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Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You

Lesson 37 from: Adventure Photography Pro

Alex Strohl

Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You

Lesson 37 from: Adventure Photography Pro

Alex Strohl

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Lesson Info

37. Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You

This episode addresses why and how you should pick brands that fit you to work with, then how to get their attention. The problem is that photographers want to work with brands that don't match them and waste time doing so. Then there's the problem of not knowing how to reach out to the right people.

Lessons

Class Trailer

Intro

1

Workshop Intro

03:18

Foundations

2

Gear

12:14
3

Gear - My Camera Bags

08:00
4

Mastering Camera Settings

07:41
5

Blue Hour, A How-To

10:45
6

Photos That Move Us

07:19
7

Visual Storytelling 101

07:51
8

Endurance In A World Of Sprinting

06:27
9

Keeping Your Ideas Fresh

08:31
10

Building Your Story Arc

06:44
11

Shooting More: Action Plan

02:01
12

Conveying Emotions

07:52

In the Field

13

The Assignment: Himalaya Pre-Pro

12:08
14

In the Field: The Himalaya Defender Shoot

20:29
15

The Assignment: Canon Pre-Pro

10:25
16

In the Field: Canon USA Shoot

15:06

Editing

17

Keywords & Organizing Images

06:42
18

Commercial Grading

04:47
19

Masking & Radial Filters

12:33
20

Perspective Correction

05:39
21

HDR (Hand-Held)

03:37
22

Black & White Edits

07:00
23

Before & Afters

01:33
24

Moody Grading

13:15
25

IG Export Settings

04:00
26

Web Export Settings

02:44
27

Clone Stamping & Patch Tools

05:51
28

Grading in Lightroom

06:45
29

Hand-Held Panoramas

03:41
30

Radial Filters Pt 2

02:38
31

Delivering Files to Clients

12:33
32

Archiving & Organizing Images

10:15
33

My Favorite Software

03:44

Business

34

Let's Talk Business

01:03
35

Building A Desirable Portfolio

11:17
36

How to Contact Clients

12:00
37

Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You

04:16
38

Getting Clients To See Our Value

10:16
39

Paid to Travel the World

14:48
40

The Art of Making Moodboards & Treatments

08:09
41

Keys To A Fulfilling Career

07:40
42

Three Things You Need To Know Before Pitching

06:19
43

Finding Your Value Proposition

08:02
44

Media Kit: A Walk Through

08:06
45

How I Built My Audience

07:46
46

Social Media Landscape

07:32
47

Module Recap

03:08

Bonus - Everything To Know About Filters

48

Do You Need Lens Filters?

09:36
49

Filters in The Field

12:40

Bonus - Find Your Path

50

Find Your Path

07:44

Bonus - How To Print Your Work

51

Why Print or Sell Photos

23:21
52

Preparing Photos for Print

06:44
53

Reviewing Major U.S Printers

06:57

Lesson Info

Prospecting: Finding Brands That Fit You

So I built this episode towards the why and the how you should pick brands that fit you to work with, and then how to get their attention. See, the problem I'm seeing is that photographers want to work with brands that don't match them, and they waste time doing so. And then additionally, there's the problem of not knowing how to reach out to the right people at these brands. (camera shutter clicks) Just imagine only working with your very, very brands. The ones that you've been using for years. That should be the long term goal for any adventure photographer out there. And that's because the more excited we are about the images we do, the better that work will be. So why not just aim for our favorite brands? Of course, there'll be some days where you have to do shoots you're not excited about. But that's just life. Let's just aim to make those the exceptions, not the norm. (camera shutter click) The best way to start this is by taking close look at the gear you use every day. Your car...

, your clothing, your hiking gear, your camera, your gear, what tech you use. These are the people we're gonna reach out because you're already a customer. So most likely you understand what they represent as a brand. And that puts you in a better position to be hired to shoot for them cuz you're already a client and you understand them. (shutter clicks) This is also when we have to be honest with ourselves. If we only have shot for a few local clients in our state or in our city, and wanna start reaching out to a Land Rover for example, because we love, you know, our old discovery. I think it'll be a hard sell for Land Rover. Like who is this guy? What's his experience? Oh, he shot for a coffee shop and he wants to shoot for Land Rover now.? So just remember that the people working at these brands, just like anyone, they like their life situation and they don't wanna risk their jobs by taking a gamble on someone who just send them a deck by email. And odds are they might see you as a risky move. So the fact that you have a client list with a few household names will be equally as important, if not more, as your portfolio. That's the reality. These household names, they don't have to be in the same industry. The point is that when clients see big names in your portfolio, they see you've handled larger clients in the past. And that's what they wanna see because they don't want... they know you won't mess up that shoot because you've done big shoots before. (shutter clicks) It will take time to be in a position where you can get ready to go pitch your idea to the dream brand, right? In fact, all the prep and hustle you do for that in preparation for that moment, it might make them reach out to you in the first place. If you're spending a year or two years preparing for that grandiose idea, this grandiose pitch to this brand new dream of and you're out there hustling different shoots to get you there, that might put you in a place where they actually reach out to you, right? The whole point is that we need to be super patient and step by step build our client list with just larger brands exponentially. Depending on how determine you are, this can take six months or six years. Here's a cool story. One of my workshop students was able to use a family connection to shoot for a nationwide logistics company. It wasn't his dream clients, but with that large project in his portfolio, he was able to successfully reach out to his dream client and get a project awarded to him. That is lateral thinking. He found a creative way to solve that problem at hand. It was win-win for him. And actually had no downside for anyone. What he did was genius. He just used, you know, his connections to shoot for a large company that was completely unrelated to his dream client, but it was a big company. And that just added weight to his portfolio, which made his dream brand trust him more. What I wanted to leave you with is the following. Start by looking at the products you use and then be curious. Be interested by what other brands are doing too. Go try the products in store or just read reviews. Literally, when I walk into a store about a new brand so many ideas just come to mind just by walking around and seeing their stuff or seeing the photos they put out. So just be curious. Because by doing so, you're gonna find gem clients that are not in the spotlight. And these clients that are not in the spotlight, they need people like us to put them there. Next up, we're gonna get into the outreach part. How to contact these dream brands.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Workbook
A Note From Alex

Ratings and Reviews

Jon
 

Not What I Was Expecting Let me just start by saying that the workshop was very good. There were lots of things that I learned and many insights I took away. Perhaps the greatest bit of wisdom imparted to me was not anything Alex said but how he approached every subject he talked about. I felt that he was talking to me as a friend, very personal and open book. This was both a blessing and a curse as the course tends to meander around and is not as structured as others I've taken. Alex's passion for the highest quality, and craftsmanship in every aspect of his business, is very evident. From the premiums he charges, to the attention to detail in client deliveries. This is where my review is going to give some hopefully constructive criticisms. For someone so focused on a premium experience I was a surprised to find the course a bit sloppily assembled, and the videography and editing lackluster. This is coming from a videographer and someone with a lot of experience in online training. A few short examples to illustrate my point include: repeating segments of the edit (in some instances the exact same segment), poor framing. Colors changing between cuts, and my biggest pet peeve, not leaving photo examples on for long enough to see them. These are all small things, but they add up, and along with the topics meandering, left me a bit disappointed. I'm curious who you would say this class is aimed towards. Amateurs, mid-level, or experts? The assumption of who you are addressing changes throughout the course. I feel like with a bit of work from an instructional designer, and some editing cleanup, you could help hone this course to be one of the best out there. I feel like I need to do a more in depth review than will fit here, to actually explain this well. Let me know if that would be helpful to you. One other note: When I signed up for a workshop on Adventure Photography, I honestly thought it would be more field focused. The field examples were all shoots for products, and not shoots documenting an adventure. I guess I had just hoped to learn that side of the storytelling process more. Getting into the nitty gritty of being wet, cold, and dirty, and still shooting bangers. The section on filters (going out and building the snow cave) was more what I thought this course was going to be. Anyhow, with all that said, I still found it valuable and worthwhile. To summarize, the course feels a bit unpolished and in some ways unfinished though there is still great value. I've taken Jimmy Chin's Masterclass on adventure photography and it felt very structured and highly polished. I purchased "Adventure Pro" on the "finish in a month" discount. I would have felt ripped off if I had paid full price with the course in its current state. Thanks for reading and I hope my criticisms come as helpful. As I've already mentioned I'd be happy to further elaborate.

Topher Hammond
 

One of the best photography investments I'm only 1/4 of the way through Alex's course and I feel like I already have a loose plan on how I can move forward in my own career as a photographer. I felt like my work was lacking a specific feeling. The way that Alex articulated ideas on how to convey emotion in your imagery and building that overarching story arc for your own life narrative were super helpful to focus on how to make my work better. Super looking forward to the rest of this course. Thanks Alex and team!

Sergi Mas de xaxars Rosell
 

Great Workshop I learned quite a lot with this workshop. Because I'm in the industry for 5 years now, there were a few things I already knew. On the other hand, Alex showed me different and more effective ways to improve my business. I like the way he gives the lessons, always in a personal and close way. This is the knowledge I wish I had when I started. Totally worth it!

Student Work

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