The Photographer Mindset

The Photographer Mindset is a podcast specifically created for photographers, and those who believe their purpose is to create, inspire and develop into their full potential. The photographer mindset podcast was initiated to help creative individuals understand that their success depends on more than just skill and dedication. In this podcast we learn to develop a winning mindset based on attitude and out of the box thinking strategies so that we can grow our clients, brand recognition & confidence. We want to work smarter towards our goals, not harder.

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The Photographer Mindset

How to Become a Brand Ambassador as a Photographer

September 01, 2025 • Seth Macey & Aaron Mannes • Episode 288

This episode dives into the world of brand ambassadorships, exploring how to build authentic relationships with companies, represent yourself effectively, and navigate the responsibilities and rewards of representing a brand. We share personal experiences, lessons learned, and actionable tips for photographers and creatives aspiring to collaborate with brands they genuinely love.

Expect to Learn:

Tips on fostering genuine connections and aligning with companies
Why having a consistent and strong portfolio is key to getting noticed
How to approach brands, present your value, and make a lasting impression
The responsibilities, challenges, and benefits of being a brand ambassador
How being persistent can open doors to long-term collaborations

Sponsors:

Thanks to the National Park Foundation for sponsoring today’s episode. Enter the Share the Experience photo contest for a chance to win $10,000 and prizes from Celestron, Historic Hotels of America, and YETI. The grand prize winner’s photo could be featured on the America the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass.

Submit your best shots now at sharetheexperience.org/tpm

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Thanks for listening!
Go get shooting, go get editing, and stay focused.

@sethmacey
@mantis_photography
@thephotographermindset

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00:00:06.79
Seth Macey
Hey man, how are you? This is the Photographer Mindset Podcast. I'll address the folks first before I talk to you, I guess. This is where you come weekly to get in the right headspace as a photographer, videographer, learn some things. We talk about developing some mental fortitude with your photography, with your creative craft, getting 1% better each day, that kind of stuff. And we speak from experience, things that have worked for us in per progressing our careers, our hobby, our passion,

00:00:35.26
Seth Macey
and things that have ah made us fall flat on our face that you can avoid some of those pitfalls. And while understanding that they're inevitable, I'm Seth.

00:00:43.00
Seth Macey
This is Aaron. How are you doing today, buddy?

00:00:46.39
Aaron
I'm good. I just got a run in. Thanks for meeting with me later than maybe usual.

00:00:52.31
Seth Macey
Hey, I'm happy for you. I'm happy you're getting the... You're eating miles.

00:00:55.96
Aaron
Yeah.

00:00:56.97
Seth Macey
Dinner miles.

00:00:58.23
Aaron
Yeah. I got the, ah I got the bug. I got the bug again.

00:01:01.45
Seth Macey
Phew. New shoes coming.

00:01:02.34
Aaron
Hopefully it takes long. Yeah. Updated Garmin come in. Jeez.

00:01:09.55
Seth Macey
Yeah, you're and we were talking before we pressed record. You're somebody who sometimes it takes buying a little bit of new gear to get you into the ah maybe upping the intensity or the focus.

00:01:22.74
Seth Macey
so Is that the best way to word it?

00:01:25.18
Aaron
Yeah. and Investment. I think like you're, if you're willing to put in some money, some coin, ah then for me, i think it motivates me at least in this early phase to go, to use it, to, to utilize the the new tool or whether it's a new camera or a cool new drone or yeah whatever whatever it may be.

00:01:40.38
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:01:49.76
Aaron
If that, if that motivates you, to, uh, to go a little bit harder or have fun, honestly, having fun using it.

00:01:57.18
Seth Macey
yeah

00:01:58.91
Aaron
Um, I've loved my Garmin watch for, I've had it probably five, six years now. Uh, really have liked it. It's lasted a long time. Uh, and I just wanted to update it and, and I did.

00:02:11.13
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:02:12.46
Aaron
So

00:02:13.66
Seth Macey
I remember when you got your Sony a7R5, you were giddy.

00:02:17.79
Aaron
yeah, I still am with that camera.

00:02:19.22
Seth Macey
Still am. You're not somebody who gets buyer's remorse, and that's a good antidote for buyer's remorse, because you get your new gear that you've spent your hard-earned money on, and I feel like you're off to the races. Never have I seen your new gear idle.

00:02:33.53
Aaron
No, not idle. I think I do have a minute of like, maybe that neck maybe the very next day, before it gets there. Like while it's in in Purgatory, it's ready to be shipped.

00:02:44.47
Seth Macey
Oh yeah.

00:02:45.55
Aaron
I have a moment of like, oh, did I really need to do that?

00:02:49.96
Seth Macey
You cancel it on your credit card, but it still ships.

00:02:52.59
Aaron
Right, right.

00:02:53.63
Seth Macey
There you go. Scumbag scumbag.

00:02:55.29
Aaron
Yeah, good move.

00:02:56.91
Seth Macey
Uh, today's episode is going to be about, we had a, uh, listener message in Garrett Hess.

00:02:58.29
Aaron
Yeah.

00:03:04.62
Seth Macey
Hopefully you don't mind me mentioning anybody. Thanks for the, that's I'll mention his handle. That's at Garrett Hess underscore photo. Had a good suggestion. um wanted to know if we had ever done an episode or episodes or would consider doing one on brand ambassadorship, how to become one, the ins and outs, the responsibilities.

00:03:25.56
Seth Macey
As you all know, I am a Tamron ambassador. They're a sponsor of the show, a 500PX ambassador. Aaron, you have done a ton of work for Steeo.

00:03:34.97
Aaron
Yep. Thanks.

00:03:35.25
Seth Macey
I consider you an ambassador of all the cabins that you've beautifully photographed and videoed because you're always welcome back at them.

00:03:44.07
Aaron
thanks

00:03:44.15
Seth Macey
And so I think, I think we can make for a great episode talking about, I don't know, how to get started, building relationships, what but being a brand ambassador entails, whether it's as cool or as sexy as maybe your favorite social media person makes it seem.

00:04:03.51
Seth Macey
Spoiler, it might not be. Some of the benefits and challenges and maybe some tips for people who are aspiring to be to hook up with a brand of any size and all while sharing our personal journey because that's all we can do.

00:04:13.53
Aaron
Yeah.

00:04:19.38
Aaron
Yeah. Uh, I think we both have some experience there and can give some of our insights to what it's been like.

00:04:30.35
Aaron
Is it worth it? Does it, does it feel good? Is it a something that we aspire to keep doing?

00:04:36.49
Seth Macey
Sure.

00:04:36.93
Aaron
Uh, yeah. Where's it? Where's it serve us and them and the clients.

00:04:39.62
Seth Macey
Sure. Yes. Well, as the person who has presented you this idea for an episode, I will go first just to get us into it.

00:04:47.61
Aaron
Sure.

00:04:48.74
Seth Macey
of I think a good place is, of course, obviously how to get started. um How did you land your first ambassador role? This is really interesting to me because of the two brand ambassadorships that I have.

00:05:01.20
Seth Macey
Both came to v came to be in completely different ways. So we'll start with 500px, which with if you're not familiar with is a another, i don't even think it's a social social media platform. I don't really know. I feel like it's just a platform to share your photography. If that's all you care about is consuming and posting photography, great place for you to go That's why that's why I like the platform so much.

00:05:29.37
Seth Macey
um So because of that, i started on that platform with the goal in mind of, or with the intent of, this is going to be my escape from Instagram.

00:05:41.97
Seth Macey
This is going to be my escape from rage bait and virality, you know, all that stuff. It's not even social media anymore. It's really just media, right? This is going to my break from that. This is going to be a chance for me to share my photos that I think are good with zero pressure and hopefully people who are also interested in just consuming photography enjoy them or don't whatever I'm just gonna do this and I was committed to posting nearly every day on that platform starting at an audience of zero followers and I think maybe two

00:06:22.78
Seth Macey
Well, rewind every week. There was more of an audience just following my work, which was nice. It meant, I guess people wanted to hang around and see more, which is validating.

00:06:28.91
Aaron
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:06:32.56
Seth Macey
That's cool. I didn't have to be trendy or do any crazy dances. People were just there to see photography, right? Did that for a year or two. got a follower count up into the high thousands before five figures.

00:06:48.16
Seth Macey
um They had quests, which were just basically competitions that were and had different categories. So it could be like best winter landscape or a best wildlife photo. I remember winning a best winter landscape shot. It was actually the one that beat Brooke, Brooke Little Bear, if you're listening, when we did that East versus West contest back in.

00:07:06.55
Seth Macey
Remember that?

00:07:07.61
Aaron
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:07:09.60
Seth Macey
It won. So I was like so excited that, you know, some of the editors at this company said, hey, your photo is the best of the rest in this particular category. It was a real feel-good moment.

00:07:22.97
Seth Macey
um Put a little badge on my profile. It says at the time it said, hey, you won this competition on their platform.

00:07:31.11
Seth Macey
Continued to post. Just stuck with it.

00:07:35.67
Seth Macey
And one of the people at the company in charge of running their blog, they had a guest section, I guess a guest feature thing that they would do with photographers. They wanted a Canadian wildlife photographer.

00:07:46.84
Seth Macey
they reached out to me and there's that saying, think they actually mentioned that they remembered me from that quest that I had won.

00:07:55.43
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

00:07:56.02
Seth Macey
Asked me if I wanted to be interviewed and via email, right, where they send you questions, you answer them. And it would form a blog. And I said, absolutely, I would love to do that.

00:08:08.88
Seth Macey
And ah so that happened. It went really where really well, in my opinion. They thought so, too. Shared it in all kinds of places. um

00:08:21.06
Seth Macey
And then there was a... um

00:08:26.24
Seth Macey
There was another big contest that 500px was running. it was a wildlife contest. They asked me if I wanted to be a judge for it. I said, yes, absolutely. I would love to judge this.

00:08:37.06
Seth Macey
After I said yes, they informed me that it paid like a good amount of money just for judging and going through selections and picking. So I was like, that's a nice little bonus that I didn't know was coming. So I guess little mini nugget there is you never know what little bonuses are hiding around corners when you say yes to small things, right?

00:08:45.97
Aaron
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:08:55.14
Seth Macey
At that point, I just said, after those three things, I had written to my contact and I just said, hey, I noticed there's some people on your profile who have this ambassador checkmark.

00:09:09.03
Seth Macey
I would really like to have one of those. I feel like we have a really good working connection. We've done this, this, and this. So reminding them of essentially case studies. What would it take to be considered an ambassador officially with one of those?

00:09:24.86
Seth Macey
And the response was, it's been a pleasure working with you too. Things have been, the things we've worked on together have been really great. We already considered you an ambassador. um person X will get your badge hooked up right away.

00:09:39.25
Seth Macey
So that was that.

00:09:40.76
Aaron
well

00:09:41.90
Seth Macey
Um,

00:09:44.94
Seth Macey
And beyond that, just making two really great connections at that company with two individuals who are no longer there. But I mean, that's another thing. Those connections don't go away, right? Like that they're probably going to stay in this industry most likely. And I think, not to get too far ahead of myself, but though being in a brand ambassador, the most valuable thing is those connections that you make with people inside of the company.

00:10:14.38
Seth Macey
So thoughts, I'll stop. That one's kind of interesting.

00:10:18.30
Aaron
Yeah, I think it all circles back to, we just talked with Nooch and we've said it many times before, but putting, putting good work out there, number one.

00:10:29.99
Aaron
And i think having a true passion for any product in this sense, it was, you had a true passion for this app that was an escape from Instagram.

00:10:40.20
Aaron
So it was something that was utilized by you for real, for real, not reels people for, for real.

00:10:46.15
Seth Macey
Right. Are you? Yeah.

00:10:49.72
Aaron
Uh, and that shines through that shines through. uh,

00:10:55.16
Seth Macey
Right.

00:10:57.83
Aaron
just to tie it in personally, I think every really successful connection or contract or client that I've landed comes from some sort of tangible love for their product or idea with their product or proof of work or proof of concept.

00:11:18.17
Aaron
So that is the start to, I think a lot of these ambassador sort of ideas is, or, or connections and relationships is it's gotta come from, think it's coming from you.

00:11:18.88
Seth Macey
Mm-hmm.

00:11:34.44
Aaron
I think we all want these people to reach out to us. and invite us to be the next ambassador of their company and promote all their stuff. and here's all our free stuff and we're going to pay you. And it, I don't know how much it happens that way versus,

00:11:54.56
Aaron
it was such an easy shoe in for Seth to have the work, have the scope of work, have the relationships, have the interviews, put in the effort and then just ask the question, Hey, can, can we do this together? We've had a good relationship so far. Look at all the work that we've done. Look at the contest, look at the judging, look at the interviews. And it was then a ah quick, Oh, absolutely. Let's get that badge on there right away.

00:12:20.33
Seth Macey
Yeah. And about that, I think it's important to address that. What is, what's the importance of the badge for me? I think it's a number of reasons. I think one, it's an indicator of, Hey, you did something kind of cool. Here's your little trophy, your medal. Not that I feel I need that, but it just like a, it's like an official attaboy.

00:12:42.10
Seth Macey
Right. Two, Obviously there is social proof with that. I could go to other brands and say, if, if, if when appropriate in a pitch, I'm also ah brand ambassador for 500 you know, that holds a ton of value.

00:12:58.24
Seth Macey
I think, would you agree?

00:12:59.72
Aaron
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. yeah

00:13:01.55
Seth Macey
i think, um, number three, i get to be an advocate for a platform that you mentioned that I really love and enjoyed and kind of fell into naturally.

00:13:15.20
Seth Macey
And four, if I continue to post, maybe my posts like carry a little bit more weight and maybe an audience is easier easier to build. I say that fourth because that's it's probably fourth in the order of the level that I care compared to those other things.

00:13:34.87
Seth Macey
I mean, sure, building a following is great.

00:13:38.18
Aaron
Yeah.

00:13:39.14
Seth Macey
Does it do a ton? In my experience for me, not really, but at least more people are seeing your work in that sense.

00:13:47.26
Seth Macey
um So i guess the question, we'll get to Tamron, but what steps do you take to get noticed? There wasn't really any crazy actionable steps. It was like you said, on a platform because I want to be there.

00:14:04.05
Seth Macey
I enjoy it. mean, this could be synonymous with a product. I'm using a product because I love it just naturally. um The work was good.

00:14:16.40
Seth Macey
And after a few case studies, I asked for what I wanted.

00:14:21.29
Seth Macey
We talked before we pressed record just about our tendencies to overcomplicate things.

00:14:26.05
Aaron
Yeah.

00:14:27.74
Seth Macey
um So hopefully that level of simplicity is helpful in a way.

00:14:32.89
Aaron
Yeah. I think a key point, and I think, I think we get in the, to the trap. Social media is the trap of, if you do the right post or you have the right picture or the right timing, or someone sees it like the, your world will change. You'll, you'll win the lotto.

00:14:51.16
Aaron
And there's a lot of, there's lot of focus and effort on your own work and putting it out there. Uh, but I feel like a lot of people miss the next step, which is like kind of shoving it in people's faces and asking questions.

00:15:06.81
Seth Macey
Yes.

00:15:08.17
Aaron
And it's like, i yeah I could tag, I could tag a company, every photo that I ever do and nothing will ever come of it, you know?

00:15:20.22
Aaron
But if you keep trying to email someone from the company and have a conversation and you get a conversation your chances of being heard or seen or even looked into are just so thousand times more.

00:15:37.05
Aaron
Uh, so I think there's a, there's a bit of go getting it that needs to,

00:15:38.69
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:15:44.01
Aaron
happen and and not be afraid of. ah People shouldn't be afraid of asking the question. And people might say, no, we're not looking for that. Or we don't, we don't have those kinds of positions or we don't, we don't do that.

00:15:56.31
Aaron
That's fine. But at least you asked and you know, and you can now put your focus somewhere else, you know, versus like constantly just trying to tag a company and hoping that they ask you to, know, be the next photographer for their team.

00:16:01.11
Seth Macey
yeah

00:16:11.14
Seth Macey
Yeah, it's crazy. When I was with Ian around this time last year in Pittsburgh, we were doing a Tamron takeover.

00:16:16.20
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

00:16:16.23
Seth Macey
So we had access to the Instagram account for a certain, i think like 24 hours where we could respond to people and post stories and do all that fun stuff.

00:16:27.84
Seth Macey
You would be amazing. What does Tamron have? Like almost 200,000 followers, which isn't even that crazy on Instagram. The amount of tags and mentions and DMs is insane.

00:16:43.65
Seth Macey
My point being, one or two messages or one or two tags or even like just tagging forever, that may just not cut through.

00:16:55.20
Aaron
Yeah.

00:16:56.55
Seth Macey
Uh, it's funny. You, you, I can't remember your exact words, but I texted Ian before we got on Ian Jones, who is also Tamron ambassador. I texted him and I said, uh, question for you. If someone asked you how you became a Tamron ambassador, what would you say?

00:17:11.16
Seth Macey
and I said, without writing an entire thing, being painfully brief. And one of the things he said was I would tell them to annoy the shit out of them. Like I did.

00:17:23.61
Aaron
Yeah. It's tongue in cheek. You don't want to be really annoying, but you want to be persistent. I think that's the real world, real word to be thinking about is being persistent and like finding a contact, finding someone.

00:17:30.69
Seth Macey
Yes. Yep.

00:17:39.73
Aaron
Going through like, Hey, Ian, uh, I loved your work for a long time.

00:17:40.16
Seth Macey
yeah

00:17:43.80
Aaron
I followed you for a long time. Do you mind? Do you have a minute for a conversation being polite in people's DMS to make those connects and then ask a question. Do you have someone that I can contact at Tamron? I have an idea. i have a pitch. I have a, I have a body of work from all their lenses, whatever it may be.

00:18:02.40
Aaron
to get into someone like work smart, not necessarily hard.

00:18:03.11
Seth Macey
ye

00:18:07.47
Aaron
Uh, I think in this Avenue.

00:18:10.40
Seth Macey
You know what the thing is about that quote, though, work smarter, not harder? Is you have to fucking work hard to know how to work smart.

00:18:19.89
Aaron
Yeah, true. I'm not,

00:18:21.68
Seth Macey
You know, like it takes slaving away and just being inefficient to figure out how to be efficient.

00:18:28.73
Aaron
Yeah, you really need both, I think, to be honest. You have to be working hard in a smart way to really push through. ah But, I mean, like you said, you could you could I'm to post three times a day and tag Tamron.

00:18:43.41
Aaron
ah Okay, you're one of 10,000 people today.

00:18:47.38
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:18:47.94
Aaron
Like, that's not going to do it. You're working really hard, but you're you're missing the mark here.

00:18:53.66
Seth Macey
Yeah, for sure.

00:18:53.77
Aaron
your a Your aim point's wrong.

00:18:56.38
Seth Macey
So I guess what I'm saying is perhaps that crazy level of effort, you'll get to a point where you'll realize, oh, this isn't working. There's a better way to do this. And then the smart, more efficient way comes.

00:19:04.54
Aaron
Yeah. Right.

00:19:07.81
Seth Macey
But you don't know what you don't know, right?

00:19:07.95
Aaron
Right.

00:19:09.52
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:19:10.33
Aaron
right

00:19:12.63
Seth Macey
So, I i mean, I don't want to, we'll go in sections here. I don't want to speak entirely about myself, but how does this pertain maybe to you and in some of the the the companies you've worked are the cabins you've worked with? I mean, what's the best ah example to use for you here?

00:19:27.86
Aaron
I think steel steel is a company that I was attracted to getting into hiking and just outdoor life.

00:19:29.04
Seth Macey
Okay.

00:19:38.46
Aaron
Um, and getting into skiing last year too, was, and like rekindling that sort of love a bit. My son's into it. So that might be a winter hobby that I pick up a bit.

00:19:50.43
Aaron
I don't, I don't know how crazy I'll get back into it, but no, she's,

00:19:52.46
Seth Macey
Running, skiing, podcasting, dadding. And this guy still gets eight hours, I know for a fact.

00:20:00.43
Aaron
That's why I'm doing running for a cheap hobby, except now I just bought a Garmin watch and made it expensive, but it does.

00:20:05.91
Seth Macey
Yeah, but that lasts a long time.

00:20:08.14
Aaron
ah Hopefully, knock on wood. But Steele was a company that I saw people representing, so my antennas are out. Okay, they they they invite this.

00:20:19.31
Aaron
They invite people representing their brand.

00:20:19.52
Seth Macey
Okay.

00:20:22.86
Aaron
I started noticing it within my own... my own league, let's call it like, okay, their followings close to mine. Our photo quality is similar. Like ah what's the deal here? How do you get in? What are they offering?

00:20:36.58
Aaron
And certain companies offer things that are way better than others and certain companies don't offer anything. And, know, Uh, I really liked CEO's program. So some all ambassadorships or ambassadorship, is that a word?

00:20:51.85
Aaron
Um, ambassador.

00:20:52.22
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:20:53.27
Aaron
Yeah. Aren't, aren't created equally. Let's, let's put that out there that it can look very different depending on the company, the way steel had their application process and their qualifications and what they offered to me seemed reasonable at the time.

00:21:11.29
Aaron
Now, Is it a huge payday? Absolutely not. This works really well for them as a company too. If we have all these ambassadors out there promoting our stuff and doing really quality marketing and photography for a relatively low price or trade in goods, ah that's a great deal for us. we're We're having many legs of the octopus or arms of the octopus working.

00:21:36.20
Seth Macey
Thank you.

00:21:37.49
Aaron
out there advertising for us for not huge amounts of money, not huge licensing fees, not huge anything, just sort of these deals.

00:21:48.04
Aaron
And at the time I wanted, i was like, I would love some steel stuff. I'm going to apply for this ambassadorship. So I did. and it was it was It was an in.

00:22:01.09
Aaron
You sign up for these things, you get logged in, you get an account, you get ah codes, you get websites or links, and they track if you're selling stuff, and you get a little bit of a kickback, and you get free gear.

00:22:07.25
Seth Macey
Thank you.

00:22:15.75
Aaron
In this sense, $300 worth of gear. And this is all on their site. Anyone can look this up. I'm not giving out any secrets here, but $300 per season. So fall season, Hey, do you want to do a couple of posts and a couple of stories for $300 of gear?

00:22:33.33
Aaron
And at that time it was like, yeah, i I do want to collect some nice clothing and nice gear and I don't mind representing it.

00:22:43.96
Seth Macey
What a free lotto ticket to to build a body of work as well.

00:22:47.29
Aaron
Yeah, absolutely. And like you said, to be able to say, i worked with Steele, this really big brand, to have relationships when we go on earth um our retreats or our our trips to be able to say like, hey, do we want to reach out?

00:23:01.27
Aaron
I have a connect there. Do we want to do something with something? Like just to have those connections, I think is good. To have that body of work is is good.

00:23:08.54
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:23:10.46
Aaron
To be able to... And clothing these days is pretty expensive if you want quality stuff to be able to get some really quality outdoorsy stuff has been great ah for a small price on my end, like a couple of photos.

00:23:26.16
Aaron
Now um you're able to tie it into a trip and say like, Hey, like this is what I do. When I went to Alaska with you recently, my entire suitcase was steel stuff.

00:23:33.97
Seth Macey
Mm-hmm.

00:23:38.38
Aaron
So any photo that I took of myself or videoed myself or you took of me, the chances of me wearing steel that now I can use this at some other point and relieve my duties of having to post certain things is completely done.

00:23:53.09
Aaron
So if I go to a cabin, you better believe I'm wearing steel. So I can sort of represent that and do those things. um it makes It makes life easier. So again, working hard.

00:24:03.41
Seth Macey
It's an easy introduction, too, to brands and cabins in that sense as well, or brands and...

00:24:08.34
Aaron
Yeah.

00:24:09.04
Seth Macey
Right?

00:24:09.30
Aaron
And yeah, so that's there yeah where, i mean, for me, where it gets maybe long in the tooth is like quarterly being like, Hey, you need two more posts and two more stories.

00:24:21.03
Aaron
And it's like, for me, it's a bit tough I don't love being in front of the camera. Like I do at times. And sometimes I can capture a good photo or someone does of me.

00:24:34.32
Aaron
Um, I just don't like, just don't love, don't love modeling.

00:24:34.84
Seth Macey
It's probably me.

00:24:39.13
Aaron
You know, it feels off. So, I could do it once a year. you You might see a good photo of me once a year hiking or with my dog or whatever, a couple times a year.

00:24:50.96
Aaron
But when you constantly are doing it quarterly, like it starts to feel a certain way to me. And that's, this is my own thing. And I'm not saying anyone else should feel this way or does feel this way, but it just starts to feel a little like,

00:25:05.18
Aaron
is my site about modeling clothing like my Instagram or is it about nature and outdoors stuff? And like, I'm peddling this company again, good company.

00:25:11.11
Seth Macey
Sure.

00:25:15.46
Aaron
I've had good experiences with them. Um, but that's where it feels like, okay, you, you keep taking, you keep using my photos like as well.

00:25:26.87
Aaron
when are we, when are we good? Like, when are we good? And, and how many more clothing things, items do I need? You know, trying to not fill my closet with every color of plaid shirt that they have.

00:25:33.79
Seth Macey
Sure.

00:25:39.76
Aaron
and don't need it, but you know, it it can get into that thing of like, Oh, I feel cool that I am part of this ceo thing. Do I have to keep doing this the rest of my life to be a part of it?

00:25:51.47
Aaron
Can I take a season off? What have you? I, you know, I don't know. I'm not at that point yet, but,

00:25:55.53
Seth Macey
right

00:25:56.97
Aaron
That's, that's just been my experience. um I think it's important to understand this is not client work. It's something a little bit different. ah It's you.

00:26:07.04
Seth Macey
Yeah. Good point. it Yeah. Brand work is a little bit different. I was like brand ambassadorship work is a bit different than client work.

00:26:13.61
Aaron
Yeah, especially when they have it have it like really contracted well and you are essentially agreeing to give ah up your photos no matter how good they are, your reels, no matter how good they are, how viral they go for set sort of deal, a set sort of like, hey, this was part of the deal.

00:26:13.73
Seth Macey
How,

00:26:33.18
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:26:35.67
Aaron
You had to do this and you got the shirt. And it's like, well, that reel just went like straight.

00:26:41.06
Seth Macey
Which is why, yeah, this, and this is, we're getting ahead, but this is why you have to have a really good relationship with your contact at the company.

00:26:49.84
Aaron
Yeah.

00:26:50.31
Seth Macey
So for example, we were just in Alaska, right? And we did this lens review video for the 16 to 30 millimeter for Tamron. Um, ambassador ship hyphen client work.

00:27:04.74
Seth Macey
Right. And what what I mean by that is it's not traditional client work in the sense because ah Tamron sends me a lot of lenses.

00:27:05.71
Aaron
yeah

00:27:12.98
Seth Macey
They sponsor the show. Um, you know There's writing gigs that I do for them. So it's it's not right to charge someone like that full price, which yeah you know you're offering deals and discounts and it's a lot of give and take.

00:27:28.77
Seth Macey
And so you better really like the brand or the company And the person that you is your contact there, because you're going to be doing a lot of stuff for free feels like for free or at a much lower price than if it was, um you know, a company you had just been introduced to right.

00:27:49.47
Seth Macey
Or that you pitched or who reached out to you.

00:27:49.97
Aaron
yeah

00:27:52.64
Seth Macey
There's lots of moving parts to consider. ah you know In our example of the the review video, um licensing it to Tamron, that'd be a very expensive video for any other company.

00:28:05.49
Seth Macey
But you have to consider all the things I just mentioned.

00:28:05.74
Aaron
Yeah.

00:28:08.14
Seth Macey
The support sponsoring the show, the support with lenses, you know being wellre receivedip

00:28:13.24
Aaron
yeah

00:28:16.22
Seth Macey
you know being open to receiving good ideas from their creators, treating their creators like really well. These are just things you have to kind of... think about and be okay with. But I like your point that it's important too realize there's a difference between they're not a client. Like you guys are a kind of a team.

00:28:35.60
Seth Macey
You are a team.

00:28:35.91
Aaron
Yeah. And I think to add to that, I think it's a great point, Seth, that I don't suggest collecting ambassador sort of tags willy nilly with companies that you're not crazy about. Or like if I go into my Instagram, I could do it right now. If I bet, if I go into my hidden requests,

00:29:01.35
Aaron
Um, hi, I'm on the promoter team of harem fits.

00:29:02.29
Seth Macey
There's a bunch.

00:29:05.83
Aaron
We think you're a perfect fit for our wear and our active wear.

00:29:06.20
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:29:09.20
Aaron
Check it out, say collab and we'll have a conversation. Okay. Uh, No, like that's that.

00:29:16.18
Seth Macey
Trash. Straight to trash.

00:29:17.13
Aaron
ah Sure.

00:29:17.52
Seth Macey
Okay.

00:29:17.55
Aaron
I sure I could get some, i could get some free active where I'm getting into running and what, but it's, it's not doing it for me. I've never were heard of the company. Like I, I don't want to be tied to this sort of contract or this agreement.

00:29:32.25
Aaron
I don't want to create a bad situation where I'm not,

00:29:32.68
Seth Macey
Right.

00:29:35.24
Aaron
I agree to something and then not wanting to fulfill it or the, the clothing is not of quality. And now I have to have a tough conversation. Like I, I think those, those deals are great when you were really a fan of the company and you can work with them and understand that you're basically like,

00:29:55.49
Aaron
You're trading like you're agreeing. Hey, yeah, I'll give you some of my talent and so I can have some of your talent and I'm good with that relationship.

00:30:04.42
Seth Macey
Yes.

00:30:06.04
Aaron
And maybe like you said, then you have relationships and you can say, hey, I have this idea. Do we want to do want to do this? What's what what can we do for the budget? Where can we go forward? Now we have a contact. We have a body of work. We love the stuff. We we want to help them. We want them to succeed.

00:30:24.33
Aaron
And we keep growing together where it becomes a real hassle is if you're obligated to to do do these things and you're like, I, I don't stand with this company.

00:30:26.23
Seth Macey
yeah

00:30:34.43
Aaron
I don't stand what they believe in. i don't, I don't really like their products, but I agreed to do these things. And just because I wanted to feel cool or whatever, then it gets, uh, then it gets yucky.

00:30:47.31
Seth Macey
Sure. Good segue, which was, I forget exactly what you said. um Oh, where can we go with this? This is a good segue. I think I should bring up how the Tamron thing came to be because it's, I said at the start of this episode, it is completely different from the 500, 500 PX ambassadorship.

00:30:59.17
Aaron
Yeah.

00:31:06.96
Seth Macey
So I think I've been a Tamron ambassador for since 2022 could be wrong on that. could be wrong on that I was shooting.

00:31:20.67
Seth Macey
think about how to best structure this story. I was shooting Sigma at the time. It was my wildlife lens. I had a 150 to 600 contemporary Sigma lens on my Canon DSLR ah going way back.

00:31:37.32
Seth Macey
And no hate to Sigma. The lens worked fantastic. It was a great lens. I have nothing bad to say about that lens.

00:31:43.95
Aaron
Yeah.

00:31:45.24
Seth Macey
I had 24 to 70 2.8 lens from Sigma as well. I've since sold both of them. Nothing but good, nothing but good things to say about those two lenses. And you're hearing that from a Tamron ambassador. I'm not about, you know, grifting in that sense.

00:32:01.61
Aaron
yeah

00:32:02.40
Seth Macey
The reason i reached out to Tamron was, and this is, again, no disrespect to Sigma. Maybe it was bad timing. It could be a number of factors. so I felt like I had several good ideas, and who knows, maybe they weren't, or maybe they just didn't fit marketing goals, that I had presented to a contact there.

00:32:31.89
Seth Macey
And communication was, I guess, not great. Like two weeks between emails. Life's busy. I'm not blaming anybody. I understand that. I just want to make that really clear.

00:32:44.99
Seth Macey
The bottom line is it just didn't seem like

00:32:50.70
Seth Macey
there was any desire to put in motion any of these ideas that I thought were very creative and for and very effective collaboratively.

00:33:02.65
Seth Macey
Right? So I was annoyed.

00:33:07.72
Seth Macey
So I asked our good friend of the show, Ian, because I had a really good relationship with Ian at this time. I knew he was a Tamron ambassador.

00:33:16.29
Aaron
Yeah.

00:33:18.87
Seth Macey
I wouldn't go to somebody that I didn't have a really good relationship with. And if I didn't believe in myself, my quality of work and my ideas, I went to him and I said, Hey, do you have a contact at Tamron?

00:33:33.02
Seth Macey
And now obviously Tamron is Sigma's number one competitor. They're both, you know, the two big third party lens companies, right? For people who don't want to pay full pop for native glass, right?

00:33:42.82
Aaron
yeah

00:33:44.50
Seth Macey
Great lenses. i I, so to this day, super grateful to Ian because Tamron has brought a lot of opportunities to me for the show, for yeah income, exposure, whatever.

00:33:59.47
Seth Macey
ri Grateful. So in my initial email to my contact at Tamron, I professionally voiced my frustration. Now, some people may disagree with this, but hear me out.

00:34:20.58
Seth Macey
I didn't say, ah like Sigma sucks and I want switch. or ah yeah i didn't bash Sigma. I said something along the lines of, if I really took my time, I could dig and find the email.

00:34:34.62
Seth Macey
Something along the lines of, like hey, I've been shooting Sigma. It's been you know a really great lens for me. I just feel like I have a lot more to offer in terms of marketing and ideas, and there's not really any reception over there to them.

00:34:51.76
Seth Macey
I'm looking to be a part of a family that... you know, is interested in doing fun, creative and exciting things together over the long term and not one off things.

00:35:02.29
Seth Macey
And um I'm curious if I can, you know, try some lenses and shoot with the couple Tamron lenses, build a body of work with your lenses and and see where things go from there.

00:35:04.66
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

00:35:13.92
Seth Macey
Yeah, I got like an email probably within a couple days, if if I recall. And there's a couple of things to that story I feel that are important to know. One, I was honest about where I, my, my prior current lens that I was shooting with at the time.

00:35:31.47
Seth Macey
I don't feel I was disrespectful. i was honest in voicing concern, right?

00:35:39.61
Seth Macey
This one's really important. I think companies really want to steal their number one competitors users.

00:35:48.77
Seth Macey
Right? Like, am I crazy in thinking that?

00:35:51.65
Aaron
No, why wouldn't they?

00:35:53.10
Seth Macey
Right. Why wouldn't they? And

00:35:59.27
Seth Macey
I think to come in there with an email like that cold is pretty bold and the right person will resonate with it. And in this case, I feel like they did.

00:36:06.53
Aaron
Yeah.

00:36:09.64
Seth Macey
And I think the key word is I'd like to become, so understanding that I'm not, just because my friend has given me a contact, I'm not in. i would like to become part of this family, part of this team. And I would like to contribute to it over the, this is the key word, long term.

00:36:27.23
Aaron
yeah

00:36:29.54
Seth Macey
And the rest is kind of history. Um, A year or two later, they're sponsoring the podcast. They've been an excellent sponsor, as people as listeners know, over the last, what, two, three years.

00:36:41.92
Seth Macey
You

00:36:42.27
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah.

00:36:45.22
Seth Macey
you know, I have, you can't really see unless ah they're packed away. They're in my nook case. um You know, tons of lenses that cover all my focal ranges.

00:36:55.69
Seth Macey
open to, very open to ideas, whether they execute on them or not, they want to hear them.

00:36:55.82
Aaron
yeah

00:37:02.25
Seth Macey
I think the number one reason when people ask me, why are you an ambassador for that company?

00:37:11.28
Seth Macey
I don't say it's because the lenses are great, but I don't say that as the first reason. I say they treat creators so well.

00:37:18.60
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

00:37:19.17
Seth Macey
Ambassadors are not. like they They are pretty responsive on socials. They listen to what people have to say. They're open to you know hearing constructive feedback. and That's just kind of my vibe. but so and I guess, again, this hammers the point home of collaborate and hook up with Companies, products, businesses that have your value system.

00:37:49.74
Aaron
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

00:37:53.82
Aaron
And it just goes to show again, relationships. That's a key. It's a key factor in all of this, knowing people, knowing Ian, having a good conversation with him, uh, building a relationship that's built on trust and mutual admiration and him knowing your work and feeling comfortable giving out a, a contact, right?

00:38:17.70
Seth Macey
Right.

00:38:17.85
Aaron
Uh, that's important.

00:38:18.27
Seth Macey
That's a big deal.

00:38:19.51
Aaron
That's a really big deal. And it,

00:38:21.35
Seth Macey
i hope people understand how big of a deal it is when you ask someone for that, because that puts them in a very awkward position.

00:38:27.88
Aaron
Yeah. Uh-huh.

00:38:29.54
Seth Macey
Like you need to know a hundred percent that you have a level of rapport with that person. That's going to avoid all awkwardness where it's like, you better know when you get down on one knee that they're going to say yes.

00:38:42.02
Seth Macey
Right. Like hopefully.

00:38:42.75
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah.

00:38:44.19
Seth Macey
Right.

00:38:44.86
Aaron
Yeah. Hopefully.

00:38:46.11
Seth Macey
Um,

00:38:47.08
Aaron
But yeah, relationships and finding companies, companies come down to people typically and the relationships within them and having a good fit.

00:38:53.80
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:38:58.00
Seth Macey
So let me ask you this then to sit, to send the conversation in your direction. Now, how do you like to build and maintain relationships with people?

00:39:08.17
Aaron
I like to be excited about the products. And I know that can wane and change. And like I said, like how much clothing do you really need to like keep this going there? There comes a point where it's like, let's, let's let someone else do it.

00:39:23.36
Aaron
Honestly, like let's let someone else do it. I'm not, I'm not missing my payday by not being an ambassador um or getting, you know, $300 worth of clothing per per quarter.

00:39:37.01
Aaron
so I don't need that. I'm okay. um But then there's certain companies where like you just want to be a part of it. Telefunken for me. I'm not an ambassador for Telefunken. I'm not in the music industry.

00:39:49.51
Aaron
I love music as we know. i love their microphones. I love being a part of some of the things that they've done. They invited me to their Christmas um party or holiday party this winter where they had a really cool band there and in their soundstage and all their equipment going.

00:40:05.06
Aaron
And i was part of that, like you said, that family. And it felt just the invite.

00:40:08.74
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:40:10.74
Aaron
And it was like a ticketed event. And he was like, you can invite four people if you want. ah i was like, wow. Like they they reached out to me who did like this side project for them.

00:40:21.36
Aaron
ah That feels really good in a sense that.

00:40:24.70
Seth Macey
yeah

00:40:25.48
Aaron
that are me part of the team. um And I, I, I'm hard on myself, like trying to figure out new ideas in ways like they re re-signed me this year, this summer to keep going with creative microphone stuff.

00:40:41.85
Aaron
comes a point where your brain's like it slows down. And in the beginning I have a thousand ideas. Now I have like one trickles in every once in a while and it's been a slower output and I can only do so many creative things.

00:40:49.82
Seth Macey
Mm-hmm.

00:40:53.53
Aaron
I feel like with music, that's not music. Um, And so there's that challenge there to like keep that relationship going and and keep the communication going. But what I'm looking for, i think it's just like fair communication and appreciation, re recipro reciprocal sort of i trust and admiration of each other.

00:41:16.57
Aaron
Like just sort of like, hey, we love what you do. ah And you're like, yeah, I love what you guys are doing. kind like new chin goose, right? Like we just had that episode.

00:41:27.39
Aaron
He is a super, he's a super fan of what they're doing and he wants to be a part of it.

00:41:27.63
Seth Macey
yeah Yeah.

00:41:31.87
Aaron
And he's working hard because of that. And it's being rewarded.

00:41:36.68
Seth Macey
The thing I'll say about all these scenarios that we've described too, is that from the initial beginning of the relationship, there was a body of work that made the brand comfortable enough to bring you on board.

00:41:37.17
Aaron
Yeah.

00:41:50.70
Aaron
Yeah.

00:41:51.81
Seth Macey
And then within the projects you work on with that brand, you're building like a subset body of work that makes them even more confident to do more things.

00:41:54.71
Aaron
Yeah.

00:42:02.68
Seth Macey
So in Neuch's example, they just saw his amazing photography after he made a connection with them at that concert.

00:42:03.16
Aaron
yeah

00:42:10.99
Seth Macey
which got him in, which was then an opportunity to prove that he belonged to be there for the long term.

00:42:18.23
Aaron
yeah

00:42:18.67
Seth Macey
Why I'm saying this is back to the start of our conversation. Have a good body of work somewhere.

00:42:26.30
Aaron
huh

00:42:28.03
Seth Macey
I don't care if it's Instagram. I don't care if it's your website. like Have a good quality body of work.

00:42:34.69
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah.

00:42:37.08
Seth Macey
Not the best, but

00:42:39.05
Aaron
no Good.

00:42:39.92
Seth Macey
not Not even in like the top 5%.

00:42:39.94
Aaron
and

00:42:42.37
Seth Macey
Just like really good work.

00:42:44.95
Aaron
Capable and and concepts and and good work.

00:42:47.51
Seth Macey
Yes. And then this...

00:42:48.46
Aaron
And I would say that point, We talk on the show a lot about getting your fair amount of money and what's given to you or what should be given to you and what these photos and content is worth for these people.

00:43:03.91
Aaron
But that's more of a business. That's just business. All right. I will hedge that bet with saying, if you don't go in with true passion about the work and money is a secondary thing,

00:43:23.11
Aaron
it's, it might not serve you as well. If Newt went in,

00:43:26.46
Seth Macey
Money is the primary thing?

00:43:28.27
Aaron
if money's and money, shouldn't be the primary thing necessarily to get in the door and to prove yourself and play the long game.

00:43:32.02
Seth Macey
Right. Yes.

00:43:37.19
Aaron
If newt from the start was like, I know what these photos are worth. I want a, I want $500 per concert photo. They're going to be like, yeah, they're good, but sorry, dude. Like, and if he, if he like stuck to that, the relationship might've squandered, but because he believed in them, he did a lot of stuff for, uh,

00:43:56.74
Seth Macey
Right. so

00:43:56.93
Aaron
above and beyond. He went a lot of free stuff and like, let me show you what I can do so that you cannot dispose of me. You won't want So

00:44:05.61
Seth Macey
Yes. How can I become indispensable?

00:44:07.27
Aaron
so

00:44:09.75
Aaron
That's where, when you love the company, it's much easier to be like, dude, I will, I'll, I'll work my ass off to get some of these microphone photos because i want to be a part of this whole thing versus like, I'll do it if you pay me.

00:44:25.12
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:44:27.64
Aaron
Like, they're like, okay, well, no, it's not the budget, but then you do it and you're like, And they're like, whoa, we never thought of something like that. Like, that's really, that was creative and different.

00:44:36.99
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:44:38.20
Aaron
has nothing to do with music, but it really shows off the colors. Obviously the colors are important to us on these microphones. Like, this is cool. We want to see more.

00:44:47.73
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:44:47.75
Aaron
Like, what what would it take for us to see more? And then you're like, let's do it for a reasonable price.

00:44:53.25
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:44:53.29
Aaron
And they're like, that's great. And then then you're back the next year and they're like, well, how about we do this project? Could you do this? And then you're like, yeah, let's let's let's get closer to fair.

00:45:00.81
Seth Macey
yeah

00:45:04.57
Aaron
But I still want to be a part of it. I don't want to work you out of the out of the game.

00:45:08.52
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:45:08.71
Aaron
i want I want to be a part of the team. Like what works for you?

00:45:10.97
Seth Macey
Yes. Yes. I'm nodding my head. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

00:45:14.38
Aaron
Yes, yes, yes.

00:45:14.65
Seth Macey
Because I felt this way with Campanaca, the summer camp I've been shooting again this summer. man, like I just feel part of that. It started out as a pitch. Like I'd like to do work for you guys.

00:45:26.69
Seth Macey
And after two years there, like I just, I want to just go there and shoot.

00:45:31.38
Aaron
Yeah.

00:45:31.60
Seth Macey
You know, I, it's like, you feel kids are coming up to you like, Hey cameraman, like some of them know my name. Like I gave one kid my Osmo at a run around camp for the day, trusting him with an $800 thing.

00:45:43.07
Seth Macey
um But like you just feel like part of a family where you forget about the money. And that's... and know we're getting off brand ambassadorship here. We'll get back on track. But I feel like you should try and get to a point with client work like that where you've...

00:45:56.90
Aaron
Yeah.

00:45:57.43
Seth Macey
I was sad that my gig ended this August with summer camp with Panaka because it's so fun being there because I love being outside.

00:46:02.59
Aaron
yeah

00:46:05.75
Seth Macey
I love swimming. I love canoeing. I love doing all that stuff. ah So because of that, I want to document in the best possible way ever so that these marketing materials get more kids to experience that thing that I value so much.

00:46:21.05
Seth Macey
And when you get to a place like that with a product, a brand, your best work shines through. It has to because you care about it

00:46:29.97
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah. And I think we're getting off topic, but I think it is topic because in in my experience, ambassadorships, unless you're like their guy, unless you're Chris Burkhardt, that's working with, you know, one, i'm making stuff up, but like one camera company and now he's an exclusive deal and he can't talk to or do anything else with, unless you're that, if you're promoting, which most things are, you're promoting their brand, you're tagging them, you're doing a few things.

00:47:00.04
Aaron
here and there. It's not going to be about the money. These are not the money gigs. This is about, I want to be a part of this culture. i want to be, I want to represent this brand.

00:47:10.46
Aaron
I want to use this brand. I do use this brand. I like this brand.

00:47:15.32
Seth Macey
Right.

00:47:15.35
Aaron
I want to be a part of it.

00:47:15.46
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:47:16.70
Aaron
I want to share my, I'm using this brand all the time. Why not share it? And why not have it, have me be part of the team because that feels pretty, uh, that feels good. I feel like, um, my stuff's being utilized.

00:47:31.70
Aaron
Uh, and I feel like I like the story of this brand and it's not about the money because it's not going to be, it's going to be like, you'll get, you'll get some nods here and there.

00:47:31.98
Seth Macey
right

00:47:41.87
Aaron
You'll get some free things, maybe a, a little bit of coin here and there, but it's not going to be the same sort of marketing budgets that people are looking for, for certain things.

00:47:43.82
Seth Macey
yeah

00:47:54.39
Seth Macey
Well, then to get back on the ambassador talk, I think, you know, one question, people coming into this, if they see the title, people, how do you, how do you pitch yourself to brands that P word?

00:48:05.01
Seth Macey
And this conversation is almost alluding to the fact that you kind of don't, I know people might be frustrated by that, but up until this point, if you've been listening, that, that kind of makes sense. You fall into it You know, you fall into it and I think it's up to you to then suggest if you want that official label to make the suggestion after so many case studies with with that company.

00:48:31.84
Aaron
Yeah, I agree.

00:48:33.25
Seth Macey
You know, i' I don't like this idea of how do you pitch yourself because it it gives this vision that you come in cold and you you try to convince someone.

00:48:43.06
Aaron
Oh, and some of them have like and like an affiliate, like ambassador and affiliate.

00:48:44.93
Seth Macey
So I

00:48:48.50
Aaron
They're, they're slightly different for sure. um Some just have literally like a link on their site. You want to be an ambassador? Give us your links. How many followers do you have?

00:49:01.70
Aaron
What's your body of work? We'll take a look at it You'll hear from us soon. Oh, you want to be an affiliate? That's even easier. do you have over a thousand followers or whatever their their recommendation is?

00:49:13.54
Aaron
Yeah, you do. All right, we'll give you a try. Like I said, no, no.

00:49:16.80
Seth Macey
Hey, nothing wrong with that either. But I think if you're looking for that family feeling, if you're not looking for that family feeling or feeling like you want to grow or be a part of something as a whole, if you don't have that feeling, don't go looking for an ambassadorship.

00:49:21.63
Aaron
Yeah.

00:49:32.39
Aaron
Right. would agree.

00:49:36.23
Aaron
Okay.

00:49:36.26
Seth Macey
um

00:49:36.32
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

00:49:37.19
Seth Macey
Another thing ah you know somebody might ask is what do brands look for in a photographer, videographer, ambassador? I feel like we've kind of covered this, but just to like spell it out, i think have a good body of work.

00:49:50.45
Seth Macey
And I think we were kind of talking about this beforehand. To be responsive, consistent, authentic, say what's on your mind, present good ideas,

00:50:05.04
Seth Macey
That's all you need. You don't need to be in the top 2%, 5% of the most skilled photographers. If anything, I would say a lot of companies want people that are more relatable.

00:50:16.03
Seth Macey
Maybe not all all the time. you know i'm sure Obviously, companies represent superstars who are incredible in their field. But I still believe that mastering the fundamentals, great emails, great ideas, responsive, deliver on time, do what you say you're going to do.

00:50:35.04
Aaron
Yeah, that stuff.

00:50:35.82
Seth Macey
You know, mention things when there's hiccups. Here's how we can fix this. Solution oriented. That stuff will not be beat. I'm shaking my hand if you're watching on YouTube. I'm doing the you know this one.

00:50:46.69
Aaron
Yeah.

00:50:47.26
Seth Macey
he won't be beat. like You know, there's a reason people like, you know, sports athletes, Tom Brady and stuff, they go to practice and they just do fundamentals over and over and over and over and over again.

00:50:58.32
Seth Macey
And like, that's what, that's... That's the bread and butter. You got to just hammer home those things because they're boring. They're not sexy. They're not exciting.

00:51:08.98
Seth Macey
Just being a master at mundane, boring things that people get sick of or can't focus on will set you apart.

00:51:19.67
Aaron
I have nothing more to add to that, but it's, it's very true. It's very true. Be, be mature, be grateful, be communicative, do it well, do it often and get in, get your foot in the door.

00:51:36.69
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:51:36.97
Aaron
If you really like a company, do some free work, do pitch some ideas, pitch, reach out, find a, find a contact, be an affiliate. Oh, I really want to be an ambassador. i don't want to be affiliate. That's, that seems lame.

00:51:51.09
Seth Macey
Right.

00:51:51.18
Aaron
Oh, you lose already.

00:51:54.19
Seth Macey
Yeah, you

00:51:54.90
Aaron
Yeah. Like get in there, get in there and ah try it. Find some companies, look at their websites. A lot of them have links and they're looking for photo work and they're looking for people, creative people to do things.

00:52:07.61
Aaron
Look at, you know, they're, maybe they even want jobs in their job postings. You can potentially find something that is interesting in a way to get in um and have additional skills.

00:52:17.63
Seth Macey
Sure.

00:52:20.99
Seth Macey
Sure. Another thing I want to mention too is suggest tasks or roles that you can fulfill that match your skill set. And I'll use myself as an example because that's all I can do here.

00:52:34.85
Seth Macey
um So with Tamron, right? They don't come to me for any social media stuff, really. Maybe like the odd post or we'll collab on. i think we're going to collaborate on the ah short form review video we made, but.

00:52:45.41
Aaron
Yeah.

00:52:49.11
Seth Macey
They have their big photographer accounts that they'll reach out to and and pay money to to do a review or or they have that. like That's part of their marketing strategy. Like they're not coming to me for social media content because they know I don't like socials. They know I'm not posting three times a day.

00:53:07.71
Seth Macey
Know those things. And I want to let people know this because.

00:53:13.57
Seth Macey
I want to let you know that if if you're not big on socials, it doesn't matter. You probably have a skill set as a photographer that can still serve them. So what do they come to me for? They come to me for the show here.

00:53:24.51
Seth Macey
They come to me for um writing assignments because I love writing. Like I do a lot of blog posts. Right. So like you can be and ambassador and do different roles within

00:53:40.26
Seth Macey
the company. You don't need to be doing everything.

00:53:44.92
Aaron
Right.

00:53:45.64
Seth Macey
You don't need to be the front facing camera influencer. Maybe some of, maybe there's an area that doesn't exist. Maybe that's your end. Hey, I would be really good at doing this. I have prior experience as a journalist.

00:53:57.64
Seth Macey
I'm also a photographer. I love your lenses. Can I try one out? mean, that's using that example. Don't everyone go rush and pitch Tamron because my contact will be upset. um

00:54:11.54
Seth Macey
I guess what I'm trying to say is there's, There's different roles that exist or where you can create within um ah company that will fit your current skill set and then you can grow from there.

00:54:28.35
Aaron
Yeah, I like that. Yeah, get in get in at the ground level. If you love the company, you're going to want. You won't mind working at the ground level and working your way up.

00:54:39.84
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:54:40.73
Aaron
just I just think that.

00:54:42.39
Seth Macey
And then another question I wrote down, I was was writing questions, excuse me, down, trying to get in the mindset of somebody who's listening, what they would want to hear, what they may ask. um

00:54:57.92
Seth Macey
Any mistakes to avoid or lessons you've learned? This may seem

00:55:05.95
Seth Macey
obvious, but your contact is your contact.

00:55:13.40
Seth Macey
Don't go straight to marketing or around them or over their head with ideas.

00:55:19.88
Aaron
Yep.

00:55:22.03
Seth Macey
Your contact is your contact.

00:55:25.77
Seth Macey
um

00:55:29.04
Seth Macey
Set up phone calls. Check in with your people. Have a yearly, you know, where they just see your face and you can

00:55:37.87
Aaron
yep

00:55:42.10
Seth Macey
Ask things how things are going. um

00:55:49.05
Seth Macey
Those are kind of nuanced, but I think those two things are very, very important. And I would say another one is

00:56:02.25
Seth Macey
when you think you have a really great idea and they turn it down, don't continue to push it.

00:56:12.41
Seth Macey
Take the no. It may still be a great idea.

00:56:17.14
Seth Macey
it just may not fit the current overarching goals.

00:56:20.76
Aaron
Yeah.

00:56:22.33
Seth Macey
I think we can get attached to our ideas. Like, oh, why don't they want to do it? I've been there. um So those are kind of maybe some

00:56:35.06
Seth Macey
three nuanced things that I would suggest.

00:56:39.46
Aaron
Yeah. I would suggest to like, say you start as an affiliate somewhere and you have to do two posts and two stories. That's what everyone's doing. That's the minimum. That's the, that's what they want.

00:56:54.08
Aaron
Do, do a bit more. ah Try to push yourself again. <unk> We're all trying to stand out a little bit, ah stand out in certain ways.

00:57:06.13
Aaron
Yeah. I've done it with cabin stuff where or we have to, where we mentioned like, Hey, we have a podcast too. That'd be interesting if we did a podcast or did some recording in your cabin space and then tagged like trying to go above and beyond in different ways that other people might not have access to or think about, I think can set you apart.

00:57:31.06
Aaron
Uh, again, Newt was on the show. He talked about his engineering career and building things for these sets or Goose's photo ideas or video ideas, creating the actual concept versus just like I'm to try to take a photo of what's happening, like actually creating it.

00:57:53.16
Aaron
And that sets him apart from probably most photographers to be able to weld metal and machine shop certain things to make a photo or a video.

00:58:02.66
Seth Macey
Yeah. That guy's a freak.

00:58:03.96
Aaron
Right.

00:58:04.70
Seth Macey
That guy's a freak.

00:58:04.86
Aaron
Yeah. So.

00:58:05.79
Seth Macey
He's in, I don't know many people. I don't know if I know anyone who is more of a savage than Mike.

00:58:13.08
Aaron
Mo. But again, it

00:58:15.98
Seth Macey
That's your competition. and don't mean that to demoralize you.

00:58:17.82
Aaron
Yep.

00:58:19.35
Seth Macey
It's just the level of work

00:58:21.45
Aaron
Yeah.

00:58:23.83
Seth Macey
Go back and listen that episode twice last week.

00:58:25.97
Aaron
Yeah. Last week and the other one.

00:58:27.34
Seth Macey
just put in the search bar, you at Nooch10, Mike Nooch-Reno on this show, and listen to the progression. He was the fourth episode ever.

00:58:38.45
Seth Macey
We're on 288. I forget where his second one was. He came on a third time and then a fourth time. Listen to them in succession and just listen to that ride.

00:58:46.11
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

00:58:47.82
Seth Macey
It's insane.

00:58:47.97
Aaron
Yeah. It's insane. But the good news is he's busy doing what he's doing with one rock and roll band right now.

00:58:56.70
Seth Macey
Yeah.

00:58:56.80
Aaron
So he's out of the game, but you know, but that is the mentality. ah think of, Oh, I'm really into this, uh, outdoor apparel company. I'm going to hit it hard.

00:59:07.81
Aaron
I'm to show them a lot of different things and I'm going to like, keep doing it until I get in the door as small as it may be and build up from there.

00:59:19.40
Seth Macey
Yeah. We'll perhaps try and get a brand ambassador or a company on and ask what they look for.

00:59:25.84
Aaron
Yeah.

00:59:26.99
Seth Macey
Because I think this isn't a one size fits all, right? Like it's going to be different for everybody and for, you know, companies are looking for different things.

00:59:30.22
Aaron
Oh.

00:59:34.21
Aaron
Yeah.

00:59:34.75
Seth Macey
um You know, I've heard of companies who just like, hey, we don't want any content. We don't want you to post anything. Don't put anything in your bio. We just we just want you to be boots on the ground and and make connections for us. If you think there's a good person we should be introduced to, please do that. I've heard that I've heard.

00:59:52.05
Seth Macey
You know, we need two posts, two reels per month as part of the thing and and everything in between, man. So, um you know, one last thing I'll say is if you're if you're wanting to be an ambassador for the clout or because you want free stuff, yeah I don't know if it's going to work out for you.

01:00:10.56
Seth Macey
um I think those are just consequences and bonuses of being authentic and being really psyched to be part of a family.

01:00:18.60
Aaron
yeah i would agree those ones fade quick

01:00:24.67
Seth Macey
Cool. Well, that's today's episode.

01:00:26.33
Aaron
Yeah, that's all I got.

01:00:27.70
Seth Macey
um

01:00:27.80
Aaron
I'm ready for bed.

01:00:28.90
Seth Macey
Leave comments on Spotify if you have more questions that we should follow up with. DM us, email us.

01:00:32.34
Aaron
Yeah, please.

01:00:34.96
Seth Macey
um If there's things you feel like we missed or that you wanted to hear more on, we value you those suggestions. And as always, feel free to leave your rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It's a cost-free, effective way to support the show.

01:00:49.04
Seth Macey
With that, good night, man.

01:00:50.91
Aaron
Take care.