Sarah Lim, an Austin-based editorial photographer, contacted me because she was having trouble making sense of her various types of images. She had travel and documentary and lit studio portraits and natural light environmental portraits. There were a lot of strong images among the folders on her hard drive, but they were having a hard time getting along.
We started by first talking about the kind of work that she would like to be getting. Then we started editing her work so that it was a bit more focused and showed off her strengths. We announced the revised edits via email newsletters and print promos, and since then Sarah has shown work in her custom print portfolio (which she hand carved her logo into... yes, you read that correctly) to a variety of clients at in person meetings and portfolio reviews.
Since reworking her portfolios she has started working with a much wider range of clients including Texas Monthly, Austin Monthly, The New York Times, AAA, Inked and others. Texas Monthly has been using Sarah since September 2012 for their monthly travel column, The Wanderer.
Sarah was kind enough to share her thoughts on the process:
"Jasmine is fantastic! I was just getting started and didn't know my ass from my elbow, but she kicked me into shape. The very day my first mailer landed on photo editor's desks, I booked my first national magazine job, and I continue to turn to her for professional advice as my career progresses! With her re-organization of my website edits, it's like she saw which direction I wanted to head, better than I could and has been instrumental in not only getting me work, but helping me better understand and narrow my own focus as a young photographer.
Seeing it all put together has in turn helped me hone in on my own style. She's a super nice gal, who's personally invested in the success of her clients. Alone, I couldn't even make headway to get people to return an email, but Jasmine's expert advice has helped me get the gears moving in the direction I want to head."
