Nata Leto
Dylan M Howell: How to Get Clients You Really Want
Dylan M Howell
Dylan M Howell incredibly talented photographer and adventurer, loves motorcycles, coffee, surfing and music. Constantly pushes himself out of the comfort zone and believes that great photographers do not depend on their gear, but on the amount of heart they put into their work. Dylan is not only brilliantly capturing some of the most memorable moments in his subjects’ lives, but also having lots of fun during the process. What’s his secret? He shared with us a few simple advice on how to curate and showcase your work so you attract only the clients you really want to work with. Here we go!
About Dylan
I’ve been a wedding photographer for 6 years now. I’ve won a few awards, shot in extremely beautiful locations, and witnessed a lot of love. I live in Portland, Oregon, with my two cats and pass the time by riding my motorcycle and drinking too much coffee.
Website/Portfolio
This is the most important part of your marketing. Everything you do should be driving people here when they’re ready for your services. Your portfolio should be pushing away the wrong clients as much or more than it’s attracting the right people. Think about this when you’re picking images, don’t be afraid to get edgy. Go as hard as you can in the direction of what makes you not only great, but different.
Blog Posts
This is where you can tell your stories. Stop dumping all of your favorite images from a day, unless you’re very tightly curating, and start building narratives with your images. These posts can suck people into the day even if they have no idea who the couple is. The viewer will envision themselves in the images and your job is done.. you’re hired.
Social Media
If you’re not on Facebook and Instagram, you’re missing a huge opportunity to not only connect with your fans, clients and market.. but to be inspired. To be part of a community. Over half of my weddings originate from social media. People who have followed me for years or people who did a quick hashtag or location search. Either way, it’s a damn good way to market yourself.
Targeting Photographers
I’ve found photographers to be many of my favorite clients. They understand light and how it affects the day. We put an importance on the photography during the day, but don’t let it ruin the flow. We can be at ease and trust each other easily, because we’ve both been in each other’s shoes. To do so, I do tutorials and gear reviews. This is information that photographers are always searching for and it lead to many of my favorite weddings.
Targeting Local
Traveling is fun, but being able to sleep in your own bed before and after a wedding can be so nice. So is walking to the venue from your house. I’ve put a big effort into local venues. Either blogging venues I’ve already shot or setting up stylized shoots at venues I haven’t. Tag the locations on instagram for another bump in localized traffic.
Gear – www.dylanmhowell.com/gear-bag
Favorite Presets – VSCO pack 06
Favorite Playlist – Spotify, see the playlist
Favorite Books – “The Sun Also Rises”
Life Motto – Embrace the stiff winds.
We hope you’ve found these simple but crucial advice helpful and relevant for your own work. For those of you who will be attending Heck Yeah Photo Camp next week in Joshua Tree, CA – you’ll have a chance to talk to Dylan in person and share your thoughts about this.
Our team will also be at Heck Yeah, and wants to meet you!
WITH LOVE,
FLOTHEMES
