Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Walid Azami of www.walidazami.com is a celebrity photographer and commercial director based in Los Angeles.

He got his start in photography by working with Madonna and contributing to her many projects. He realised then photography was going to be his thing.

He has since photographed Kanye West, Bernie Sanders, Mariah Carey, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake and many more internationally known celebrities and artists.

He also works with commercial brands like VW, Target, and HP.

Take a look at his Instagram feed; you will be blown away by the people he's worked with and the photography he creates.

In addition to his photography work, he's passionate about helping photographers understand their worth and helping them to succeed in business. In this interview, Walid shares solid business advice for how to grow your profits using what he's learnt as a celebrity photographer. 

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

  • How Walid's photography career started
  • How Walid started photographing celebrities
  • How to respond to client questions when you don't know the answer
  • Why photographers convert colour to black and white
  • Walid's booking process
  • Why Walid doesn't believe in hiring agents
  • The importance of voicing your opinion
  • How to earn creative freedom when shooting
  • How to discover your own photography style
  • Why exercising your opinion in the photography industry matters
  • Why do clients choose Walid to photograph them
  • Walid's pricing process
  • Copyright
  • The five pricing categories
  • Why you MUST avoid work-for-hire gigs
  • Walid's reasons for helping domestic photographers
  • The one thing photographers need to improve
  • How to price your products
  • How to increase prices
  • Should you offer discounts to get bookings
  • Tips on how to connect with strangers and discuss your business

Walid Azami Photography Podcast

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full-length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.

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 have to have an opinion. If you don't have an opinion and they're surrounded by ‘Yes' people, then you're virtually worthless to them. – Walid Azami

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.

Seriously, that's not all.

In addition to everything above, you'll get access 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.

Walid Azami Photography Podcast

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Walid 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 your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business due to what you heard in today's episode.

The clients that come to me the most are the ones that are willing to break the rules. – Walid Azami

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Walid or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

Walid Azami Photography Podcast

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews, and it's always a buzz to receive these… for several 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 and Google are the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts, and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean 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 or https://photobizx.com/google, 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 keywords or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.

With AI on the horizon, if you don't have opinions, close your business now. Close your business. You're going to go out of business. Your opinions is what AI cannot beat. – Walid Azami

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy, and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has impacted you and your photography business.​

Here's the latest review…

★★★★★ Life Changer for Photographers

Via Google Reviews by Commercial Lifestyle & Adventure photographer in Tenerife, Andy Cannon, in the Canary Islands on November 30, 2022.

I can't recommend Photo Biz Xposed and Andrew enough.

Through the broad and incredibly inspiring podcast he puts out and the related materials, he has helped improve my business and the service and experience the customer receives.

Walid Azami Photography Podcast

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening, and thanks to Walid for sharing his thoughts, ideas and advice on growing a photography business based on his experience as a celebrity photographer.

Be loud about your style. Be loud about why you want to shoot at a certain place, with certain lighting, at a certain time, a certain pose. That raises your value to the client. – Walid Azami

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