Finding A Rep: Rachid Dahnoun

Like many things in life, finding a rep is all about timing. Not only does a photographer have to be in a place professionally where representation makes sense for them, but the rep has to be a in a position to invest the time, money, and effort into on-boarding a photographer.

When we start working on finding a rep for a photographer, we take time to research and familiarize ourselves with all of the reps we’ll be contacting on behalf of the photographer, making sure to ask and answer all the right questions before kicking things into gear. Some examples:

• Does the photographer’s work fit with the rest of the representative’s client base?
• Is the rep expanding their roster?
• Have they just signed someone new?

These are all important things to consider before reaching out to a rep. Once a photographer does get a meeting, it can take a few months — or even a few years — before the timing is right for both parties to begin a business relationship.

Rachid Dahnoun reached out at the end of 2020 wanting to find a hands-on rep with regards to finding new clients and marketing his work. Currently, many agencies that represent photographers are expanding to a production company model and some photographers, like Rachid, need help finding reps who are more single-minded in their focus.

Rachid’s work is as excellent as it is versatile, with his videography — including his documentation of the aftermath of last year’s Glass Fire, shown above — continuing to turn heads as it becomes more imperative for photographers like him to expand into the medium. And not only does Rachid have an extensive client list, he’s also a Global Ambassador for Manfrotto. Add it all up, and you can see why Rachid’s at a place where finding a rep makes sense.

Once we determined that looking for representation was a good choice for Rachid, we sent him a questionnaire to fill out, which we referenced when building his list of agencies. We then emailed Rachid that list for approval; he had a few notes and we made those changes. It’s extremely helpful when a photographer takes time to review each agency on the list. This way, we can connect them with the appropriate rep and not waste anyone’s time.

The next step was to reach out to the agents and ask for a phone call or video meeting. Again, Rachid was involved in deciding when to reach out. It was toward the end of 2020 and, after some consideration, we decided to wait until the first week of January, which proved to be a good move. Rachid’s campaign had an 88 percent open rate!

After the email campaign did its job, I sent Rachid his spreadsheet, complete with all contact and other information. I suggested that he follow up with a few of the agents; Rachid did so few days later and landed a meeting. Multiple reps also responded that they’d meant to follow up to the original emails from Wonderful Machine and were so glad he reached out.

In summary, while not every photographer is ready for find a rep and we cannot guarantee anyone will find a rep, those that are and commit to the process have every chance of securing those meetings. Essentially, you have to shop around until you find the right fit — via our expansive, detailed client lists, that is what our Finding A Rep service can help you accomplish.

Need help finding representation? Send us an email to learn more about how we can assist you in taking the next step in your career.