I spent an hour with 3 of my favorite clients this afternoon while hanging another canvas for their collection from their daughter’s first year of life. I could have spent the entire afternoon there. I drove away feeling incredibly lucky for all that I have in my business. It reminded me of something I once heard Justin & Mary Marantz say at a photography conference years ago, “Business is a lot like love: if you’ll hold out for the clients who love you for YOU, you’re going to be much happier in the end. If they ask you to change or compare you to someone else, it was never right to begin with.”
This is my 15th year of business as a portrait photographer. Fifteenth. Crazy. It took me a long time to realize that accepting jobs with clients that I wasn’t the perfect fit for was only doing an injustice to both myself and my client. I’ve worked so hard to find myself, my style, and my passion over the years. The clients and moments that make my stomach flip, make me feel a little light-headed, and make me squeal with excitement are what I’m after. And that’s all. It’s pretty simple. We treat our clients as we would our friends … and most often, that’s exactly what they become. We write them love notes, we send them little gifts, we remember their birthdays, we treat them to cookies and lattes. These are the things that make me feel special and I want to spread that love to those I care about.
Each year in business is a gift. I am so very fortunate for all the amazing clients that continue to support my dreams, my goals, my passion. I am forever grateful to you, my friends. Love wins.