Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.
Wow, I honestly didn't know where to start with this introduction for Anita Watkins of anitawatkins.com and anitawatkinsphotography.com. I made the big mistake of reading the epilogue to her “Leap Fear” project and felt like an emotional mess right before recording this interview.
She is an amazing woman.
Anita has been part of PhotoBizX for as long as I can remember and in the early days she was a full-time teacher with a passion for photography and business. A few years later, she has left the safety of her teaching job and is a full time photographer.
Her successes are so constant, they seem like an every day occurrence with Anita but I know there is so much behind her success. Things like drive, passion, fear, hope, hard work, love, family and what appears to be this fearless obsession to succeed.
I love this on Anita's About Page:
I took hockey lessons when I turned 40.
I thought that was my midlife crisis but turns out photography business is:)Best. Midlife crisis. Ever. – Anita Watkins
I truly am delighted to have her for this interview.
Here’s some more of what we cover in the interview:
What’s on Offer for Premium Members
If you’re a premium member, you have a bonus “members only” episode coming to you this week. Look out for that interview, it will drop into your podcast feed later in the week.
We are all afraid, we are all scared, everybody's scared, and if you’re not, you’re lying or you’re not pushing yourself. – Anita Watkins
If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.
Plus special member-only interviews.
You'll also receive access to the members only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group.
You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.
Joining a Mastermind Group (encouraged by Andrew) has been incredibly valuable and fun, I look forward to connecting with my group members every week. Jina Zheng, Premium Member and Melbourne Children photographer.
And that's not all… you get a set of steak knives… I'm kidding!
Seriously though, that's not all. In addition to everything above, you'll get access to and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.
What is your big takeaway?
Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Anita shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in todays episode.
Your website has to show that you’re excited about people and working with people and that you have a personality that they can either choose to walk away from because they think you’re an idiot or they're drawn to. – Anita Watkins
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Anita or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.
iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs
Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!
Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners means more interviews and ultimately a better show.
If you have left a review in the past, thank you!
If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.
Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your key words or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.
The money is better but more importantly, it's the connection with the client and it's being of service to the client. – Anita Watkins
Ultimately, what we're doing is we're changing lives when we are taking beautiful pictures. – Anita Watkins
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Anita Watkins Portrait Website
Anita Watkins Headshot Photography Website
Thank you!
Thanks again for listening and thanks to Anita for coming on and sharing so much about his business, marketing, tactics and strategies for todays episode.
I am like everyone. I get lots of ideas. I don't implement them all, but implementing on something is better than nothing. – Anita Watkins
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, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!
Thanks and speak soon
Andrew
My question is why do people who are getting images for personal branding want to get prints? I can see why people would want prints for personal or family portraits but what about personal branding? Also, do you ever sell or include digitals?
Hey Daniel! All my clients get digitals with every image purchased. The way I say it is that they are paying for the digital and the print is a gift from me simply because I believe in prints that much. Clients have consistently LOVED being able to hold their prints. Doesn’t matter if it is personal branding or portraits because they look amazing in both.
Do you print all the photos yourself on your Epson and if so what has that done for your business?
I live in Canada and I don’t have access to the quick delivery options that people in other countries have. I find that having my own printer allows me to shorten the time between the session and the reveal which is always a good thing. I also know that I can tweak and adjust on the spot. However the best part is the goosebumps I get when I see the photo come out of the printer. It is a still a rush. I want a bigger printer now;)
Sorry for all the questions Anita but what is the difference between a headshot and personal branding and what types of people go for the personal branding over the headshot?
Headshot session is simply the head. Personal branding will include a larger variety of poses, backgrounds, outfits. When someone needs an online presence beyond LinkedIn, they are better off with a personal branding session.
Anita thanks so much for sharing! I’m also trying to separate out my business from simple headshots to personal branded shoots so your information was super helpful. Thanks also for sharing your pricing with the premium group 🙂 Keep up the great work and good luck with your business in 2018
Thank you for the kind words! Let me know (in the premium group cuz we know how awesome it is there!) if you have any questions. Personal branding is so much fun and a great service to offer clients.