Strong relationships can become one of the most valuable tools in your photography business.

In this episode, portrait, headshot, and branding photographer Jenny Eggers joins Pat Miller to explain how genuine connection can improve client experiences, create more authentic portraits, generate referrals, and strengthen your professional network.

Episode Highlights 🎤💡:

(06:34) - How Connection Creates Better Images

(15:15) - Overcoming Awkwardness at Networking Events

(18:40) -Making social media More Social

Connect with Pat Miller ⬇

LinkedIn | Website

Connect with Jenny Eggers ⬇

LinkedIn | Website | Instagram | Facebook

I'm Pat Miller and this is The Professional Photographer Podcast. Building relationships. It's essential in business if you want to have a studio that stays open. You have to find clients that know, like and trust you, and they're willing to give you money for the images you create. We all know that. But what about building relationships in your community? What about building relationships with other photographers? And what if all of this relationship building doesn't come to you naturally? Oh, today's episode might help. Jenny Eggers is our guest, and she has the power of connection. It just comes to her naturally. And on today's episode, we'll talk about all three groups. How do we build bonds with our clients? How do we build bonds with other photographers? And how do we do a better job of being a member of our community? She's got some tips and tricks, and she underscores the importance of the power of connection. Jenny, standing by. We'll talk to her next. Jenny, welcome to the show. How are you today?

Great, thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm having a great day.

A great day. Like making big monies, things going great, like, awesome stuff?

Yeah. I started off at a networking event, met up with a client turned friend to help her with something, had a headshot session, and now I'm here with you.

Excellent. So you are having a good day and if someone hasn't met you yet, tell them who you are and what you do.

Sure. My name is Jenny Eggers. I live in Ocala, Florida. That is north of Orlando and it's central between the coasts. I operate a commercial studio in our cute little downtown and I photograph general portraiture, headshots, branding, and I love what I do.

Awesome. You love what you do because you have great people around you because you use the power of connection. And that's the theme of today's episode. So when you talk about the power of connection, what do you mean by that?

Gosh, so many layers and levels to it. Right? We're talking about connections with, with people in my community, connection with my clients, connection with fellow photographers, my colleagues in this industry. So, yeah, a lot of different layers.

And let's start at the top. Let's start with connecting with your clients. I think that's the thing that most people would think of. If I want to be successful as a photographer, I have to have a strong connection with my clients. But the connection sometimes might feel flimsy because it's, I took your picture, now give me money. Let's talk about building that real connection with our clients. How do you go about doing it.

Sure, I do it a couple different ways. And different because I'm working with, I would say, two different clients. One of them is a higher touch. So we're connecting over a phone call to start. We're going to reinforce that connection. If they decide to hire me at their pre session consultation, we're going to reinforce that connection. And by the time we get to the session, which is the next step, we're friends, we know what's happening. So I'm able to pull out what I need during the session to create number one, what they want, but in an authentic way. With my headshot client, they might be booking online so I might not have that opportunity to have a phone call with them. So the first time they're coming in is, or the first time I'm meeting them, engaging with them is when they're coming into their session. And so we. I'm establishing trust and rapport from the get go. I'm helping them in with their. If they brought extra clothing, I'm asking how they're doing, like something to drink. Just kind of getting to know them and maybe bringing it down a little. What it, what have you been up to with your day? And just making small talk, but building it. Because I know that you're going to be leaving my studio in an hour or less.

I need to ask you about small talk. I hate small talk. Coach me up on small talk. Help me be better at it because I can't get past what are you doing this weekend and how's the weather? What else you got for me? Come on, help me out.

Well, I mean, I take a lot of cues from when I meet them. If I see they're wearing a particular color, I'm going to compliment them immediately on that color. I'm going to maybe. Oh, these are your clothes. Wow, you brought a lot. You know, what do you love most about this? And we might talk about things that are productive for their session. Something else is just, you know. Yeah, we're talking about traffic, but I guess as every small town, there's always something to talk about that's maybe the talk of the town. Oh my gosh, the traffic is terrible. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Did you see their building this over here? And I can't get through that red light anymore like I used to. And so you're just finding that just those common threads. When I find that something doesn't hit, I just move on to the next. And again, it is something as mundane as what did you have for breakfast? I don't know if it's early in the morning or, what do you like in your coffee? Anything.

But that takes a little courage. You're extending your hand, hoping that they're going to reach back. You start the conversation hoping that you won't feel awkward. Is that. Does that come with practice if you're not used to it, or do you just do it because it's important? Do you see what I'm going for there?

Yeah, I think I'm just wired that way. I'm not afraid. I feel like the more relatable I am, I mean, I'm not trying to come in at this level and lord over them. And of course, I'm the expert and I'm going to guide them through their session, but I also want to kind of bring them down because they're coming to me. They - I'm the dentist. Right. They don't, they don't want to have their pictures, especially headshots. This is something their boss was like, you need to go in and get done or, okay, it's been five years. I do need to get a headshot. I've been putting it off. So, yeah, being the dentist and just trying to say, you know what, it's going to be okay. And, you know, by the time you leave here, you might even be skipping. It's going to be fun.

Do you find that when you put in that effort, which to you comes naturally, but this episode is to teach people like me who it doesn't come naturally to. When we invest that energy, do you get better pictures because you can see the trust that you've built.

One million percent. Absolutely. Absolutely. Because as I'm engaging with them, I'm making a mental note of what this smile looks like or what I, I don't know. I know what they look like. I. You get a good read on the way they listen or the way they smile back or respond, their expressions. So I am kind of trying to pick out some things that, that are. That look genuine to me and they. I feel like I have a pretty good sense of that. But yeah, the results are. It's not just walk in, stand in front of the camera, click, click, you're out. You know, if I feel like they're a little more reserved, you know, I'll definitely temper. I won't come on so strong, you know, but I try to, you know, bring. I try to find something that might be important to them. If they're. I might notice the wedding ring, but I'm going to say, oh, you're married. Great. Dear children. Tell me about them. You know, and a lot of times when, especially when they have children, their face lights up, you know, so you can see where their person has the potential to go. And then I just try to bring them back there.

I gotta ask the ugly question. When you build the relationship, do you get more money out of the ticket?

It depends. Because I think sometimes, well, I'm building trust. So then when it comes time, maybe to decision making, you know, I might encourage them to explore certain options. You know, hey, I like this expression for this and this expression for that. That's not my motive, to be honest, but I think it unfolds that way because I'm building that trust.

Which also includes more referrals because, hey, I've got a friend who takes pictures. Not. Oh, you need a headshot. I know a professional you should go to. Is that kind of how it works?

Right? Yeah, that helps. That helps in there. It helps with my reviews. And as we all know, that playing the Google game and, you know, getting those reviews, that helps a lot with your SEO. So I feel that I am, I get good results that way as well.

I think everyone, even if they don't like to do it, they know they need to have a good relationship with their clients. Okay, fine. But you put in extra work in having relationships with the professionals around you and your community. So how are you building contacts and connections with your colleagues, like fellow photographers?

Oh, sure. Well, I am active in our local community network, which for me, I'm in Ocala. I'm about, what, an hour and 15 hour, hour and a half north of Orlando. So I'll travel to Orlando once a month. I sit on the board there as their secretary and I. I attend the monthly programming. I'm meeting people there. I'm attending Imaging USA, which I think everybody in the world needs to go to. Well, if you're a photographer or the self of a photographer, you got to be there. No, I. Those connections that, oh my gosh, I can't even. It's everything. It is. It is everything for me. It allows me to reach out to people. If I have a question, if I want to talk about gear. What should I do in this situation? Does this sound like a good response? I'm able to reach out to, gosh, I don't know, any one of a dozen folks that I feel comfortable to, to do that via text, via phone call, social media, you name it. The connections are just help me along in my business to make better decisions sometimes and to work smarter.

But there are people that are exactly the opposite of you. They see everybody else with a camera as a competitor. What would you tell them to get them to calm down a little bit and make some better connections?

Yeah, my. What I always say is that there is enough work for everybody. I mean, when you really boil it down, how many clients you want, you know, per year, per genre, or whatever, however you want to work. I can't work with everybody in my town. I literally physically can't. And maybe some would argue, well, then you'll build a team. I'm not in it for that, but I just really think that building those relationships is going to move the needle faster than any insecurity might have of work that's taken from you or. Yeah, absolutely.

Can you think of a time that your professional network saved you or gave you information that you didn't have, connected you with an opportunity you would have missed? And you don't need to call people out by name. You don't have to do that. You could, you're welcome to, of course, to, you know, shout out your photography BFF. But can you think of a time that investing in the professional network, beyond having friends at Imaging, helped the business move forward?

Yeah, I can think of one. One time. Specifically, it was for a client. They have a. It's a regionally based law firm, so most of the employees are remote. Their hub is, I think it's in Tennessee. And so the, the point of contact reached out to me because they had, I think it was like four or five legal assistance and such support that worked in my area that needed headshots. And through our call, which she initially reached out, she mentioned that she had, you know, attorneys in this town and legal assistance in this town and such. And I said, you know what, do me a favor. List out everybody that you need, like the different cities, and I'm going to connect you with colleagues that I know and trust. And I did just that. I was able to identify, you know, a couple of options in every location. And she got her job done quickly and efficiently and, you know, then created a cohesive look because I knew and trusted these folks that whatever parameters they set forth for their imagery, I knew that these photographers could follow through. So, I mean, then I came across as, like I say, I mean, I wasn't. I didn't want to be the hero. She's the hero, right? That I helped her in her job made it a little bit easier.

I want to ask you for some power tips in a minute about how someone that doesn't have this come naturally to them, could do a better job of building the power of connection with their community and their colleagues and their clients. But it does come naturally for you. How did you discover that you were a connector?

Gosh, it's funny that you say that there. A number of years ago, I volunteered at my boys school like it was my job. And of course, I ended up serving on their board as their president of PTO, you know, and I was encouraged to do that by the principal. She was a retiring gal. And when she left, she wrote me a lovely note. And at the bottom she wrote, you are a connector. And at the time, I had, I didn't really think about it. My career, business, photography business was kind of in the beginning, and I don't, I didn't realize the power of networking or anything at that time. So I heard that and I listened to it, but I didn't really know what it was. It wasn't until I had that I decided to open a physical space that I was like, I better get out there and do some networking. They say you have to meet people. And it was then that I started networking and I noticed how I would literally connect people. I would either connect with people, but I was also connecting with people, this person with this person, because I saw some sort of mutual benefit between them. And so now I, I, I, I network intentionally.

And as you do that, the business grows and your relationships grow.

Absolutely.

And you inspire people. So someone's watching this right now. They're thinking, dang it, I'm inspired by Jenny. I want to adopt this mindset. Before we talk about the specific actions, let's talk about the mindset of a connector. What are you thinking about when you walk into a crowded room or when you meet a client for the first time?

Gosh, well, I'm going to speak to the crowded room because that is not my favorite space to walk into. Not at all, boys. It overwhelmed me. And taking it back to imaging, taking it to Shola Richards. Right. So good. His opening keynote a couple of years ago, he said, you belong in every room you walk into. So I take that with me. Sometimes I have to say that to myself before I walk into these, these events and I walk around the room, I'm hoping to see some of your faces. And if I don't, I'm looking for somebody with that deer in the head. Facebook. I'm looking at them. They are telling me, this is scary, this is overwhelming. And I immediately gravitate to them. I befriend them. We're Chatting it up. We're fast friends and so that's really how I do it. But attending these types of events over and over, my world is getting smaller and smaller. So I feel more comfortable walking into those rooms. I feel more comfortable picking up the conversation where we left off the last time. Following up, hey, what happened to your dog? Did you, did everything go, go, go okay at the vet? You know, just remembering those little, I don't know, those little details that make you say, hey, I heard you when I chatted, when we were chatting before. So I think that's, I mean, I have a genuine curiosity about people, about what's happening. So I think that you, you have to engage intentionally and genuinely. You know, it can't be that you can't be looking around the room or looking at your watch when you're talking to somebody. It's just literally you're focused on them.

I find that when I find someone in a big room like that that has the deer in the headlight looks if you go and befriend them, they will never forget you.

Oh, 100%. Absolutely. Absolutely. I, I feel like we, I mean, yeah, we look for each other the next time we schedule a one to one. It's. We're friends. Yeah. It's just, it is a strong bond. It is such a strong bond. But I think too, outside of looking for that deer in the headlights, most people in that room are not comfortable. So I think, you know, we all put our heads down at night. We are all grouchy when we don't get night's sleep. We put our, you know, pants on one leg at a time. We're all the same. So I think, kind of keeping that in mind, you know, we're all a little nervous. You know, some might not show it as outwardly as that serum headlights, but more often than not, even if you, you know, you find an opening, you see a circle that's, you know, parted so you can join, go ahead and join. You know, it's. What's the worst that can happen? Nobody is going to shut you down. Nobody.

No, no. Not at a PPA event especially.

No, no, never. That would never happen.

We talked about some of the things we can do to be a better connector, and you touched on one being wound up in our technology. But what are some other things that we're doing that's pushing away connection? We might not realize that people don't want to talk to us because of how we're behaving. Does anything come to mind?

I think so. Yeah, if we are. If all of our efforts, I think, like, you know, social media isn't quite so social. And I think that if you make it social, you're able to. And I'm going to take this to LinkedIn. I try to be active on there maybe once a week or maybe reposting something. So twice a week I'm showing up there. If I find somebody that wants to reach out to connect with me, you know, because they call it on there, or if somebody's. What is that called? I don't know. When they like something, you know, like a poster, they're supporting you in that way. I go find out who they are and I reach out to them personally. Not personally in a phone call, but I connect with them, and then I send a message and then I say, hey, I'm so glad to connect with you here on LinkedIn. I love making my world a smaller place. Do you want to go have coffee one day? You know, and more often, those. Those, you know, turn into meetings, they turn into friendships. I see them at other chamber events or other networking events, and then they're another familiar face. So I think that's taking a negative. I think there are a lot of people that treat social like, oh, if I put it out there and I just comment on it, that's going to mean something or take you further. I don't think it does.

To make social more social. Isn't that a wild concept?

Literally make it social? Yeah, yeah.

That doesn't seem fair. We can do that. I didn't know we could do that. I thought I just had to, like, troll for clients on LinkedIn. I thought that's why I was there.

Right, right. I mean, that was like. That's like such a. Like a night. Like, when I started my business, I thought, oh, if I take all the pretty pictures, people will call me. Yeah, Nothing happens. You have to take action on everything. So taking action on social media, you know, not just by posting, but by

being social, can you imagine how wealthy you'd be if just the pretty pictures filled your calendar?

Oh, my God. I would be. I would be. I would be interviewing you.

All right, well, that's good to know. I'll see what we can do about that. You know, a practical question before we get out of here. You make all of these relationships. How do you personally maintain them all? How do you remember, oh, that's the person I met last year who's from Nashville that does the thing. And, oh, this is someone I met from Seattle that Does how do you inventory all of that? Or is it just a blessing and you're just able to do it?

No, I can't do it. I fess up. You know, I genuinely engage, I'm genuinely connecting with somebody. I would to know about this. So a lot of times I think those little memories are fun. I'm remembering some of the details and I might not remember their name or I might not remember that it was a cat instead of a dog that went to the vet. But I'm going to see that person and something is going to tell me. Yeah, we met before, and I'm going to say I, I just call it out it like it is. Hi, I'm Jenny. We met last month. Remind me of your name, you know and I. You just call yourself out because I'm sure there are people out there that so gifted and they remember like the first initial memory recall and kind of stuff. I'm not that. So I just call it out. Just be human. We are after all, like I said before and then, to connect with somebody, we want to bring ourselves down a notch kind of way. And if we can meet somebody right where they're at, boom. Or trust.

You're so friendly and cool, someone wants to connect with you. What's the best way that someone connects with you?

Well, since I'm so friendly, I like that you said that. You made me giggle. If you want to find me, I'm not very into social media on my Instagram. No, find me on Instagram. I'm @jenny.e.photo. My website is Jenny E Photography. That's with a Y, J-E-N-N-Y-E-photography.com. I'm on LinkedIn with my maiden name, Jennifer Stetter Eggers, maybe? I don't remember what I am on there, but I really try not to follow photographers on there because I'm looking for my clients in my area. But yes, you can find me on Instagram is probably where I'm more present.

And we can find you at Imaging. We'll just track you down - I saw you on the show.

Always find me at Imaging. Oh, my God. I would never, ever miss that hallway girl.

Never gotta be there, gotta be there, gotta be there. Well, this was a great conversation and one we have not had on the show. Thank you for sharing everything. It was great to talk with you. I really appreciate it.

Thank you. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it, Pat.

Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of The Professional Photographer podcast. Before you go, click like, wait, click subscribe, leave us a comment, really important if you tell us what Jenny shared that made you think that helps us know what we're doing that's on the right track. And if you have guest suggestions, tell us that as well. We want to build the best podcast for you possible. So like, subscribe, comment, thank you very much. The other thing is, if you want to build those connections with other photographers that Jenny was talking about, you should probably join Professional Photographers of America. That is where imaging happens. After all, if you're not yet a PPA member, you're missing their resources like equipment insurance, top notch education, and a supportive community of photographers ready to help you succeed. It's perfect for photographers who are serious about growing their business in a sustainable and profitable way at PPA. You belong here. Discover more about membership at ppa.com. That's PPA.com. I'm Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community and the host of the show. Great to see you again. We'll see you right here next time. Take care.