Podcast Episode 4 - How to Make Your Clients Feel Seen (and Why It Makes You More Bookings)
Welcome to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast.
The place where you stop chasing clients and start creating experiences that transform lives and build loyalty and consistent clients. A consistent business. I'm photographer Matthew Jordan Smith, and today we're going deep into something that would change your work and your bookings forever.
How to make your clients feel truly seen
and why that. More than marketing, lighting, or posing is the key to steady soul aligned clients.
You probably already know this. Pretty pictures. They aren't enough anymore. Here's the thing. We live in a world overflowing with nice pictures, but people aren't starving for another pretty picture. They're starving to feel something, to feel beautiful, to feel seen, to feel powerful, to feel like they matter.
Most people walk through life feeling unseen, even by themselves. So when someone steps in front of your lens and feels truly witnessed, not judged, not rushed, not reduced, but seen, that moment becomes unforgettable. That moment is what gets remembered, referred and shared. So how do you make people feel seen?
Making your clients feel seen starts before you ever touch your camera.
It starts with your presence, your energy, and your questions. So here's three questions for you to ask every single client before you photograph them. Number one.
What would you like to feel when you see your images? Most people never think about this, but when you ask, it gets them connected to their inner world, not just their outer appearance. You'll hear answers like, I want to feel strong. I want to remember. Who I am. I want to see myself the way my partner sees me Now, you're not just photographing them,
you're photographing a feeling.
Question number two, what part of yourself are you learning to love? Now, this may seem like an odd question, but recently after a photo shoot, the whole crew went to dinner and I photographed a gentleman and a lot of men don't share things like this, but after the shoot, the person who I photographed told me that he, for the first time went through.
A, a change. He changed his hairstyle. He, he bought glasses and he felt like in the pictures he was finally being himself. Now, if you don't know, I live in Japan and during the photo shoot, the gentleman who I photographed, wore a new version of a kimono. It was a kimono that is half kimono and half Western suit, but beautiful.
I photographed him in a way where he felt like a modern day samurai. He told me he felt like his ancestors were with him. It was incredible. So now. Let me ask that second question again. What part of yourself are you learning to love?
Maybe it's the part of you that you've never seen.
Maybe it's the part of you that's hidden deep in your heart.
When you ask these kinds of questions, it helps them feel safe in being real. It shifts the shoot from performance to intimacy, and it gives you powerful insight into how to guide them gently, not just physically, but emotionally. Through the experience of your photo shoot.
Question number three, when was the last time you felt truly seen by someone? Now, yes, this question goes deep. It opens stories, it tells you where the wounds are. And where the breakthroughs can happen. If they say, I don't know, that's your chance to be that person for them today, to truly see them and let them shine.
When you do this, when you help someone feel safe, feel beautiful, feel handsome. Feel seen. They don't just remember their photos, they remember you. They talk about the experience. They refer you not because of your price, but because of how you made them feel about themselves. They come back 'cause they felt something they want to feel again.
This is how steady clients happen, how steady bookings happen. This is how your work becomes word of mouth magnetic.
This is how your confidence grows Impostor syndrome vanished because you know you're creating real impact.
So if you want to make your work, stand out. If you want your clients to stay, refer and feel something real. Start here. Ask better questions, create deeper presence and make them feel truly seen.
If this episode spoke to you, truly spoke to your heart, and you're ready to make your photography transformational, take the next step
when you follow me on Instagram.
I'm under Matthew Jordan Smith.
Come join my email list There. You'll find more support and ways to connect it deeper.
And if you loved today's episode, please leave a five star review. It helps other photographers find this work. Subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode. And again, follow me on Instagram. I'm under Matthew Jordan Smith. I share tips behind the scenes moments and connection daily. You're not just a photographer. You're someone who helps people see themselves, and that my friend is extremely powerful.
I'll see you next week. Bye for now. Oh, and don't forget, always dream big.
WEBSITE’S
Matthew’s latest book: Aretha Cool – On Sale at Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1GC6JXY
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