Jorge Alvariño is an award-winning photographer who crafts larger-than-life images for entertainment and global advertising campaigns. Jorge is based in Madrid and is known for his signature atmospheric, cinematic, and dramatic style perfectly suited for clients like Netflix, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, HBO, Coca-Cola, and Nintendo. He is ready to work regularly outside of Spain and has a world-class portfolio to do it. Although Jorge is an industry veteran, he recently signed up for our Client Introductions service to reach more international contacts.
Although I entered the industry as a documentarian and journalist, professionally, I was a commercial photographer for over fifteen years, working with clients including NBC Universal, Comcast, and the University of Pennsylvania. I also spent a number of years teaching film and digital photography at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, one of the oldest art schools in the United States. As an experienced freelance photographer, I personally encountered many of the issues facing photographers at all stages of their careers, from production and brand development to marketing and growth.
The typical Client Introductions process involves reading through the photographer’s initial questionnaire to discover where they are in their career and to learn more about their goals for the future, then using that information to craft a list of prospects. The benefits of this consulting service for the photographer are getting an outsider’s perspective, as well as an unbiased view of what’s possible. By freeing themselves from the need to research and crawl through websites and LinkedIn, a photographer can focus on being creative, which is their strongest skill.
Jorge has established his local network in Spain and now he’s ready to expand to other countries and larger markets. His goal from this service includes client outreach and communication, and broadening his network to larger, international brands, mostly focusing on American contacts for global film studios. Jorge has already worked for most of them on Spanish productions, but he would like to expand.
I started with the major players in the film industry and found contacts in the United States, England, France, and Spain. We opted for 175 direct contacts at film studios and 25 at agencies that work on similar projects. Jorge felt good about the list, only making minor adjustments to the first draft I sent.
I wrote the email that would go out to the contacts on the list. The email included a brief introduction to Jorge and a link to his portfolio. Each contact was also asked if they would be interested in a call with Jorge. We keep our emails short and concise, often with a graphic or image to showcase the photographer’s skills.
Our usual process is to send out a follow-up email after a few days to people who didn’t open our email the first time around, gently inquiring whether they had an opportunity to see the photographer’s portfolio. While email marketing is still an important tool for photographers, breaking through the noise is our biggest challenge.
Overall, the campaign was successful, with a 41% open rate. Jorge received several interested responses, as well as requests for meetings with major studios including Warner Bros, Discovery, and CBS. He was able to connect via video with select contacts from the list, and among them, a high-level executive at Sony Pictures.
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Further Reading
Case Studies: Client Introductions
Expert Advice: Email Marketing for Photographers