
are, they're going to be morerelaxed because we're exuding
that confidence in telling themall those steps.
And I do feel like this is oneof those learning curves that I
see a lot of new photographersin particular, you know, get
thrown at them right.
Like they learn the hard way,like, oh, I did not realize I
(16:41):
had to like provide informationin so many different ways and so
many times, even thoselogistics of client management,
like scheduling andcommunications, you know,
without sacrificing yourpersonal touch, like you know,
(17:05):
using a CRM and things like that, what your process is, because
I'm a really big believer thatwhen we utilize the power of
those systems, we can actually,you know, accomplish that goal
of helping our clients feelreally handheld without actually
having to physically handholdthem.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, for sure.
So I love my CRM.
I use Dubsado.
I know a lot of photographersuse HoneyBook.
I just I started on Dubsado sothat's that's where I am and it
works super well for automatedworkflows.
So within each so like if I havea wedding with an engagement
(17:46):
session or a wedding without anengagement session, or a photo
wedding or a photo video wedding, like I have different
workflows set up for each typeof job that I typically book and
then those workflows have thesequence of emails that will go
out to my couples and it willtrigger each different touch
point in our process together.
(18:09):
So like, when I'm ready toonboard them as a client,
they'll get the email that isall about making things official
, and then when I'm ready to dothe engagement session stuff
with them, they'll getinformation on that, and when
it's time to start planning forthe wedding, they'll get
information on that.
And when it's time to startplanning for the wedding,
they'll get a questionnaire sentfor that.
So some of the things in myworkflows have to be approved by
(18:29):
me because it might not alwayshappen or I might have like a
separate conversation going inemail with my couple and I don't
want to send them like a random, obviously automated email when
I'm actively sending thememails on a different topic.
And then I use email templatesfor a lot of touch points, as
(18:58):
I've mentioned session reminderemail, that like recaps where
we're meeting and kind of finalsteps to help them prep for
their engagement session, alongwith my wedding questionnaire
and that what to expect afteryour wedding emails.
All start off as templates andthen I do go in and I
personalize things that are morespecific to the couple or to
(19:18):
the wedding and some of theemails and others are ready to
go as is.
But ultimately having thestarting point helps me to serve
my clients that much betterthan writing those all from
scratch would.
When I have those set up tostart with.
Then I'm able to pump that muchmore value into what I'm
sending, versus if I tried towrite out everything from
scratch, I didn't inevitablymiss stuff along the way and
(19:40):
wouldn't be able to kind of prepthem and like walk them down
that process of what to expectnext again with me as well.
So when couples respond to thoseinitial trigger emails, it's
all me responding with the morepersonalized suggestions for how
we can approach their shoot ortheir wedding day timeline based
(20:00):
on their answers and then justmaking sure that your emails,
even if they are automated,sound like yourself speaking and
that you're infusing your brandvoice into it, versus something
that sounds organic andimpersonal, can be huge.
And I even send out like anemail a couple of weeks before
the wedding automatically thatreminds the couple to remember
(20:22):
the meaning of their wedding dayand to stay fully present and
engaged with their people ontheir wedding day, and I
reassure them that if they dothat, I've got photos and video
covered and we'll take care ofthe rest.
So that's an automated email,but it can be so sweet and feel
so personal, even if it's a partof my process.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah, and well, and that's the importance importance
of really clearly and deeplyidentifying your brand voice and
your website, your socials, allthe things with your voice and
(21:08):
your unique touch points.
Then it'll be a little biteasier to be able to infuse it
into those client communicationsand templates, like you said.
But yeah, the whole clientmanagement.
It's really shocking to me whenI see photographers who've been
in business for a while andthey don't use anything like a
CRM.
It just blows my mind.
I don't know if it's like theVirgo in me, like I am, you know
(21:31):
, and look, I am not.
I don't use my CRM to the bestof its abilities.
I know that, like I know it cando so much more, but I still
like I don't know what I woulddo without it.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
I'm also a Virgo.
I don't know if you saw myreaction, but that's why I had
the reaction.
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
That's one of the questions I like to ask people,
like at the end.
So I'm glad that we alreadycovered it, that's so fun, yeah.
So, like that Virgo, like I'vealways been, like I've got to
get organized, I got to.
I want to know what's coming, Iwant to know you know all that
stuff.
And I have, like, high anxiety,like I'm one of those people
who've been, you know, dealtwith anxiety my whole life,
(22:14):
which is probably why I was ledto help other people in that way
.
But you know that's also partof it is that I feel like that,
will you know, it calms myanxiety to know where I am in
that process and if I'm calm,I'm going to be so much more
present for my clients as well,and it's going to help them if
they have it as well.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Yeah, I always imagine the people who don't use
CRMs and I'm sure not all ofthem are like this.
But I can think back to myselfbefore I used workflows in my
CRM and I feel like a lot ofthem might just be reacting to
when they get an email fromtheir clients, instead of
leading them to the next step.
So when their client wantssomething from them, like, oh,
(22:53):
let's start planning the weddingtimeline, then their client
reaches out and they're justreacting.
But reacting doesn't free youup schedule-wise as well as
taking the steps to start theprocess does sometimes, because
you can do that and kind of makeit fit better into your
workflow.
Then you can when you all of asudden get your wedding emails.
(23:18):
I know that you're not in thewedding space, but we have like
a very distinct wedding seasonhere because I'm in the Midwest,
so it's really cold in thewinter, so then everything kind
of would start coming in at onceif I wasn't taking the steps to
work through things ahead oftime with them.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
That's a really, really good point because, yeah,
the seasonal thing and not onlyam I not deep into the wedding
space, like I said, I still dosome, but they're mainly
previous clients.
I'm in California so I don'treally have a season, like you
know, we shoot year round.
But a lot of my coachingclients, a lot of people in my
(23:54):
communities, even if they're notdoing weddings and they're
senior photographers or, youknow, family portrait
photographers it's still similarin that way where you know you
are limited in the Midwest andon the East Coast by your
weather.
So that seasonal aspect of whatwe do, you know, really has to
be you got to know that so thatyou can project, like you said.
(24:16):
And so using systems and CRMsand things like that templates
to help you not be so reactiveis a really really big,
important piece of that.
And so if anybody's listeningand you haven't done that yet,
I'm not telling you what systemto use.
There's lots of really greatones.
Just find one that works foryou and do the work of just
(24:38):
getting it done.
And if you can't do it yourself, find someone who's a
specialist in it and work withthat person.
Like I'm all about, you know,just finding somebody else if
you need to do that, to walk youthrough it, if you have to,
because just setting it up isgoing to help you feel way more,
you know, secure and justconfident going forward, and I
(25:00):
know it feels like a verydaunting thing, but it's really
a really big, big piece of thepuzzle, so I'm glad that you
brought that up too.
Okay, so you used to be.
You were an accountant, whichactually totally vibes with the
Virgo, by the way.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah.
Yeah, I didn't hate theaccounting work, I just I needed
more freedom in my life becauseI'm a Sagittarius moon.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yeah, okay, so yeah, what's your big three?
So you'm a Sagittarius moon.
Yeah, okay, so yeah, what'syour big three?
So you got a Sag moon.
What's your rising?
It is a Cancer rising.
Oh, okay, yes, yes, yes, yes, Itotally get that All right.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
I'm a Libra rising and an Aries moon.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Oh, I love Aries.
Yeah, I'm married to an Ariessun and he's a lot, but it's
really interesting having themoon with his son.
So, yeah, but it is okay.
So, as a former accountant andyou know how, do you think that
career has influenced yourapproach to client service in
(26:00):
photography and something supercreative?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
So I definitely want to make sure that I'm taking
care of the behind the scenes,the office work side of things
for my clients.
Because of my experienceworking in a corporate office, I
feel like I'm just on top ofthings like planning ahead,
responding to emails and stayingorganized.
Because of that, I also didn'tlove the like passive,
(26:23):
aggressive office emails thatyou get sometimes.
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Okay, yeah, I don't.
They just rubbed me the wrongway.
Even if they were technicallypolite, it just was weird to me.
So I try to not sound soautomated and robotic all the
time.
I mean, sometimes I probably dobetter than others, but yeah, I
(26:43):
try to infuse a little bit ofmy personality into my emails
instead of saying things likeman, what do they say?
Even it's been so long Likeyeah, I totally respond yeah,
yeah, something weird.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah, they go around the back door to let you know
like it's.
This is not.
This is your fault.
So, you need to.
You know what I mean.
Like it's really, yeah, Itotally get it.
Passive aggressiveness ingeneral is I just can't.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
I can't yeah same.
And then I guess, guess ingeneral, just like reliability
and handling certain situationsprofessionally are something
that I learned from my time inaccounting professionally, but
not passive, aggressively yeah,exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
No, that makes a lot of sense, and I mean, I feel
like you probably have thatupper hand too, though, because
a lot of I work with a lot ofcreatives and a lot of
photographers in a lot ofdifferent ways, within groups
and one-on-one, and one of thevery common things is that that
(27:47):
lack of financial understandingI want to say, like it's not
that they don't understand, it'sthat they don't.
They were probably taughtsomewhere along the way as a
creative with, with a creativebrain, that that's just not for
them.
You know, like that's that's,I'm not good at that.
I'm not good at math, or I'mnot good at that.
(28:09):
It's really interesting howthat all just sinks in Right,
because, like, I vividlyremember having that experience
in like sixth grade, and Iremember the teacher like it was
yesterday, you know, and I justcouldn't, like I had such a
hard time with, with learninglike pre-algebra, and from that
point on, it like colored myentire existence with like
(28:33):
numbers and thinking that I wasbad at math, but I wasn't, like
I really, really wasn't.
It was just that I didn'tunderstand it and I needed to
have it explained in a littlebit different way, and you know
my generation.
It was just like well, youdon't learn it that way, you're
out of luck, right?
So I feel like so manycreatives have that connotation,
(28:57):
you know.
And so, as somebody whoprobably doesn't have that,
right, I mean, if you went intoaccounting, you probably like
numbers, or at least understandit, and you know what I mean
like feel a different way aboutit, right?
Speaker 1 (29:11):
yeah, I'm like the opposite of most creatives in
this sense, because I actuallydidn't consider myself creative
until, I would say, like acouple years ago.
So I liked photography and Iwould do this like little dream
journal where I cut things outand like maybe make a little
mural on my wall with post-itnotes or something.
(29:33):
But I just I never saw myselfas creative.
I never felt like I excelled inart classes and that's kind of
what I associated creativitywith.
But then in other ways, lookingback, I definitely did have that
creative side to me because Iwent through like the MySpace
girl scene phase and like Icould say that I went through it
and how I dressed, or just likedifferent ways, and some of
(29:58):
those were taking self-portraitsof myself because I had a
camera and would play with it alot longer than I was
professionally pursuingphotography for.
But I just, yeah, I thought ofmyself as like somebody who
wanted to go to college and thenget the quote unquote big girl
office job.
But I think somewhere along theway something told me I wasn't
(30:20):
creative and I just thought of,like putting yourself out there
in that way as vulnerable andscary, and I never tapped into
that side of myself until morerecently.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
That's super interesting because it's like
the opposite right Of what wewere just talking about, and
it's so interesting because it'skind of the same coin,
different side, you know, beingsort of told or believe that you
aren't.
You know, because of some sortof belief that was installed
(30:54):
early on that yeah, okay, I'mnot good at drawing or I'm not
good at art or whatever, and sothat's what it means to be
creative.
So obviously I'm not creative.
That's just a reallyinteresting.
But so what do you think reallywas the thing that made you
realize that you were like, wasyou know?
You said photography, which issomething you really enjoy doing
(31:14):
, but was there like a moment ora set of moments or something
like that was a catalyst for youthat made you sort of like get
like oh no, I can be thisdefinition of creative.
This is my way of expressingthat.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Honestly, I don't know, that I have like a set
moment.
I think maybe my definition ofcreative just changed or maybe I
started to see like a lot ofthe time I've felt a little
different than my friends in alot of ways, so like they might
be into certain things and I'minto way different things, and
(31:52):
just maybe started to noticethat like creativity is not just
being good in art class andthat maybe my differences in
some ways make me creative.
But yeah, I don't think I havelike a certain moment where I
was like, oh no, this is part ofwho I am.
I think I just finally learnedto embrace my differences a
(32:16):
little bit more and be okay withlike thinking a little bit more
out of the box instead of justtrying to fit into the norm.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Well, and I can also imagine that your previous
career and also being a Virgolike that attention to detail is
well.
It can be construed in a lot ofdifferent ways, but I mean, I
really feel like it can be asuperpower, like I've seen it in
my own business as well,because I do have that attention
(32:46):
to detail and I've had clientstell me many times like oh my
gosh, like thank you forreminding me of that, or like
you know, I can't believe youremembered that, or whatever it
is.
That I think goes a long way.
So I imagine it was probablysimilar for you, right, yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:05):
for sure.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
So let's talk about social media for a second,
because that's definitely like apoint of contention for a lot
of creatives.
You know, like as a whole,there is this you know a lot of
different things, a lot ofdifferent things come up for
people, but mainly it's puttingyourself out there, you know,
(33:28):
showing up the vulnerability andalso the actual logistics of
getting it all done Right.
So, like we know that it isimportant, but how do you
leverage that kind of technologyor social media to, like,
enhance the client experiencethat you are portraying?
You know before, during andafter the photos.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Full disclosure.
I struggle with social media alittle bit.
I took a break from socialmedia for a while and then I've
been trying to pick back up in away that feels good to me and
authentic to me.
So instead of like postingbecause I am meant to post now,
I only post when I truly want topost and feel like I have
something to say and I thinkthat's done a lot of good for me
(34:12):
.
But I'm still struggling withlike the back end of getting
everything that I want to doneon it.
But I think that with enhancingthe client experience on social
media you can do behind thescenes when you're at photo
sessions and make your couplesfeel really loved that way.
And then I try to really keepup with my couples who post on
(34:33):
social media and maintain thatrelationship a little bit longer
than just the amount of timethat I'm actively working with
them for their wedding.
So if I see couples that Iphotographed weddings for, or
even just a session four yearsago on social media and they're
doing something cool, or I seeit's their birthday, you better
believe that I'm in their inboxlike happy birthday or
(34:55):
connecting with them if I havesomething to say or even just
giving them likes or support ontheir content.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
I love that.
That's a really, really goodpoint, because even if you're
not well, there's a couple ofreally good points in there.
So, first of all, yeah, you'renot alone Like that.
That is definitely, definitelya point of contention for so
many photographers and creatives.
Just in general, Social mediais just like this beast that you
know.
It's a love hate relationship,right, and I totally get it Like
(35:24):
.
I absolutely love social media.
I'm one of those rare peoplethat actually really likes it,
so it's not that hard for me todo it and I still even get in
those you know cycles of I don't, I don't want to be out there,
Right, Like so, um, so I totallyget it.
But I feel like honoring whatfeels good, like you said, is
(35:51):
really, really important, and so, yeah, we, we're kind of told
like what you quote unquoteshould be doing, but at the end
of the day, if it's going toburn you out and make you feel
like crap, then it's probablynot a good idea for you to be
doing that and so I love that.
You are just like listening tothat and you know, honoring that
(36:11):
, because that's hard to do alot of times.
Honoring that because that'shard to do a lot of times, but I
really believe it's reallyimportant.
So first of all I wanted to,like you know, acknowledge that
part of it, but then also thatother side of it is that you can
absolutely do these otherthings even if you're not out
there, posting and schedulingand you know keeping up with
(36:32):
trends and blah, blah, blah,blah, blah.
But you are connecting withclients past, you know clients
especially and continuingrelationships with them.
That goes a long way and thatcould take 10 minutes.
You know just kind of goingthrough your feed and just
responding and commenting andyou know cheering somebody on
(36:55):
and making them feel good.
That's a really good point andthat's also just for anybody
listening.
It's a really good way tocombat your inner head trash is
to go out and make somebody elsefeel good.
That's one of the things Ialways tell people is, if you
are in your own head and you'reoverthinking and you're just not
feeling it, if you are in yourown head and you're overthinking
(37:17):
and you're just like notfeeling it, just go on and like
make some nice comments on somepeople's feeds, just make
somebody feel good, like itreally does do a lot for you as
well.
So that can be like a little,you know, a little trick for
when you're feeling bad.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
Yeah, it really does help to just like spread
positivity and to be genuinewith it too.
So if you see somebody who'sdoing something cool, let them
know that whatever they're doingis cool, and it will make them
feel so happy.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
Yeah, it's, it's.
Yeah.
We need to be doing more ofthat, just as a side note, I
think, as a society.
So what does feedback I want totalk about this real quick
feedback right, Testimonials andlike things like that.
This is always also somethingthat's really hard, I think, for
a lot of photographers to askfor and to sort of like get into
(38:08):
a system of implementing intheir business.
So how do you incorporatefeedback right into you know?
Do you incorporate feedbackright into you know, your client
experience, how it?
Speaker 1 (38:21):
reflects your unique style and values.
Yeah, so after I send outgalleries, I actually ask my
couples to let me know what theythink of their gallery and then
I ask them what I call a magicquestion, which is like
partially feedback.
So my magic question is isthere anything you'd like to see
adjusted?
So I feel like this opens upthe door for your couples to
(38:41):
request small changes in theirphotos If there's anything that
they don't love right off thebat and I don't get requests
often, but I have had responsesbefore like oh, my hair in this
photo it's just going a littlebit wonky, or I have a zit on my
chin that I'm self-conscious of.
Can you remove it?
So then I'm able to go in andI'm able to fix this photo that
(39:03):
they otherwise love.
Even though I try to keep an eyeout for things like that, when
I'm editing I occasionally missthings, and that photo could
then turn into the client's veryfavorite image that they want
to post everywhere, and they'rejust so happy that they get to
do that versus having theversion of it.
That made them feelself-conscious, and if you
(39:24):
hadn't asked the magic question,they probably wouldn't have
said anything and then theywould have just been like a
little bit bummed that theydidn't have that perfect shot in
their gallery that they wanted.
So a lot of people, I think,might be thinking like, okay,
that opens up the door forpeople to send you a whole list
or ask for the whole gallery tobe re-edited.
(39:45):
But I haven't had that problemsince I've started asking this
question.
Like I said, very few peopleeven request anything, but when
they do, it's always been reallyrespectful and like a few small
edits that I can just do infive, 10 minutes and send back
to them.
And I think that's partiallybecause I do vet my couples and
get on the phone with them andmake sure that we are so aligned
before booking them in and thenalso at the end of your journey
(40:09):
with them, you should be askingfor feedback and then auditing
your business occasionally andupdating your process based off
of the feedback that they giveyou.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Yeah, that's really cool.
I love that little magicquestion.
I think a lot of people areprobably really afraid to do it,
like you said, because theyfeel like they open up the door.
You know they'll open thefloodgates.
But if you've done that work ofalignment, like you said, and
you really take the time withnot just you know getting on the
phone with them and like makingsure you're aligned in that way
(40:41):
, but even before that, makingsure that your branding, like
your voice, is speaking to theright people, that you know the
kind of people you want to workwith and your website is doing
its job and you know kind ofvetting some of that for you
before they even reach out,that's, that's a really big part
of it as well, so I love that.
(41:01):
Okay, Before we wrap up, I wantto just ask you cause, you know
, tried and true, with the dashof blue, we got to talk about a
little bit of each, so I know wetouched a little bit about
astrology but what are somespecific spiritual techniques or
rituals or things that you dofor your mindset regularly to
enhance your creativity andproductivity?
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Um, so I'm a big fan of morning routines.
Um, I like to journal, andjournaling could look different
for me every day.
Sometimes it might be literallylike journaling and writing
whatever I'm thinking.
Sometimes it's writing downaffirmations.
Um, I really like to write downlimiting beliefs and then cross
those off and rewrite them in away that's actually true.
(41:45):
Um, I'd say that's like one ofmy favorite things that I do in
a journal occasionally.
And then, have you ever triedEFT tapping?
Yeah, okay, I love EFT tappingand I always say that when I do
my tapping, and for me that justlooks like Google or YouTube
searching a Gala darling videoand following along with her.
(42:08):
Um, and whenever I tap, I feellike I make so much more money.
And whenever I'm like in adivot, I'm like, oh, I should
start tapping again.
I don't know like why I'm not,cause I know this and I just, I
don't know, I feel likesomething with it aligns and
makes me like level up a littlebit energetically and just
(42:30):
brings me kind of into a moreabundant mindset.
Um, so I like to journal EFTtop and then sometimes I do
affirmations.
Um, again, that might just belook like, or that might just
look like a YouTube video, um,and then I even like to
incorporate it into my sessionsby maybe asking my couple to set
(42:50):
an intention for their sessionand then check in with each
other to make sure that they'refollowing through with that and
getting the most out of theirsession.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
I have an EFT expert scheduled for a podcast soon, so
I'm really excited to talkabout that even deeper with him.
Yeah, exactly, thank you somuch for being here.
This has been awesome.
Tell people where they canconnect with you.
Where do you prefer to connectwith people?
(43:21):
How can they find you and getinto your world?
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Yeah, absolutely so.
My social media is at Brianna Kphotography and I do spell my
name funny, so it's two E's andtwo N's in Brianna, and then K
is my middle name, so that'sK-A-Y.
And then on TikTok I think I'mjust at Brianna K and my website
is briannakcom, if anybody'swanting to connect with me that
(43:49):
way.
And you have a podcast too,right?
Oh yeah, actually, I just didanother interview too and I
forgot to mention my podcast onthat.
I'm the worst.
I always do that.
Yeah, I definitely do so.
My podcast is ManifestingPhotographer Podcast, and I
actually am going to pick yourbrain on this for a second,
because I've been in innerturmoil about it.
(44:10):
So I feel like, while you'reasking about the name, I'm just
going to ask you.
So I am debating on changingthe name of the podcast, but I
feel like there's pros and consto both, so I want to know what
you think.
The podcast name is obviouslyManifesting Photographer Podcast
, and I like that because I feellike it talks on or speaks to
what I show on the podcast orwhat I speak on on the podcast,
(44:34):
so like the manifesting Luluside and photography.
But it's not just forphotographers, it's also for
other entrepreneurs and serviceproviders, small business owners
.
So I am debating changing thename of the show to Rebel CEO,
but then I'm worried that peoplewon't be as drawn to it because
(44:56):
they won't know if it's forthem, so like if people who are
in a manifesting or photographysee my podcast.
Then they might click on itbecause they are into one or the
other or both, and I don't know.
Might click on it because theyare into one or the other or
both and I don't know.
I like the name rebel CEObetter, but I don't know if it
would like attract people asmuch, because they won't know if
it's for them.
Do you have thoughts on?
Speaker 2 (45:15):
that.
Yeah, well, I think that.
Well, a couple of things.
I think that, first, I thinkwhat really really matters is
that it really has to align withyou and where you want to go
with everything.
You know what I mean.
Like that's a really importantpart of it.
Mine took forever to kind ofcome to fruition because I
couldn't I the naming was reallyhard because I also, like I
(45:36):
have a lot of photographers inmy community but I I speak to a
lot of other creativeentrepreneurs and I wanted to be
able to continue that and alsoexpand it and not just be in
photography.
So I personally didn't wantphotography to be in the name of
my podcast.
However, it is going to speakto a lot of photographers
(45:57):
because I am one and I'll alwaysbe a photographer, no matter
what.
You know what I mean.
So, like that's kind of likewhere my heart is.
So I feel like that's the firstpart of it is that it has to
align with you and if you feelcalled to this other name and
rebranding it is that I feellike you can absolutely do that.
Your photographers willcontinue to find you.
You can.
You know the descriptionmatters the SEO of that, the SEO
(46:22):
of the page of the site.
Like those things will you know.
Like those things will you know, do its job, ideally and
hopefully, of speaking to thepeople and you also can have
that in the messaging of youknow the show intro of social
media, like whatever it is likeyou can embed that who it's for.
(46:47):
Like this this podcast is for,and include photographers in
that, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Yeah, yeah, that's all really good advice.
So you can either find me onthe Manifesting Photographer
podcast or Rebel CEO podcast.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Awesome, yeah, no, and you know they'll.
They'll find all that from yourwebsite because you know you've
got all of that dialed in andyou know you know what you're
doing as far as all that goes.
So I will put all of that inthe show notes for people so
they can connect with youwherever and however, and yeah,
I'm just really excited that wehad a chance to finally connect.
(47:22):
So, thanks again for being here.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
All right, let's talk about some of the takeaways
from today's episode.
I love Brie.
I think she.
Yeah, thank you so much forhaving me that I speak on a lot.
I feel like a lot of newphotographers learn the hard way
, like I said in this podcast,right?
(47:53):
So that's one of the takeawaysis like don't wait until things
go wrong.
Okay, we have resources for you, right?
Whether it's myself or Bree oranyone that you find on the
internet, you can figure out howyou want that client experience
to look.
Be thinking about that now, sothat you don't run into issues
(48:15):
of clients coming back andasking a million questions and
all of that Also.
Another takeaway is that youreally need to be aligned.
This is another big thing I see, especially with newer
photographers or photographerswho might be a little fearful
about turning work down.
This is another big thing I see, especially with newer
photographers or photographerswho might be a little fearful
about turning work down.
Not every client is for you.
You need to be speaking to thepeople that you want to work
(48:37):
with and you need to feelaligned with them and vice versa
for this sort of whole thing.
To you know, go down and workreally well.
Obviously, you got to bealigned, and so getting your
branding and your brand voiceand your, you know, go down and
work really well.
Obviously, you, you gotta bealigned, and so getting your
branding and your brand voiceand your, you know all of that
language on your website, yourcopy, everything really needs to
speak to that.
(48:57):
From that first thing, thatclient's first experience with
you, whether it's on social,whether it's on your website,
all of that has to be reallyconsistent because you know they
, they really want to know, likeand trust you, and the faster
you can do that, the better andthe more efficient I believe you
(49:19):
can do that the better, and sothat's why I'm really big on
making sure that all of thatstuff is dialed in so that you
don't have to continuously berepeating it or, you know,
having to extend, overextendyourself to figure out if you're
aligned with clients.
So you know all of that.
All your branding should dosome of that work for you.
(49:39):
And, of course, the bigtakeaway is your client
experience is paramount.
It's really important and it isan extension of you and how you
feel.
So, once again, if you arefeeling stressed and overwhelmed
and anxious and unsure, that isgoing to bleed into everything
(50:02):
that you do.
It's going to bleed into yourexperience with your clients,
and so making sure you areregulated and you are in a good
headspace you're taking care ofyourself, however.
That looks is important, somake sure you are paying
attention to that.
Thanks again for joining mehere and I hope to see you next
(50:23):
time on tried and true with adash of woo.
Have a great week, you guys.
Love you Bye.
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