Ian Ivey Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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I don't think that's enough. .... Your passion about photography in general is irrelevant. A specific interest and commitment within the realm of photography might be compelling to someone who believes in the same thing.
Agree. Indeed, it can actually be a turn off if it's what you lead with, which is why we all throw up just a little bit every time we read someone's ABOUT ME page that includes "Photography is my passion."
There are three places where you might be tempted to reveal "passion" to a prospective client: 1) in promotional materials (mainly your web site) that the prospect might read before ever meeting you, 2) during an initial phone consultation, or 3) during an in-person meeting before booking. I suspect that the longer you wait, the less dangerous and more valuable it is.
Todd's comment linking passion with an amateur disposition is insightful. I'd bet that everyone here has formed precisely that opinion about many photographers after reading an "about me" page waxing about passion. The most dangerous time to reveal this kind of information is when the prospective client knows nothing about your personality or any common interests they might share with you. They have no context, at that point, against which to balance statements that alone might communicate "Hi, I'm a little bit crazy. CrrRAZY ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY!!! WOOOooooohooo!" {Jazz hands!}
Talking about it on the phone still has a chance of coming off crazy or desperate, depending on the context into which you try to make it fit.
Ask yourself why a prospective client would find "passion" attractive. It's not because they're hoping to hire a photographer who runs around with wide eyes, drooling a little bit, wearing beads and Birkenstocks, waving arms, whisper-shouting about how magical Love is, and occasionally weeping.
Passion is interesting or valuable to a client when the client has some context within which to understand how that trait will improve the results you get for them.
It's easiest to explain how you apply self-disciplined passion to the client's benefit if you focus on explaining what you do best, which should be something unusual.
Todd's Sexy Business workshop was a massive help to me in identifying what makes me different. Or, perhaps more precisely, how I can persuasively differentiate myself.
Thanks to Todd and Jamie, I now have a brief and digestible explanation for what I do differently, and why that might be really valuable to a prospective client. In the context of that differentiation, it's easy -- actually, it's necessary -- to explain what motivates me.
I never use the word "passion," because I have come to hate that word as much as Todd hates babies. But as I explain why I pursue this approach that is different from most other wedding photographers, my personality and interests become evident. So, my wedding photography appears more personal, less generic.
I've said this elsewhere, but it's worth saying here: do a Google search for wedding photographers in your area. Go through the first forty or so, and copy-paste their ABOUT ME pages into one, long, cliche-ridden Word document.
Then, get a sharp pencil. Holding the pencil in one hand, scroll down the page, skimming. Jab yourself in the arm for every time you see a photographer say passion, special moments, or magic. Before you begin this excercise, unlock your front door, and call an ambulance so that it arrives in time.
Remember, the problem with "passion" is that it is always cliche and possibly crazy. It's best to find a way to reveal it in the context of explaining how you'll create value for the client, because it is not an end in itself.
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