What if just one strategic move could turn your photography business from stagnant to unstoppable? On this episode, Pat Miller sits down with headshot specialist Glynns Thomas, who reveals how zeroing in on a vertical transformed her studio into the go-to choice for Sacramento’s top firms.

Episode Highlights 🎤💡:

(08:04) — Using LinkedIn as a networking engine

(23:54) — Creating confidence for every subject photographed

(26:52) — Why building confidence fills a corporate culture gap

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I'm Pat Miller, and this is The Professional Photographer Podcast. You're a headshot photographer. Well, what if you could be an excellent headshot photographer? We have high performer Glynns Thomas on the show today, and we're going to talk about her strategy to make an incredible business landing and expanding inside one vertical. How did she pick the vertical for her headshot business? How did she then grow it into a really impressive business? And how might you do the exact same thing? In our interview today, we'll talk about how it happened, how she grew it, and how you can build a vertical inside your headshot business. Glynns is going to spill the beans, and she's so much fun to talk to. You got to stick around. Live from Imaging USA inside the Sony Cinema Line studio, it's time to talk to Glynns. She'll join us next. Glynns, welcome to the show. How are you?

Thank you, Pat. It's great to be here. I'm doing great. Imaging is just such the place to be.

I was here last year, here, the year before that. This year feels like just to have a little extra buzz to it. Is it a Nashville thing, do you think?

I don't know, but I've gotten to know people more, and I come for my friends here. I mean, the classes are great, but I really come for my friends, and our relationships are deeper and deeper every year. So I come for the belly laughs. And just to hang out with a lot of good people.

Well, I'm glad you're here because we get to learn from you today. But if someone hasn't met you yet, tell them who you are and what you do.

Sure. So I'm Glynns Thomas and I am a headshot photographer in Sacramento, California.

And you're not just that, you're also a high performer in the industry, right? So we get to talk about how to do it at a grand scale. And I want to go today about one thing that I think makes your business unique. So you have a particular vertical; you have a niche inside of what you do. So tell us what that is and how you discovered it.

Sure. So, well, first of all, I thought I'd go into family and glamor. And then one day I was asked to do headshots and I went, I really love this. What a nerd who likes to do headshots. Yeah, but I feel really comfortable in the office environment, and I love working just to help people feel good about themselves and so forth. So I was trying it out here and there. And actually, my husband is an architect, and you would think that that would've helped me, but I think that really turned a lot of people off 'cause like, oh, how cute, your wife is a photographer.

Oh, yeah.

So, you know, I kept going what I was doing and you know, not really forcing it or paying that much attention to it. But then I got a job, and then that just kept rolling and snowballing from there. So my vertical that I primarily focus on, but it's not all that I do, is working in what they call the AEC industry, which is architects, engineers, and construction firms. And it is a tight-knit community. And so everybody knows each other. And, you know, some people might think, well, due to competition, that could actually hurt you, but it doesn't. I think it's sort of a big family. Even the people working at these firms, they switch from firm to firm, so they all know each other, and they're happy to use a photographer that somebody else has used and had a great experience with.

I know I'm a newbie in the industry, and I'm trying to learn as quickly as I can. But I don't always hear of a headshot photographer that specializes in that way. Is it somewhat unique to be a specialist or have I just not talked to enough headshot photographers?

Maybe I haven't spoken to enough headshot photographers. I don't really know. I think most headshot photographers that I do talk to, I'll talk about that they work with law firms. So I think that's pretty common. And then maybe it's a mishmash of a whole bunch of different industries, but I didn't intend to do this. It just started snowballing. And after a couple of years, I went, wait a minute, I think I'm on to something here. And I'm going to— I sort of went on the faith that there wasn't as much competition between the firms as maybe there was or wasn't. I was going to go and say, I'm going to just really push for this. And that's what I did. And to this day, I'm still getting more of the same types of firms within that industry vertical. And it's great. These people move from firm to firm. So, you know, by now I go photograph someone, I'm like, hey, I photographed you at that last firm. So now I'm waiting for the person. I've— this be my third time photographing them, but so far it's the second time around. And sometimes those people go, yeah, I told my company all about you. I said, you know, we need to have her in here. So, I'm happy to serve and do all that. And it's just working out.

It's an interesting idea because I could see someone saying, I'm a headshot photographer for the healthcare, healthcare industry in my city, which is a giant vertical, and someone could specialize in that area. Very cool. You shared that you got a big break that kind of unlocked this industry for you. Can you share that story?

Sure. So I was brand new when I decided to switch over to headshots and I was just doing it from my garage at home. And so at that point, nobody had paid me my full price. I was just, you know, doing friends or I would give someone a big discount, and somebody found me on Google and she called me up and, you know, I wasn't charging a whole lot, but to me it was a lot of money back then until I figured out that I was worth more. And I think we took 2.5 hours. She just needed one headshot, but I was having fun. She was having fun. And then she tells me, oh, I'm interviewing for a job right now at a particular architect firm. And I went, my husband works for that firm. And I go, would you like to meet him? Because he's working from home today.

He's right here.

And she's like, okay. So I introduced them. And not that my husband had any influence on whether she was going to be hired or not. But she was able to ask some questions, and it was a really nice connection. And even so, she loved the experience with me. I wasn't– I hadn't gone on location yet. I hadn't done an, well, maybe I had done one office prior to that, but that was it. And it took probably a good 2, 2 and a half years before she finally convinced her firm. They already had a photographer, but they would fly him in. And so they were looking for somebody local. And she had to wait for the right opportunity. She had to be with the firm long enough to make that recommendation. And I didn't know she was going to do that. So, one day, I got the phone call. So, I'm like, okay. And then it's just, you know, once I work with one firm and I promote that, then somebody, another firm is going to notice that, and then another firm notices that. And then I do some actual promotion, but that's what started the ball rolling. But it wasn't— there's no like magic wand of instant success. I mean, it definitely took years.

And you did your research. So I think that's another lesson that we can take from you is that you found this industry, but then you went almost kind of old school about how you learned about them and went to work to grow the network. So how did you go about doing that?

Well, I do have an advertising background, so I think I know something. Everything's moved on. You know, my experience is probably almost 20 years old now, but going back to old school techniques that still stand today, it is about networking. And I'm not a big extrovert. I hate going to the networking meetings, the chambers, and it's like I just can't do it. I try, I just can't do it. And so, but I was familiar with LinkedIn, and I started making connections there. And LinkedIn to me is kind of like going to a Chamber of Commerce meeting, but it's online and you can go anytime. And so at that point, I was just connecting with other people at her company, anyone that I photographed in her company. And then I'd start to see their posts, and I'd post, I'd comment, and react. So I try to stay in touch with as many people as possible. And that started the ball rolling of other people at other firms who knew her.

Yeah.

And then they started connecting with me. And it wasn't until a year or so after that that I went, well, maybe I should do a little bit more than that. And so then I started searching on LinkedIn for companies within that industry. And then I would connect with the top management, and I connect with marketing. And the more I connected with other people in the industry, you know, when you see someone sends you a connection request, it'll tell you how many other people and who else knows you, who do you have in common. So at first it might be one person, then maybe it becomes three people. And now I can get on there, and maybe it's 50 people. So it gets easier over time for people to be willing to connect with you. And sometimes I send connections, and people just accept it. And I'm like, why? Like, I know why I want to, maybe there's like a coolness factor being a photographer or something. But, and people, I think for the most part are good-hearted people. and then I went a little bit deeper later on, and I found my local business publication.

Oh, okay.

So there's the Biz Journal. The Biz Journal is in— I'm not in a metropolitan city level, but I'm in like the mid-level. And I think Sacramento's like the biggest of the mid-levels. So I don't know how far down it goes, but they're in a lot of cities. And you can purchase lists from them. If you purchase a subscription, then you get their magazine that goes out. And I suspect every city is going to have different industries that are a bigger deal. So where I am, the AEC industry is a big deal. There's a lot of building going on, and also government because I'm in the state capital, and attorneys in general. But the Business Journal will list who the top 20, maybe even 30, maybe even 50 companies by industry. And they'll rank them. So, I can then look at that, go onto LinkedIn, and say, okay, I'm going to look up that firm. And then I'm going to look at their employees, find their employees in my area, and who is in marketing, and who is the top management. I just send them connection requests. And as long as people are connecting with me, then I'm active on LinkedIn. And I try to publish about 3 times a week, and then hopefully they're seeing my posts and they're seeing my work and they're seeing what I'm doing. I do think it's really important that you connect with companies who are active on LinkedIn. So I know dentists also is another type of service that needs headshots, but they're not active on LinkedIn.

Yeah.

So I don't, that's not my— I don't go after them. You know, if I decided to be active on Facebook, then maybe I'd start going after them. But you have to think about what types of firms are going to be active on LinkedIn. And a lot of those firms, if you get the right ones, their marketing manager's job is to be active on LinkedIn. And that's my clientele. So it's sort of perfect.

Few questions here. So we get the Business Journal, we see the list of the top firms. We get to LinkedIn and we start connecting with their leadership. So who holds the keys to a contract for a headshot photographer? Is it the CMO, marketing director? Is it the HR person? Is it the CEO or is it all of them? What does your experience tell you?

It's primarily the marketing director, the CMO, but not always. And so sometimes it's the CEO. Sometimes, the CEO is like, I want a really good picture of myself. I need a really good picture of my team. And it's so important to him or her that they want to go out and find the photographer. They want to be the person that picks. Usually, though, it is going to go through the marketing folks. Sometimes it's a business development person. I know with a CPA firm I worked with, it was the operations manager. And then sometimes it's the executive assistant–

Oh, yeah.

–who was tasked to find somebody. So it, those types of people are 99% of the folks that end up hiring me.

Okay. So we're talking about landing and expanding. So you found your niche, and now you're starting to grow it out. You're such a nice person. How do you communicate with people?

I fooled you.

Yeah, no, I believe me, you've got me sold, but like, how do you communicate with people on LinkedIn so you don't get the ick factor? Because, hey, someone sends me a direct message on LinkedIn, 99 times out of 100, it's icky and gross. What do you say to people when you send a connection request?

Well, half of the time I don't say anything. And just because I don't have a whole lot of time. But when I first started doing it and half the time, and I guess if it's somebody who's exactly who I'm looking for, like the CMO, then I'll put in a message and you're only allowed, because I just do pretty much the free version of LinkedIn. So you're really limited on how much you can say. So I'll say something to the effect of, hi, I'm a local photographer who specializes in headshots. I'd love to be a resource for your company if you'd ever need something like that in the future. And then I put my URL. And I would hope that just resonates. It doesn't sound sales-y. It doesn't sound creepy. And that, because I get all those messages too, just all the canned, the automatic ones and stuff. So I'm just trying to be as genuine as possible. And I'm not going to get everybody that I send a connection request to. And that's okay. But that works. That works well enough.

Yep. And that works great because normally it's, I see you breathe oxygen, so you should buy my thing. Right? You know, like, no, that's not what we're doing here.

Exactly.

All right. You touched on it a little bit. You've got people that are connected now on LinkedIn. You're trying to expand. What does your profile look like? How often are you posting? What are you posting? Are you posting photos of other people that signed the waiver? Like, what's your marketing outbound look like on your LinkedIn account?

So my approach is two things. One, show that I'm popular and wanted, and that companies use me. I'm busy.

Yeah.

And two, it's really easy and simple for me to do because I don't have time to put together anything snazzy, cool, hip.

Yeah.

So it's primarily I do about 2 or 3 posts per client. I try to post 3 days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, first thing in the morning. That seems to work the best for me. I will post when I go on location, and it's just me with my setup. And I'll say, here I am with X company. I'll tag the company. I'm all set up and ready to take the first person. And then tagging the company is a big deal. And then my hashtags, I'll say headshots, but I will also say a hashtag that I believe my client, my primary contacts, the CMOs and directors and, you know, below them might be searching for. So that in my industry, that's going to be like AEC marketing. It might be construction marketing. You know, if it's a law firm, I'm going to say law marketing, attorney marketing, or branding or something that they might be searching. So it's not just about my industry. It's about, I want to connect more with their industry. And then after the shoot, after all the, I've started now just putting up a phone and I've got like an Insta360, and I just do a time-lapse. Sort of me. If it's a, if it's a big job, I got a lot of people coming in, and then I'll just make it go super fast, and then I'll throw in some of the final images that people said it's okay for me to use. And then, so I sometimes do that, but I always then post a graphic, and I just put everybody's picture together in a compilation, like a contact sheet. I put their logo, the company logo big. I put my logo small. So I'm making that connection that I might be at that level of that company. That's 101 marketing right there. And then I do another post saying how wonderful everybody was, how much I enjoyed my time there, and maybe a little something about that shoot. And again, I tag that company. And I don't tag the individuals because most people don't want that. But I'll tag the company. And that's really— and I have told some people over the years since I've gotten to know more and more people that I have a lot of friends in this industry now, which is wonderful. So I go back to repeat clients, and it's like I'm seeing friends again. It's kind of like coming to Imaging, you know?,

Yeah. Imaging, hugs all around.

And so I always kind of say, hey, if you don't mind, make sure that you like my post, make a comment. Even if you shared, it really helps me out. And I have a few of my cheerleaders who are willing to do it because I know they are well connected in that industry vertical. And so it's a big love fest, but we all have a good time and we help each other out whenever we can.

You said something that caught my ear. You said making myself look busy or the perception that I'm an in-demand studio, I think is what you said, because we know that nothing draws a line like a line like, hey, what's going on over there? That must be something I should get because it's busy. How do you cast that illusion that you're– not an illusion 'cause you are busy, but how do you drive that demand that you're in demand?

Well, it didn't exist in the beginning. I wasn't in demand. I think it was just continually posting my work even before I was as busy as I am now. It was just posting about something about my day, something about their industry, something about branding yourself. And I was doing a lot more individuals when I first started out. So I had this thing where I had a particular template with their picture, and then I'd have extra space to the side and I'd do a business quote and they loved it 'cause it made 'em look really smart. And then I just, continually posting. It doesn't have to be you're at a job, but, The daily life of a photographer, the daily life of even branding my personal branding, which my clients are, just anything that might relate. You know, I have said to some firms, because they're always out there volunteering all the time and I'm just sitting there all sad by myself because I'm just one person. And I'll say, you know, next time you go out and do something, you know, let me come along. I'll help you guys. And nobody's taken me up on it yet. Maybe there's an insurance reason. I don't know. But there was one time I just heard it through somebody else of like, oh yeah, they're going to be doing Habitat for Humanity, whatever. And so I contact someone, I'm coming out with my camera.

Yeah.

Can I take a few pictures? And I didn't charge for this. I just wanted to be able to say, hey, this is this company. I tagged them again. This is a group shot. You know, I appreciate them so much for doing all the good work that they do. So it shows that I'm part of that industry vertical. And I think people really connect with that. I certainly would connect with that.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

One more question about treating the clients.

Yes.

And then I wanna pivot to someone that's watching this that doesn't have a vertical, how they might choose it. But before we do that, do you treat the upper management and the decision makers any different than the people that you're taking pictures of, their team? Is there a– I don't wanna say special care given to the upper executives, but is there special care given to the upper executives?

Maybe just a teeny bit, but so I used to work in corporate. Yep. And I worked for a Fortune 50 company, and I was a vice president. And, but I was still very shy and would get really nervous of the folks above me. And by the time I started this business, it dawned on me the CEO is the same age as me. Like, I could have gone to high school with this guy, right? And I started– I know, only the best ones have a little bit of dork in them, right?

That's true.

And so, and I was coming in under a different situation, and it just, I felt so much more relaxed. And I think they are more relaxed because they are a different person in front of their employees. And so I'm just somebody from the outside. But I try to treat them as this similar to everybody else. But if I'm photographing somebody and somebody makes a comment, by the way, I'm the CFO or something, I'll go, okay, just make sure I'm doing just a little extra, maybe just a little bit more professional. I'm not going to maybe do some of my silliest comments. But for the most part, I think it's the keynote talk that we had today about how I matter, you matter, we all matter just resonated with me so much because I like photography a lot. But what I found in doing this business is that's not my calling. It's not my calling. I'm gonna— this is so silly to get teary-eyed about headshots.

It's a safe place.

My calling is really, I wanna make people feel really good for the 5 minutes that I'm with them. I want them to feel like a rockstar. I wanna feel like they matter and that I can do it through photography. I can give 'em a gorgeous photo, but it's not even just the photo, it's the experience that they had with me. Whether they're a CEO, whether they're the admin, whether they're the front receptionist, whoever they are. I mean, sometimes I go into a company and it's the doorman and I'll just say, hey, when I'm done with my shoot, do you want a free headshot? Come on up. Because nobody gives the doorman a headshot, you know? So I want to give to these people and I'll tell the company, are you okay with that? They're just like, "Wow, that's so amazing. I love that." So that's my mission is to help people feel more confident in their work life and feel more confident as a human being. And it doesn't matter what level they're at. That's what I'm gonna give.

Why? Why is that so important?

Oh, gosh. I know you're gonna get really deep. You're gonna have a therapy session right now.

No, I'm serious. Because it's inspirational because we were talking about how to really dominate a vertical and how to grow by loving up on your clients and doing a great job. And what we've uncovered and what you've shared is that's a good business practice, but that has nothing to do with why I grab a camera and show up at these places. You just shared, I do it because I want to make people feel amazing. Why? You're a former VP of a Fortune 50 company. You know how to business, but now you're doing this to make people feel great.

I think part of it is after going through the whole corporate life and going through the good parts and the bad parts, and just trying to remember that we're all human beings and we all matter and that we— and being someone that's more of an introvert and wasn't the one that was putting myself out there even in my corporate life, I just want to help. It was more about helping the people who I could sense were struggling with that, but everybody else enjoys it too. So it's because I felt small and I felt held back. And in the corporate world, it is very competitive, and there's a funny negativity in the corporate world. And I think it stems from we all need to see the danger ahead. So we're always looking for danger. We are a group. We need to look for danger. So it's negative, negative, negative. And once I started my business– I'm going to go a little bit off topic here– was I started saying like, oh yeah, things are just okay. When they asked me about my business, whatever. And I realized this is not how I should be talking. I need to change this. I need to say things are going great. Things are wonderful. And that positive change and how I treat people positively. You don't go around the office going, "Wow, you are fantastic. I just want to tell you how amazing I thought you were in the meeting yesterday. I really appreciated how you brought–" you don't do that. That's your competition. You know, I'm not to say that we're all cutthroat and, you know, but it's not– it would be weird to do that. Right. And so this was an opportunity for me to help other people never feel, or at least in those 5 minutes, not feel what I felt at times. And it fills my soul. It absolutely does. And it seems to resonate with so many people; that was just icing on the cake for me.

Well, it's an oasis in a desert. They don't get it at work.

They don't get it at work.

No one cares about their performance. And the only time they get, if they were to get any positive praise, many people would expect a raise. So they don't give it out because they don't want to praise people. We could get down into a whole rabbit hole. We're not going to do that, but I could see why, and I can definitely resonate with what you're saying. And I'm really glad that you shared it because as I talk to photographers like you that are out there, like really doing it at a high level, it's almost never what it seems. I'm really great at this, but this is why I'm great at this. So I'm really glad that you were letting us behind the curtain there a little bit to know why it's so important 'cause I think that's really inspirational.

Once I figured that out, even like sometimes when I'm photographing a CEO or something, it comes up in conversation, and we get into these deep psychological conversations about human nature and the CEOs, this is really important stuff to them because they're there to manage these people. And, you know, and I talk about everything from building self-esteem with the team, maybe some of my journey, down to how I tell them how I coach the young women in their photographs. I teach them the more confident poses versus the more coquettish demure poses, and I want them to know what I'm doing for the women on their team. And they appreciate it so much because I think they're also struggling with these young women feeling really reticent. So it just— it benefits so much.

That's awesome. And I love that those conversations are happening. And because we went down that way, we're running out of time. But I do want to make sure that people that are watching this can find a little bit of guidance on how they might find their own vertical. And the first thing that comes to me is, is it possible that— let's say headshot photographers, because that's what you are— is it possible that a headshot photographer already has a defined vertical, they just haven't realized it yet? Amongst all their clients, they really are getting 70% of their business from one vertical, but they've never really specialized. Is that possible?

Well, it was with me.

Oh, okay.

Before it dawned on me and the lights went on, like, oh, maybe I should do more with this. But anyone just first starting out, what I would say is go find your big business publication, whether it's a biz journal or some local magazine, look to see who's advertising in it or look to see if they have lists and find out because I would suspect certain cities, it's gonna be so much higher on finance.

Yeah.

And some cities, it's gonna be a bigger deal, I don't know, with attorneys. So it's just gonna be different by region. It's not that I don't go after the other ones either, but because I know so many people in that industry and they see that on LinkedIn, I just think it's so much easier for people to want to connect with me. But I would start with doing research in your area. What are the big industries? Find them on LinkedIn. Look to see if they have any professional organizations. For instance, in the architect, engineering, construction field, There's an organization called SMPS. I don't know what it stands for, but it's marketing professionals who do marketing for that vertical industry. So get in touch with them. I'm doing a happy hour, a headshot happy hour with them in March. And so get to know the people in the industry and through multiple ways.

Yeah. A great conversation and inspirational too. I really enjoyed it. Glynns, thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you so much, Pat. It's always great to see you.

Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of The Professional Photographer Podcast, live from Imaging USA inside the Sony Cinema Line Studios. A big thanks to Sony for doing all the hard work to make us look good. Now, if you're still watching the episode, that means you enjoyed the show, which means you should be a subscriber of the show. So click subscribe on whatever platform you're on. Also leave us a like and a comment so we know what the guest said that really resonated with you. The other thing is, if you're not yet a member of Professional Photographers of America, what's going on here? Because PPA offers terrific benefits like incredible equipment insurance, top-notch education, and a supportive community of photographers ready to help you succeed. Join now at ppa.com. That's ppa.com. I'm Pat Miller, host of the show and the founder of the Small Business Owners Community. I appreciate you tuning in. We'll see you right here next time. Take care.