Hi! This episode is being held with one of the most talented and creative photo directors! She has worked with companies such as The Mrs. Box, Minted and Valuspa and has been recognized and featured in magazines like Martha Stewart Weddings and Vogue. She styles and directs photo shoots and is best known for her textured patterns, clever play with color, and ability to bring a client’s vision to life. So welcome to the podcast, owner of MaeMae, Megan Gonzalez!
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE:
- The process of working with a new client
- Important steps to working with new clients
- A few mistakes to learn from
- Inspiration vs. Copying
The process of working with a new client
For Megan, her process starts before she even knows the client. She gathers inspiration via Pinterest or magazine clippings and creates her own personalized library of inspiration. Rather than referencing other people in the industry, she has her own library of objects that inspire her and helps to create something unique for the client. When meeting a client for the first time, Megan catalogs everything they need for the images and then makes a list of the photos that are needed to achieve what the client wants. Then decides how to divvy up the time to get the photos that they need. Once the overall theme is decided, she will find a large arrangement of photos to find that perfect photo for the campaign.
Important steps to working with new clients
After her experience with branding and wedding stationary, Megan has created an in-depth questionnaire to give new clients which helps her understand their needs and branding style. In a few instances, clients have not filled out the questionnaire prior to meeting, and things did not go as well as they could have. From the start, you have to know what will work for your client and their brand, so it is important to gather as much information as possible. Sometimes it might take time for the client to see the same vision as you. Above all the client’s best interest is always the most important. Giving appropriate suggestions and gaining the clients trust is a vital step to the beginning of the process.
Mistakes to learn from
The mistakes Megan has made over the years, are what fuel her entire contract and questionnaire. Mistakes are not who you are, they are incidents in history and there are great ways to move past them. Figuring out how to frame a mistake that you necessarily did not make, and offering a solution to the client is something Megan learned early in her career. Another mistake Megan made was not having a process in order. With a 35 page questionnaire, some clients would not fill it out or would not fill it out appropriately. So, she would continue to move on because she assumed she was doing the client a favor by saving time. However, every time the client would not be happy because she did not understand what they were hoping for. Making the questionnaire mandatory now helps for things to run more efficiently. Once you create a process that has proved to be successful, do not let people do things differently.
Inspiration vs. Copying
Sometimes the line between inspiration and copying can become very blurred and creating the distinction can be difficult. Inspiration is looking at many different mediums and finding out what sticks out to you and what you can apply it for in your industry. Copying is when you look at something that is used for the same application in your industry and replicating it for yourself. Copying as an exercise can be helpful to help teach yourself how someone else is achieving a final look and understanding the pieces they used to make it work. But, this should not ever be your final product or even shown to someone else. When creating something for a client in a specific industry, avoid looking for inspiration within that same industry. Look at design in a completely unrelated industry and pull inspiration from there because this will avoid triggers for you to copy.
“Fall in love with the process, and the results will come” – Eric Thomas
CONNECTING:
Instagram
SPONSORS:
Showit – User-Friendly Web Design Platform: Use code MAGIC for 10% off your subscription!
Black River Imaging – High Quality Online Print Site: Use code MAGIC for 20% off your order!
If you enjoy the content that we are putting out here at Mistakes Make Magic, please take just a few minutes to SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and leave a review! We appreciate and value you!!
