Stop Hustling the All and Everything and Start CONNECTING with Your Portfolio

In this episode of the Studio Takeover Podcast, Cat Ford-Coates discusses the challenges faced by photographers in the unregulated creative industry, emphasizing the importance of a strong portfolio and effective marketing strategies. 

She highlights the need for photographers to curate their portfolios to attract their ideal clients and create emotional connections through their work. Cat also stresses the significance of consistency in style and messaging to foster client desire and engagement, ultimately guiding photographers to think like their clients and understand their emotional needs.

You can find Cat on Instagram at @catfordcoates

Transcript

Cat Ford-Coates (00:01.518)
Welcome to the Studio Takeover Podcast. I'm Cat Ford Coates. Now instead of an interview this week, I thought I would come to you with a topic that I'm finding over and over again with lots of conversations that I'm having with photographers. You know, the photography industry as a whole.

as a creative industry and you know it's unregulated and there's a pretty low barrier to entry coming into the photo space and photographers are always asking like, God I just I need more customers, I need leads, I want to be shooting more, everyone says I'm too expensive, they want to make it about everybody else.

But then I go and I look at their Instagram or their website or their Facebook business page and all of the organic efforts that I'm seeing in their marketing and sometimes when paid ads roll through my feeds, but primarily with their organic efforts.

They're making everything about them. Right? And there's something to creating authority. Right? There absolutely is. Your reputation will help build your authority in general. But the organic efforts are all buy now, book me, DM to inquire, many sessions this, many sessions that. They're making everything about them.

And so when your audience sees that, it sort of immediately puts you into kind of the big box store box. You know, the Walmart rollback and, you know, things like that with your big box stores. The business model for high volume and low dollar, because that's where we think we need to be. Because we don't know any better. Look, you know, photo.

Cat Ford-Coates (02:21.228)
has a low barrier to entry. You need a camera and a way to take payment.

and

We assume that that means that we have to be cheap and we can be at any level and guys look I started my business a long time ago and I wasn't good when I started either. In fact like look I'm I'm not even a great photographer. I'm a good photographer but I'm certainly not great.

And that brings me to Folio.

You know, and I'll come back to the piece around how we're marketing, but you have to understand and appreciate that you need to have the baseline of a portfolio in order to position anything saleable. And it doesn't have to be a lot. You know, like you need proof of concept, y'all. And

Cat Ford-Coates (03:23.342)
For those of you who have been in it for a minute, kind of appreciate what I'm saying here is how many of us came in and were just like, oh, I mean, I need to build this portfolio and I need to practice and I need to be more. And then there's this weird thing that happens where we decide we have to get paid. Well, guys, if you're not proficient at something, what on earth makes you think you should be paid for it?

A. No, that's not to say that we can't accept tips or offer a value from a prospect. But many people are trying to hit the ground running with professional rates shooting for five or 10K a month, and they still aren't in a position to really appreciate how their camera works. And that's fair. I did it. I did it.

I built a portfolio while I was building the business and I think there's some merit to hoping that happens. But really we need to have a portfolio at a baseline if we're trying to not just get people to book with us but to command payment for our work. And there's...

There's something that happens with a portfolio. And like I said, you don't have to have a lot. Three to five demographics, right? And two to four images for each of those people to showcase that you're consistent in your skill sets for the quality of your imagery and consistent in the evolution of your style. Now, what does that mean? Look, I can take a look at my portfolio from 10 years and then my portfolio today and...

there are threads of consistency. Now, what I shoot today is more in focus, for sure. And the color grades improved and my posing's improved and my lighting certainly has improved. And you don't have to come out of the gate and be the best photographer in the universe. But I think a lot of us put the cart before the horse and...

Cat Ford-Coates (05:45.814)
You know, we start out and we think like, I need to get better at editing. Well, there's something to be said with quality editing and retouching skills. 1000%. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. But more importantly, your lighting control and how you connect with the person in front of your camera is even more valuable. But there's...

when you're starting to build that portfolio, you feel like you have to have the all and the everything. Like everything you've ever possibly shot just because you're trying to fill space. And whether you're building a website or your Instagram or what have you, you don't have to share absolutely everything. Sometimes it's just practice. And maybe you only get one really

terrific image that you're proud of out of an entire shoot.

Well, let's not show everything that's kind of okay. Show the one thing you're really proud of. You want to really start honing in on the recipe of your imagery, right? But your portfolio isn't only there for validation that, I have a camera and I will photograph you, but it's also a method of persuasion.

And that method of persuasion is really there to entice people.

Cat Ford-Coates (07:25.73)
When we're talking about photography, you know, our understanding and appreciation of the impact that we have will grow over time. A lot of photographers and creatives struggle to understand really the impact that their work has on their clients. And, you know, that does evolve.

But you also, once you have a business, have to really understand that what you're creating with your portfolio is there to be curated for your ideal avatar. Now, you can have a broad avatar, right? That broad avatar is about, you know, I want to photograph people, or I want to photograph...

anyone and everyone who will let me. Right? Whether it's young kids, old people, curvy women, athletic women, you know, insert thing here. But it can also be incredibly concise. I want to work with people who want to be transformed in working with me. And my favorite clients are women over 35 who

really appreciate the value of that impact on their lives and for their children. Those are two very different avatars, aren't they? Anyone and everyone or these women here who appreciate personal transformation. Right? So as you begin to dial in on the people that you enjoy photographing, well now our portfolio is an opportunity for us to entice them for more.

You're there to connect with an emotional response. When we're in business, our work has to solve problems, not just be about how sharp the image is. They don't care about that, they don't care. You could have the most beautiful work in the world and an audience may see it and just be like, that's cool. How can you connect your work

Cat Ford-Coates (09:49.166)
to them and their goals for their lives. Now, I'm speaking more specifically about portrait here than anything, but it really is like, your portfolio is your body of work. It's something to be incredibly proud of because every time you shoot, you're going to learn something, whether that is about yourself, about the other person, or about how you create.

But most photographers in their first few years are working so hard to create the damn portfolio that they forget that that curation needs to happen. The curation needs to happen to show what it is that you want to sell, right? And here we are showing absolutely everything that we've ever shot just so we have a body of work. Well, now it's time to...

dial that back. You know, I carried an image of one of my clients in my portfolio for far too long because she was an older woman and she came to me for some branding work, some headshots. you know, really she was a very average 60 something woman who was starting a new career and she was writing a book.

and I think she co-wrote it with gosh, I can't remember his name, Brian Tracy. That's who it was. This woman was not.

traditionally considered very attractive. She's in her 60s, but she was a very sweet lady and ambitious and ready to go. And it was not my best work, but she loved her images and she leveraged them in her marketing and got new clients out of the library that we created. And it was a really great experience for both of us. I learned a lot about how to, you

Cat Ford-Coates (11:56.206)
pose and light people who are older and have limited mobility and all in all, know, terrific opportunity. But again, not my best work. And I kept her in my portfolio because I wanted proof of concept that I could photograph older, curvier women and have it be effective. And an inquiry reached out and commented, because she knew the woman.

And she said, well, hey, I can see that you worked with La La La. And if you could make her look that terrific, like I knew you were the one to call. Now, that photo shoot with that woman was in 2018, 2017, 2017. And I kept that image in my portfolio until, I think, probably 2023 when I finally looked at it and said,

I'm perfectly confident in photographing this demographic. Why am I keeping this image here?

It's certainly not going to compel other people to call me. I have other work, right, with this demographic here, and that is far superior. And so I curated it and took that out. My body of work has to entice people to want to work with me. Yes, the quality of the work is important. It is a priority. Your lighting skills, your posing skills, your composition, your color grade, all of the things.

But when you show too much of a variety, what that does to the viewer, when they're on your website, they're on your Instagram, and they are seeing outdoor, inside, low light, bright light, super vibrant, all of these different things, they start to get confused. And a confused customer is not a customer.

Cat Ford-Coates (14:02.146)
When they get overwhelmed, they don't know what they can possibly expect from you. So for instance, I shot on location for a long time. Before I had my studio and then when I had my studio and then when I was shooting a lot on destination, right? So whether it's New York City or Bali or Los Angeles, there was a lot of location work in my portfolio. But then I also love studio work.

I get to control the weather in the studio. But everybody who called me wanted something outside, wanted something outside, wanted something outside. And if they were local, like everyday local clients versus the large more scalable branding work, the local client, well, just something outside, just something outside. But you know, they wanted it in February. Well, I live in North Carolina and February, there ain't no leaves on trees. You know, so unless we're in an urban setting,

You know, it was just kind of drab and, my gosh, no thank you. But if you're not showing what it is that you want to sell to entice them to create the work that you're wanting, there's no clear direction. So if I want to be shooting in studio and all that I'm showing is outdoor, city, park, landscape, well guess what?

inquiries I'm gonna get.

Cat Ford-Coates (15:33.368)
Pro tip, it's not the studio work they want if all you're showing is outdoor. And when it's outdoor and in a park setting without a really clear cohesive style, then you're really running into trouble. Because now you're going in 47 different directions, you still haven't quite figured out a consistency with your style yet. So it's all over the map. Now I'm not saying don't create variety.

The evolution of your work is going to demand that you create variety because you have to know how to shoot in low light settings and bright and open and midday sun and how can we make that look really terrific and engaging.

but the show off of all of the things. Have you ever heard the saying, what's the quote? What's the quote? It is, if you don't, if you stand for everything, you stand for nothing. Or if it's, if you don't stand for anything, you will stand for everything. We're creatives.

And that's not to say you have to choose, you know, it's not a linear, you know, like I'm only shooting in studio or I'm only shooting on location or I'm only, only, only. The key here is to develop your skills in such a way that you can curate your portfolio to start connecting with a solution that you provide and your audience can recognize themselves in your work.

You want to be selective of imagery that reflects the emotional connection, the dream vision of how somebody wants to be seen. You know, I photograph primarily women. I do photograph men, but the majority of my work is in women. And over and over again, you know, the desire. Yes, they want to have something beautiful.

Cat Ford-Coates (17:48.728)
but they want to be seen in the way that they hope other people see them. That part of themselves that isn't always quote unquote obvious, but in the way that they want to be seen versus the sweatpants at the grocery store with six kids in tow, right? The, not just like male gaze desirable, but that confidence that's just magnetic.

and the vulnerability that's just close enough that it's actually strength.

Cat Ford-Coates (18:26.178)
That's the version of themselves that they're hoping to gain out of this experience. Now, when you circle that back to what problem is that solving? Well, the problem that that's solving is they feel invisible.

If they feel invisible, that means that nobody's seeing them at all, let alone the way they want to be seen. Or that's the way it feels for them. That's very different than, that's a pretty photo, I think I'll call and book a photo shoot.

and certainly different than book now.

Book with me today. Mini sessions, $4.87. I'm exaggerating, of course, but you know, our portfolio has to speak to the heart of what it is that we do. And your portfolio is the body of your work, but it's also to command that attention and create the desire for them to work with you. How could that possibly be achieved with

Book now and save.

Cat Ford-Coates (19:40.94)
So how do you make your portfolio work for you? Be very intentional and you know what y'all? Fucking ruthless.

look at every single image in your portfolio and say, is this the type of work I want to create more of?

We can look at our work and say, God, that was such a fun day. I loved it so much. But if your skills and your style has evolved past that, then that image can be a blog post where your primary portfolio is there to showcase only the best of what you have and the work you want to create more of. Less is more, y'all.

You do not need 5,000 images in your portfolio.

I'm going to say that again. You do not need 5,000 images in your portfolio. And start thinking like a client. Look for your own photo shoot. Hell, book your own photo shoot. What do you want out of a photographer? Do you want somebody that's just going to slap everything onto a disk and shoot it over to you? Or do you want somebody that's going to care for you throughout the entire process so that you feel prepared?

Cat Ford-Coates (21:08.674)
What kind of work do you want to be included in, the subject of? Everyone deserves that. Everyone deserves an opportunity to be seen and share a story about their life and who they are. And it doesn't matter if you're going to pass it on to your kids and your grandkids. Maybe it's there just for you and you know what? That's okay. You don't need to have a

bigger reason than you to be photographed. Let me be clear. And this is true for you and you and you and you and you.

Cat Ford-Coates (21:47.66)
You are a no-

You don't need the added benefit of marketing or brand. You don't need the added benefit of, one day my kids will have this. What if you are good enough exactly as you are right now to be seen and photographed?

What do you want to take away from that experience? What story do you want to tell? Whose work would you like to compliment the message of that story for you?

Cat Ford-Coates (22:25.248)
I bet you land on a photographer that has a consistent style with a concise portfolio.

Cat Ford-Coates (22:37.366)
What emotions do you want to feel during your session?

or when you see your artwork for the first time.

Cat Ford-Coates (22:52.202)
What of that information do you want to communicate in your work? That is what your audience is looking for. They're looking for you to alleviate the pain of being invisible. They're looking for you to create a body of work that says, my God, I want that. I want that feeling.

Cat Ford-Coates (23:20.066)
I want that feeling.

Maybe way to test that is, you know, ask some friends. Moreover, not photographers, but everyday people that are not in the photo space to take a look. Maybe you collect or even just send them your website as it is or your Instagram and say, hey, can you take a look at my work and just tell me what three adjectives come to mind when you see it?

Cat Ford-Coates (23:52.416)
What emotions do you see these people feeling? How would you describe my work? Right? What emotions, what adjectives? When I was new, those answers were usually like, they look like they're having so much fun. And then as that evolved, it was the client saying they had so much fun, but then describing the work was, my God, that's me.

Or their friends, my god, that's your daughter?

the girls look so incredible. Wow.

Cat Ford-Coates (24:37.708)
and the list will go on.

It's a really great way to get a pulse check on how everyday people are receiving your portfolio.

Cat Ford-Coates (24:52.354)
Then when you start leaning in, you start curating that portfolio. And this goes for social, this goes for paid ads, this goes for website, this goes for print advertising, your accordion cards, your magazines.

What messaging pairs well with your work? Go back to those adjectives, go back to those emotions. And I want you to start speaking to those experiences. It's not about the mini-session.

It's not about the price point. I don't care if you're $300 or $3,000.

It's about the messaging that motivates people based off of their values. And for some people, those values are about empowering others. For some people, it's about saving time. For some people, it's about taking risk. For some people, it's about being a part of something larger than themselves. You get to decide what that is, who you want to work with, what do they value?

and tie your work to those values. An example of that might being...

Cat Ford-Coates (26:19.406)
something like a 40 over 40 or a come as you are project. Well, how might you intertwine being a part of something larger than yourself into a photo experience with you? Maybe that is a private VIP group on your website or on Facebook, or you're creating a coffee table book with a book launch or an exhibition at the end of this project.

Those events in and of themselves turn into sales funnels when they're done correctly. Right? But now the people who participate in your personal project are a part of a larger community of people with a similar purpose to be a part of something larger. Well, what would cause somebody or compel someone to want to be a part of something larger than themselves?

Right? How many of us sit there and go, it's just me. it's just me. You know what? I say take that out of your vocabulary right now. You are not just anything.

But for those who want to be connected to a community of people who want to have an impact on whether we're featuring women over 40 or showing up for Come As You Are without retouching and ball gowns, right? Like it's really just about connecting one-on-one with someone exactly as they are today. Showing up with authenticity is valuable AF.

Cat Ford-Coates (28:02.688)
And then when you're describing that imagery. Now for your SEO, it might be something like, you know, redheaded woman by lake with young son in red coat and blue jeans. But as you're describing this imagery in a blog post or in an Instagram post or on a Facebook thing in your newsletter.

Cat Ford-Coates (28:29.998)
Talk about why she's there, what she's getting out of it. What part of your process and how you produce your work supports her goals and her emotional needs? That's why she's there. People make buying decisions based off of emotions, not logic. They're justified with logic.

but they're purchased on emotion. Make no bones about it.

So what do you do? How do you figure out where you're at? Audit your portfolio. Audit. I love auditing. Right? Go in and say, okay, everything that's not my highest caliber of work, I'm taking out. If this is not work I want to continue to produce for the people I want to produce it for, it's gone. 86, bye.

Cat Ford-Coates (29:23.798)
Now that doesn't mean that you couldn't certainly put that series or whatever into a blog post to continue to boost your SEO. You certainly can. Just make sure all of the featured imagery for that blog post versus the gallery that's inside it is work you want to create more of and the ideal avatar in which you want to create it for. Right? But I want you to think about having that motivational messaging based off of what

the client is getting when they work with you to everything you're looking at. So anything gets to stay if it meets the values of your purpose in your business and the emotional desires of the client. Now I want you to go through and review for consistency is your editing style.

your emotion and your quality consistent throughout of the imagery that you've selected. Now, there is something to be said with sharing older work, right? The before and after, the look how far I've come, absolutely 1000%. You just want to make sure you don't discount the experience that your earlier clients had with you because your service will improve as well, right? But you want to make sure that

It's consistency, and you'll understand what that looks like the more you do it. The same way with retouching. You know, when we first start learning how to retouch, everybody's plastic and looks crazy. It's because our eyes aren't trained. So this kind of an audit is actually really great to go back through and revisit pretty regularly. Now I'm not saying torch everything that doesn't meet your current standard, not my point.

Every single one of those people has a lived experience and has supported you in your business. I'm not saying torch them. Please do not. But you do want to audit what it is that you're showing because what you show is what you're going to get calls about. So, for example, one of the women that I work with works a lot outdoors in the equestrian world and she's been wanting to do more and more and more studio work. She went and she got a studio and

Cat Ford-Coates (31:46.188)
lives in a small town and was getting really frustrated that nobody wanted to do any studio work with her. And I said, well, are you showing studio work? well, well, no. Well, you're asking people to trust you for studio work when you don't have any proof of concept.

Right? So we really want to make sure that we're showing what we want to create.

Cat Ford-Coates (32:15.926)
So what's the purpose of your portfolio?

It's yes to to stand on your reputation and show this body of work, but it should also help to guide your customers to booking with you. Not just, hey look at me, look how great I am. No, it's to connect with your audience to let them appreciate that they can connect and see the desire they have for themselves in your work. They have to be able to see themselves. It's why representation matters.

It's not just, look at her work, it's good.

It's, want that. So how can you create desire? Stop hustling on social. Stop, hey, look at me, look how great I am. Like, yes, you want to celebrate your accolades. Like, you know, if you want awards or accreditation, like nobody can take that away from you and it helps position you as an authority. But it's always about what the client is getting. Always.

Intentionally and think like a client. What are they hoping to discover within your work?

Cat Ford-Coates (33:33.8)
And you know what? I'm gonna go ahead and challenge you right now. I want you to pick five images that do not fit your ideal client and remove them. Then DM me on Instagram. On Instagram, I'm at Katfordcoats and I want you to tell me how it felt.

I want you to tell me, my God, it was so scary. It actually took me like three hours to actually pull them off my website. Or what you did with them instead. Because like I said, I don't want you to torch them, but how can you leverage that imagery that you're pulling out of the portfolio to still garner attention for your business?

So hit me up on Instagram at Katfordcoats, C-A-T-F-O-R-D-C-O-A-T-E-S. And I wanna know.

And next week, next week we are talking to a very, very funny, funny man.

And we talk all about his purpose as a portrait photographer who specializes in photographing women over 40 and why it's so important that all of us appreciate our purpose with our work beyond the camera.

Cat Ford-Coates (35:01.656)
We'll see you then.