I’ve written a lot about the value of photographs and received some really nice feedback.  What I wonder about is how many photographers really take advantage of their personal stash to tell a story for their own clients.  For example, Scott Bourne and I just did a GoingPro podcast last week on how to get natural smiles and relaxed expressions.  One of the ingredients was about your clients getting to know you and trust you.  While a lot of photographers have a hard time getting started in a conversation, here’s an easy icebreaker:  Have a display of your own family images along with a few of your own personal favorites. 

Every corner of your studio or office doesn’t have to have images of past clients.  Put a little of your own personality into the mix.  And, if you don’t have a studio or office and meet with clients at their venue, a coffee shop or restaurant, then have an album of your family.   Doesn’t it make sense to be able to say, “Let me show what I’m talking about with some images I put together of my own family!”  It has a certain ring of credibility and it suddenly puts you in a position of sharing something about yourself, even showing a little vulnerability.

I have a new favorite wall in the guest room at home – it’s “Relatives Row” as my grandparents share a wall with Sheila’s…here’s where you see what a melting pot America really is as my grandfather who came over from Poland in the early 1900’s shares a space on the wall with Kitty Gentry, Sheila’s full blooded Cherokee great-grandmother.  This is where a portrait done by Don Blair of my Dad and I at a convention 15 years ago shares space with  an Olan Mills portrait of my grandmother done fifty years ago.  The roll top desk belonged to one grandfather, the chair to another and the typewriter to an uncle.  It’s all about our roots.

 

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If I wasn’t in this industry I don’t know if we’d have put the images up on display, re-framed a few of them or let them tell the story they do.  It’s an understatement to just say this stuff is “fun”.   It’s something bigger, but I can’t find the right word – old photographs are a kick and together they tell a story of who we are, where we’ve been and what makes each of us different.

There’s a great quote by Tennyson, “I am a part of all that I have met!”  We’re all a part of our past, from people who touched our lives an hour ago to past generations no longer with us.  We stay connected and even grounded thanks to everyone who makes up who we are. 

At this past WPPI, photographer Dawn Shields from Missouri won Album of the Year.  It wasn’t a wedding album or a day-in-the-life children’s shoot, but a documentary piece she did about her grandfather who spent most of his life in prison, in Alcatraz.  Imagine the strength of her images and the story she told in order to win Album of the Year!

The bottom line is simple, bring a little of yourself into your studio.  Don’t be afraid to share a little of your past with your clients.  It shows your human side and the love you have for imaging and the craft.  It also helps to demonstrate the value of the service you provide, capturing memories!