I just finished doing a phone consultation in connection with Rob Haggart from aphotoeditor.com. He asked me to review a photographer’s website so that he could show his readers what it’s like to work with a consultant. I was happy to be a part of this project and I think that what Rob is doing in general is fantastic for photographers. If you’re not reading his site regularly, add it to your to-do list.
And keep an eye out on his site for the results from this collaboration.
Looking forward to reading that…glad that Rob came out with who he really is!
So.. I just left a comment over on Robs’ site, but then realized it was really a question for you, so I’ll repost it here… but first thanks so much for agreeing to do the consultation with Clay and share it. It is a wonderful learning tool for everyone and I know I truly appreciate it.
here’s the comment:
Ahhh… this was so great. I’m going to listen to this again.
At what level does Leslie typically work with photographers? At one point in the conversation a generic photographer grossing 50k in a year was discussed as being a small figure.
I suspect that for many of us, especially just starting out, getting to 50k gross in a year would be fantastic – would it be worth it for a newbie photographer to seek consultation before reaching that point, or would it be financially impractical?
I hate giving this answer, but it’s true: it depends. If a photographer is just starting out but has a vision s/he really wants to get out there and is not sure how to go about it, then working with a consultant would probably be a great investment. But if the photographer is still shooting a lot of everything and doesn’t yet have a visual style of some sort, then the payoff may not be there. On the other hand, the right consultant (we each have our areas of strength and weakness so that’s why I say find the right one for YOU) might be able to help someone find that visual connection that has eluded the photographer, because s/he is too close to the work–the consultant could help define the photographer’s vision, in other words. But to be truthful, there are some photographers whose work just is not “there” yet. Though a consultant could say “do this” and “do that” the photographer won’t get much payoff working the steps without a strong visual foundation to start from.
As the saying goes, you can’t make butter with a toothpick. 🙂
-Leslie