Yep, you heard me right — I went to a convention strictly dedicated to hair and makeup artists (HMUA), and I am not even close to either of those.
I honestly can’t do a winged eye to save my life! I cut my hair maybe twice a year, but I went fully prepared to look like a fool. However, that wasn’t the case at all. I left the Caper ‘19 convention knowing that they were going to use one of my images for the convention’s press release and with an invitation to return the following year to cover the show!
Why I went
I didn’t go wanting to educate myself about what hair and makeup artists do. I went with the intention of telling everyone there what I do, which is photography.
I am a beauty photographer, so working with HMUA is half my job and this convention had the who’s who of HMUA there. There were some of my dream clients all in one location — the ones that I want to hire me to shoot their portfolio work or recommend me to other clients. They are the bread and butter of my business.
So, I showed up with my camera and just started shooting. I was taking pictures of the artists on stage, in the halls, outside talking to students. I was asking models that I saw walking around if I could snag a few images of them really quick and was handing out business cards left and right. I was hustling as if my life depended on it and it totally worked. Their VP of Marketing came up to me at the end of the first day and asked if she could use my image she saw on Instagram for their press release.
Conclusion
I left that convention with more contacts and future clients than ever before. I built a whole new portfolio with work from the legends I admire and by doing so I now get to go back next year!
I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and go where your dream clients are at. Maybe that’s at a hunting expo or a cooking convention, maybe you need to go to a Cosplay convention to further your clientele. Whoever your dream client is … go to them! Invest in yourself and in them and I promise it will pay off.
