Yesterday at the last minute we invited some good friends over to just hang out.  Nothing really planned, nothing really expected.  They live about an hour away and they came to stay over rather than drive home.  Well, we wound up building a fire outside and it was nice enough to just sit out for most of the evening.  Oh yeah, and we laughed the entire night!

What if we could bottle that spontaneity and bring it into our business environment when we need it most?  What if we could control our expectations when working with a client and just do our best, knowing that would be enough?  I know I’m simplifying the challenge, but the biggest difference is the lack of relationship building on the front end.  You can’t make every client a good friend or can you?

Every great icon I know talks about relationship building with their clients.  Jason Groupp has turned his I Heart(Love) NY program into a significant part of the engagement session.  Joe Buissink, in his new book, talks about building trust with his clients.  Scott Bourne makes it a point to deliver beyond expectations for every client.  The secret to their success is all in the way they build the trust in the relationship as early as possible.

It’s Sunday morning and I always try and have at least a small connection that’s relevant.  So, to “Hoss” and Melissa, who spent the night, made me laugh until it hurt and have become the best of friends – thanks!  In the long term your friendship means a whole lot to us.  In the short term, I wouldn’t have had anything to even write about if you hadn’t come over last night!

I can’t believe I’m quoting Oprah this morning…

Lots of people want to ride with you in the Limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the Limo breaks down.

That sure fits as a great definition of friendships, but it also works about building trust with your clients.  Build your relationships so that when things change and you have to deal with the challenges, they trust you to have their best interest at heart.

Happy Sunday everybody – make it a great day and spend it doing something other than working!

For me, it’s all about “art”, and the pursuit of the perfect image. I’m always on the hunt for some new tool that will be the answer to my problems.   Honestly, I’ve got a closet full of “problem solvers” that include a plethora of camera brackets, filters, broken stands, and lighting modifiers I’ve discarded. I have a personal land of misfit camera gear.

When I was in college my professor would make us shoot 10 rolls of film a week. Didn’t matter what it was, just had to blow through 10 rolls.   His point was,  if you don’t shoot, how do you get better?  It was a tough task, but 22 years later, I still try to keep that same mindset. Think about it, how do pro athletes get better at what they do? They practice. Do you think Derek Jeter enjoys fielding ground balls for months down in Florida during spring training? Seriously, does he need to do that? You bet!

So why are we any different?

During my downtime I have always tried to schedule shoots to keep the “wheels turning”. I’d bring my assistant Lindsey (now an associate too!) along, and it helped me teach her my lighting, so it was familiar when we were on the job. Each time I’d try to challenge myself by doing something different, whether it was using a California Sunbounce   or a new ringflash.   She enjoyed getting out of the studio (me too!) and we both learned something. This way, on the wedding day, I could say to her, “Hey, let’s do that lighting we did for so&so’s shoot”. We’d work quicker and more efficiently, sort of like fielding a routine ground ball.

While doing these shoots I would always be thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to do these kind of shoots and make money doing it?” That’s when I came up with the idea of IHNY sessions:

I ? NY: Combines my passion for photography, the city I love, and the people who love it as much as I do.

 

For me, it’s all about “art”, and the pursuit of the perfect image. I’m always on the hunt for some new tool that will be the answer to my problems.   Honestly, I’ve got a closet full of “problem solvers” that include a plethora of camera brackets, filters, broken stands, and lighting modifiers I’ve discarded. I have a personal land of misfit camera gear.

When I was in college my professor would make us shoot 10 rolls of film a week. Didn’t matter what it was, just had to blow through 10 rolls.   His point was,  if you don’t shoot, how do you get better?  It was a tough task, but 22 years later, I still try to keep that same mindset. Think about it, how do pro athletes get better at what they do? They practice. Do you think Derek Jeter enjoys fielding ground balls for months down in Florida during spring training? Seriously, does he need to do that? You bet!

So why are we any different?

During my downtime I have always tried to schedule shoots to keep the “wheels turning”. I’d bring my assistant Lindsey (now an associate too!) along, and it helped me teach her my lighting, so it was familiar when we were on the job. Each time I’d try to challenge myself by doing something different, whether it was using a California Sunbounce   or a new ringflash.   She enjoyed getting out of the studio (me too!) and we both learned something. This way, on the wedding day, I could say to her, “Hey, let’s do that lighting we did for so&so’s shoot”. We’d work quicker and more efficiently, sort of like fielding a routine ground ball.

While doing these shoots I would always be thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to do these kind of shoots and make money doing it?” That’s when I came up with the idea of IHNY sessions:

I ? NY: Combines my passion for photography, the city I love, and the people who love it as much as I do.

 

For me, it’s all about “art”, and the pursuit of the perfect image. I’m always on the hunt for some new tool that will be the answer to my problems.   Honestly, I’ve got a closet full of “problem solvers” that include a plethora of camera brackets, filters, broken stands, and lighting modifiers I’ve discarded. I have a personal land of misfit camera gear.

When I was in college my professor would make us shoot 10 rolls of film a week. Didn’t matter what it was, just had to blow through 10 rolls.   His point was,  if you don’t shoot, how do you get better?  It was a tough task, but 22 years later, I still try to keep that same mindset. Think about it, how do pro athletes get better at what they do? They practice. Do you think Derek Jeter enjoys fielding ground balls for months down in Florida during spring training? Seriously, does he need to do that? You bet!

So why are we any different?

During my downtime I have always tried to schedule shoots to keep the “wheels turning”. I’d bring my assistant Lindsey (now an associate too!) along, and it helped me teach her my lighting, so it was familiar when we were on the job. Each time I’d try to challenge myself by doing something different, whether it was using a California Sunbounce   or a new ringflash.   She enjoyed getting out of the studio (me too!) and we both learned something. This way, on the wedding day, I could say to her, “Hey, let’s do that lighting we did for so&so’s shoot”. We’d work quicker and more efficiently, sort of like fielding a routine ground ball.

While doing these shoots I would always be thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to do these kind of shoots and make money doing it?” That’s when I came up with the idea of IHNY sessions:

I ? NY: Combines my passion for photography, the city I love, and the people who love it as much as I do.

 

For me, it’s all about “art”, and the pursuit of the perfect image. I’m always on the hunt for some new tool that will be the answer to my problems.   Honestly, I’ve got a closet full of “problem solvers” that include a plethora of camera brackets, filters, broken stands, and lighting modifiers I’ve discarded. I have a personal land of misfit camera gear.

When I was in college my professor would make us shoot 10 rolls of film a week. Didn’t matter what it was, just had to blow through 10 rolls.   His point was,  if you don’t shoot, how do you get better?  It was a tough task, but 22 years later, I still try to keep that same mindset. Think about it, how do pro athletes get better at what they do? They practice. Do you think Derek Jeter enjoys fielding ground balls for months down in Florida during spring training? Seriously, does he need to do that? You bet!

So why are we any different?

During my downtime I have always tried to schedule shoots to keep the “wheels turning”. I’d bring my assistant Lindsey (now an associate too!) along, and it helped me teach her my lighting, so it was familiar when we were on the job. Each time I’d try to challenge myself by doing something different, whether it was using a California Sunbounce   or a new ringflash.   She enjoyed getting out of the studio (me too!) and we both learned something. This way, on the wedding day, I could say to her, “Hey, let’s do that lighting we did for so&so’s shoot”. We’d work quicker and more efficiently, sort of like fielding a routine ground ball.

While doing these shoots I would always be thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to do these kind of shoots and make money doing it?” That’s when I came up with the idea of IHNY sessions:

I ? NY: Combines my passion for photography, the city I love, and the people who love it as much as I do.

 

For me, it’s all about “art”, and the pursuit of the perfect image. I’m always on the hunt for some new tool that will be the answer to my problems.   Honestly, I’ve got a closet full of “problem solvers” that include a plethora of camera brackets, filters, broken stands, and lighting modifiers I’ve discarded. I have a personal land of misfit camera gear.

When I was in college my professor would make us shoot 10 rolls of film a week. Didn’t matter what it was, just had to blow through 10 rolls.   His point was,  if you don’t shoot, how do you get better?  It was a tough task, but 22 years later, I still try to keep that same mindset. Think about it, how do pro athletes get better at what they do? They practice. Do you think Derek Jeter enjoys fielding ground balls for months down in Florida during spring training? Seriously, does he need to do that? You bet!

So why are we any different?

During my downtime I have always tried to schedule shoots to keep the “wheels turning”. I’d bring my assistant Lindsey (now an associate too!) along, and it helped me teach her my lighting, so it was familiar when we were on the job. Each time I’d try to challenge myself by doing something different, whether it was using a California Sunbounce   or a new ringflash.   She enjoyed getting out of the studio (me too!) and we both learned something. This way, on the wedding day, I could say to her, “Hey, let’s do that lighting we did for so&so’s shoot”. We’d work quicker and more efficiently, sort of like fielding a routine ground ball.

While doing these shoots I would always be thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to do these kind of shoots and make money doing it?” That’s when I came up with the idea of IHNY sessions:

I ? NY: Combines my passion for photography, the city I love, and the people who love it as much as I do.