From Stranger to Client for Life

Welcome to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast. I'm your host, Matthew Jordan Smith.

Since this podcast began, I've shared tips to help you overcome your biggest photography challenges, how to raise your prices, how to make more money, how to build a client base. But one of the most important and overlooked keys to long-term success is this, how to create consistent, lasting clients.

Today, I want to do something different. I want to tell you a story. A story about a single shoot that turned into a 13 year client relationship and a friendship that changed my life. But more than that, this story is packed with lessons about connection, about care, about how we as photographers can create transformation, not just through images, but through the experience we offer.

Let me take you back. Years ago, I got a call from someone who wanted to work with me. But before I ever met her, I'd already heard the stories. She's hard to work with. She doesn't like anybody. Are you sure you wanna go down that road? I bet you've had something similar happen.

When someone's reputation gets in your head, before you ever have the chance to form your own impression, you've heard those voices from others giving you their opinion. And if you're not careful, it will become your opinion. So here's the first lesson. Always enter into every opportunity with a clear head and an open heart.

Other people's experiences are not your truth. Other people's experience is based on them. It has nothing to do with you find your own truth. So every new opportunity go in with a clear head and an open heart. So this client, she was famous, very famous, and like many celebrity shoots, I was communicating through managers and assistants. But before the shoot, I did something different.

Before I ever met her, I did my research. I found out what she loved and based on that research I sent her yellow roses. That one gesture changed everything. She called me personally and said, no photographer has ever sent me flowers before. And just like that, we had a connection. We still hadn't met face to face, but we had a connection. I could feel it. We started talking about photography sure. But also about food, about music, about life. We bonded before we ever met face to face.

This is part of what I teach all my students. It doesn't matter if the client is famous or not, this works on everybody. But back to the story. When I flew to Detroit to do our first shoot, I brought music curated just for her. The shoot went well at the end. I gave her, at the time, my brand new book, which was my first book ever. She looked at the book and said, why am I not in this book? She wasn't joking. I promised her right then and there. When I do another book, I promise you, you will be in it. She smiled, looked at me, and then handed me a piece of paper and said, this is my personal number. If you ever need anything, call me.

I stood there, shocked. And I held onto that paper all the way back to New York, staring at it on the flight wondering, is this really happening? I mean, this is the Queen of Soul who gave me her number. Months later I heard she was going to be performing at Madison Square Garden. I didn't have an assignment. I wasn't being paid, but I want to capture her story. I called the number. Expecting a manager or agent to pick up, but no, she answered the phone. I told her my idea. I said, Mrs. Franklin, I'd love to follow you around for three days. I told her exactly what I want to do and my ideas for doing it.

The next thing I know, I'm backstage. I'm in the car, I'm in rehearsals. I'm in the dressing room now. There's no paycheck involved in this shoot. It was my idea just to build a bond to build trust. That right there is how you turn a stranger into a long-term client over the next 13 years. I, I photographed Aretha Franklin countless times. We talked about everything, TV shows, recipes, life when she passed. We were planning on our next shoot. She was even sending me text messages from the hospital talking about ideas about the next shoot. You see, she wasn't just a client, she was a friend.

This is my dream for you not to chase new clients every single week, every single month, constantly scrambling for the next gig. That's exhausting and it's not necessary. Instead, build bonds. Give your clients an experience that makes them feel seen, special, valued. It doesn't matter who it is. Maybe you're thinking Matthew, oh yeah, that's a celebrity. That doesn't matter. Making somebody feel seen and special and valued. That works for everybody. Who do you know who doesn't want to feel seen, feel special? Many people are not doing this and this is why they're struggling.

But this is how you create consistent clients who come back time and time again, and who tell others about you. Aretha's story and our journey together is what inspired my latest book, Aretha Cool is not just a photo book, it's the story from our very first shoot to her last official photo session. It's a visual journey of trust, transformation, and yeah, legacy. And today I want you to experience it in a deeper way.

I want you to get the book, Aretha. Cool. I've put the book on sale on Amazon.

Over 40% off. To make it easy for you to get this book, because there are a few things I want you to do. Number one, order the book. It's on Amazon, but don't just flip through the photos. Look between the lines, see the bond, feel the relationship. Start by going to page 40. Now I want you to see this through the eyes of a photographer who knows the full story.

I want you to go to page 40. The page is not numbered, but the page after is, so you can find it pretty easily. Look at that image as a photographer. Is that the image that a client gives to a photographer they've hired, or is that the image a friend gives to another friend.

Take a look at that. You are a photographer. You know what that moment feels like when it's just a moment, and you also know what that feels like when a friend is saying goodbye to you. It's a real moment. That's a bond, that's a friendship.

Now go to page 52 and let me share a story that most don't know. This was an unexpected moment. It was the first time seeing her after not seeing her for a few months. And she gets out the car this way to surprise me. Everybody's laughing. I'm laughing. She's laughing. All the bodyguards are laughing. It was a special moment between friends. Look closely at that smile. I want you to understand what it looks like as a photographer when you're photographing a client who becomes a friend, because this is what I want for you. Stop looking at your clients as a client. Create a friendship, create a bond, because when you do moments like this happen organically. This was not a planned moment. I had no idea this was gonna happen. I had no clue. And when it did, it shocked me, and that's the beauty of it.

Now look at page 93. Don't laugh. That's a real moment and instant. And I'm sure you have experienced this moment with some of your friends. You are out and about and you bump into a friend. You see them, you recognize them, and that's the expression, right?

I think you're starting to get it. You're creating something special that lasts far longer than the paycheck. Now, let's go a little deeper. I told you earlier that I started creating a playlist for every shoot. Now on that first shoot, I made a playlist, and at the time I didn't know her, but after that first meeting, I learned that she loved her own music. So I put a playlist together of my favorite Aretha Franklin music, and I played it for her on every single shoot after that.

So every time we were in studio shooting, I played that playlist. Well, guess what? I made a playlist on Spotify and I put all those songs that I made for Aretha Franklin into that Spotify playlist. The playlist is called Aretha. Cool. I want you to play that playlist as you look through the book. This way, you'll hear the same music I played for the Queen of Soul. As you are looking through the book, it's a very different experience.

That playlist is the exact playlist I used on every single studio shoot for her. Music sets the tone. As a photographer, you already know this. It creates the mood. It also deepens the connection. It, I just don't do this for celebrities. I do this on every single shoot.

The reason why I'm asking you to buy the book. is so you can experience what she experienced, feel what we felt, whether you're just starting out or you've been shooting for years. This story, this book is a roadmap to building not just a career, but a legacy.

So here's your mission. Get the book Aretha. Cool. It's on Amazon in the US or you can order@arethacool.com. If you're international, listen to the playlist on Spotify as you look through the book.

Number three, start seeing your clients differently. Stop thinking transaction. Start thinking transformation. And if you are one of my students, let's go deeper. Let's talk about how to apply this to your own work. Now, if you're listening to this podcast and you're not a photographer, give it to a friend who is. But first, tell them the story and have them listen to this podcast episode.

Help them see what's possible.

We don't just take pictures, we create moments. We build trust. We give people the experience of truly being seen. That my friend is how we create clients for life.

I'm Matthew Jordan Smith, and this is Photography Breakthrough Podcast.

Until next time, stay inspired, stay intentional, and remember, your lens has the