015: Harry Michael – Stay Creative, Stay Focused & Keep Hustling

November 15, 2020

“Always have a hobby – an outlet to allow you to be creative away from Photography “

HARRY MICHAEL

Hey everyone! It’s Sally here, from Studio Ninja. Today’s episode is all about Harry Michael – we are really excited to have him on the show.

Check out some of the biggest points from Harry’s interview below:

Do you perhaps have any tips for photographers that are looking to bring more of a documentary style into their work?

A couple of things that spring to mind there, that’s really helped me. From a technical aspect, you’ve got to shoot a bit wider. I don’t know if some of your listeners might be a bit shy, they don’t want to just hang in there, they want to go in the outskirts. They want to get that zoom lens on, and try and get what they can from there.

Although you can get lovely shots like that, I think there’s more of an immersive field, when you just get a bit closer. Get a bit wider, and just really don’t give a… Is this a family show? I’m going to swear. I’m going to say, just don’t give a crap if you’re in someone’s face, and they’ve asked you something embarrassing. Just laugh it off with them. And that brings me to my other point.

If you put in a bit of time with the guests, maybe the morning of the wedding. You don’t just show up with cameras in hand, and start shooting everyone. Take 10, 15 minutes, say hello. And get a bit of banter with them. And that will just carry on throughout the day. You might even get a bridesmaid to talk about you saying, “Oh yeah, he’s all right. We had this chat about this.”

And you just chat to guests for a bit. And then it’s like a whole different camouflage, that you’re right there with them, but they just think you’re a guest yourself. So actually, it helps a bunch to just take a bit of time. And be a bit human with them. Don’t just be a camera in their face.

Let’s talk through a wedding day. You arrive to the bridal suite, for bride prep. There’s bride, there’s four bridesmaids. There’s the mother of the bride. There’s a couple of other people in the room, no doubt. Some guests might bob their heads in and out. What’s your focus when you walk in that room? Is it building that rapport straight away? Do you even have camera in hand, shooting at that point?

Straightaway, I don’t even have my kit on me. Maybe it’s outside the room, maybe it’s in the car. That depends on how far away I had to park. But, I don’t even have my kit, so no one sees it. Everyone just sees me straightaway as just a guy. There’s no photographer stigma attached to that. And I’ll just introduce myself to the bride. Often times, and it depends how busy the couples are, I will try to chat to them throughout the year. By Instagram, or email.

Then, I just tend to stick to where the light is mega. Hopefully the makeup artist, hairdresser has put them in decent light. But apart from that, I just follow what people are doing. I get the shots of the makeup, and the hair, but then of course, we all do that. You get one or two, and that’s really it. I don’t focus too much on that. I always just see what everyone else is doing.

Maybe the bridesmaids have left the room, to sort out an issue that’s come up in the venue, or downstairs. And I’ll even just follow that. Because I think, what brides want to see of their wedding day, is stuff they didn’t know was going on. So, I try to look out for those. I’d think, “What is she not seeing right now?” And I’ll try and follow that a bit.

Ideal clients; do you believe in an ideal client? What would you say yours is, and how do you attract them?

Definitely, there is such a thing as an ideal client. I would love it to be like everyone is your ideal client. But, it just can’t be like that, can it?
You can’t please everybody. And nor do you want to. You want just a small amount of people… Not small amount, but you just want a certain niche audience, and you’ll get so much better on, if you target them. I believe to find your ideal client, I think someone’s mentioned it on the podcast before. When you go to a wedding, and you think, “Yeah, I could shoot this all day. I’m having a great time here.”
And I have great times at all my weddings. But there are those few, I’m sure you’ve had a few as well? Where you went, “Yeah, this is mega. This is what I want to shoot all the time.” And you leave, and you’re just buzzing to get them done. And all that stuff. So, I believe whoever those people are, those are your ideal clients. Think about what they’re about. Analyze them. For me, it would be people who are in creative jobs, so you know they think a bit differently. They want to do things a bit different. They want to stray away from some traditions.

Young, particularly. I don’t shoot too many 50 year old divorces. I wonder if that’s someone’s ideal client? But, just a young couple that love life. Love to party. This is another way you attract your ideal client. My big banner image when you go on my website, I think after the first one, is just a massive party shot, of a bride being lifted in the air. And if you get someone that thinks, “That’s preposterous, I would never want that happen to me-” then you’ve deterred them straightaway, from the get go. And that’s good. Someone will like that, and someone might say… So, I show tons of party images, because I love people who love to party, so that’s one way to attract them. Again, it’s what you post. Absolutely post what you want to shoot. I don’t show too many traditional shots, like the cake cutting. Of course, they get done. But I just don’t show them, and stuff like that. So that, another way to attract them? Just by your tone of voice. Even of your website, the general tone could deter some people, and attracts the ones you want, so stuff like that.

Thank you!

Thanks again to you all for joining us and a huge thanks to Harry for coming on and sharing  so many great hints and tips with you all.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, I hope you all enjoyed this episode.

See you soon,

Sally