WHY I COACH
I think it's important for every learner to understand the "why behind the what." The easy answer is probably the same for every teacher, consultant and professor, it's rewarding to see the success of other people based upon your curriculum and education. The complex answer is much deeper. Through education and a career in photography, I've seen the industry change. The rise of technology has introduced an evolution of storytelling and photography. Both positive and negative changes.
We all shoot photography to preserve a memorable moment in time, as a record that will eventually tell the narrative of our lives. Photography is storytelling, it’s the new written word, because sharing and viewing that narrative is so clear and simple. We are all photographers. It is estimated that we will take 1.2 trillion pictures worldwide in two-thousand-eighteen. This number will grow by 10% in two-thousand-nineteen. By the end of the day, there will be around 95 million pictures uploaded to Instagram and 300 million to Facebook.
A picture is powerful. A picture has the ability to convey character, emotion, perception and a message through light, expression, position and place. Everyone is shooting photography, everyday. So, it’s our duty to start telling stories through photography. It’s our duty to do our best to be real and diverse such a loud digital climate. It’s our responsibility to be the liaison between the person in front of the lens to the person in front of the smartphone, computer or print. As photographers, we have to educate, communicate, manifest and recount.
When I started photography, I was selfish. I started photography with an un-biased eye, but an eye that only cared about me. An eye that didn’t care who or what was in the picture as long as it had great lighting, great composition or perfect pose. I didn’t truly understand the gift I yielded and the power of the tool I had been. With coaching, it's my mission to help each and every learner to become the artisan they want to be, therefore raising the standard of the industry and strengthening humanity through rich stories and better photography.
“Clay makes you feel like he’s part of your family. You will learn more in 2 hours than weeks worth of schooling.”
“Reviewing my portfolio with Clay was like talking to a friend who wants you to succeed but actually has a lot of experience and knowledge in photography.”
“Like many other artists I have difficulties with my marketing and getting my work in front of the right people in the industry. With Clay I was able to talk freely about my weaknesses and insecurities as well as about developing a solid strategy to get on the right path to my career goals. Clay was empathising and motivating me to keep moving forward. This really made me trust him.”
“Clay helped clear up a lot of things holding me back from pursuing my photography goals. Enlightening and helpful.”
“I cannot express enough the gratitude I have for Clay to open up an opportunity to seek mentorship from him. It is invaluable especially for photographers seeking guidance on taking their next step in their careers or improving upon business strategies and marketing. Clay is very personable which allowed me to be open and honest.”
WHAT I COACH
General Business Strategy
General Marketing Strategy
General Production Formalities
Email Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Branding & Identity
Commercial Photography Estimation and Negotiation
Retail Photography Pricing
Portfolio Review
Website Review
If you're interested in lighting, camera technique or color grading, I highly recommend my Fstoppers tutorial on "Fashion and Editorial Portrait Photography," which dives into the world of lighting, retouching and shooting for magazines.
HOW I COACH
Understanding you and your personal life
Understanding your level of knowledge and experience
Understanding your current market value
Understanding your time and resources
Understanding your weaknesses and emphasizing strengths
Understanding the value of your talent and imagination
Believing in you
WHERE I COACH
Each session is setup in a high-quality private video conference via Zoom. Once a session is scheduled you'll be provided a private link to join the conference. If you don't have a webcam, no problem voice chat is perfect! At this time, we are not scheduling in-person consulting.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I genuinely want to make you a better photographer and much of that has nothing to do with photography. With that said, I first need to understand your level of your knowledge, technique, business and frame of mind with the questionnaire below following the schedule. We will be using the results to personalize the curriculum and provide real advice that will be most useful to you personally and professionally. All information will be held with the strictest confidence.