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- [00:00]
A
There's an inherent desire in most humans that they want to leave the world a better place.
- [00:06]
B
When they are given the opportunity to be heard and listened to, they feel accepted, they feel loved, they feel heard. And watching their creativity shine, I think it's amazing.
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C
What we do is so much more than click a shutter and it's got to be done with intention.
- [00:23]
A
Just imagine allowing people to have the confidence to be whoever they want to be. I think that's priceless.
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B
Hey.
- [00:30]
A
Hey, and welcome to this Difference Maker Revolution podcast. And we have Janine all the way from Tampa, Florida. We've Steve all the way down south from Oz, and then Ronan here in Dublin, little old Ireland, the center of the world.
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C
Ronan.
- [00:43]
A
Yes, indeed. I think when it comes to soft power, we do quite well. As a little nation of 6 million people.
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C
You do, but we won't go there.
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A
Now.
- [00:53]
B
That could be a whole different podcast.
- [00:55]
A
I'm happy to do a podcast on that, but I think we should talk about what we agreed we're going to talk about was the impact of photography.
- [01:04]
C
Real impact of photography, make it even stronger.
- [01:07]
A
Real impact of photography, even. Right. So before we do that though, I think we should talk about the desire in most humans to have impact, because I think that's linked to this, right, that there's an inherent desire in most humans that they want to leave the world a better place. Some humans want to leave at a worse place, but we won't go there. And that, that is a deep desire within the human makeup and the human psyche and the reason why we exist and all of that good stuff that comes from the cosmos. So, Janine, like, why did you pick up that camera and decide you wanted to be a photographer?
- [01:48]
B
The question we're starting with. So, yeah, it is interesting because when I first picked up a camera, really on the idea of doing this, besides, more than just as a hobby, it was, I was in the engineering world. And when you design the same thing over and over again, like, I think engineers actually go into the, into the profession because you want to make the world a better place and you want, you like to solve problems that people have and create solutions for them. You know, especially as a mechanical engineer, like, we, we solve problems, we build things. And so that was great in the corporate world for a while, and then it just gets very repetitive and then you're stuck in a cube and it just kind of sucks the life out of you. And so the camera for me was, it was a way to reconnect with people. I knew right away when I Started photographing and taking classes. Back then, I didn't want to photograph objects that had no desire to meet. Landscapes, things like that. A lot of the engineers I was with, that's what they wanted to photograph. And for me, it was people right from the get go. I wanted to see people smile, I wanted to see people laugh. I wanted to capture times of people together, what made them happy, what made them cry and all of that. Right. And I started off photographing weddings, and I just loved the connection that the camera gave me to other people. And I knew that I was able to create something for them that they would never have otherwise. And again, back then, it was weddings. And so I knew I was creating something or capturing something for them that would only happen once in their life with a laugh, but once with that person in their life, and it was something very special. And I loved watching their expressions when they were able to look at their wedding photographs and see what was captured because they couldn't remember their own day because it was such a whirlwind. But the photographs were there to help them remember it. And so, yeah, I've always had that desire to do something, something for this world. And for me, it started off at engineering and then it turned into photography.
- [03:53]
A
What about you, Steve?
- [03:54]
C
Well, Janina, first thing I have to say is I have three wedding albums, so I got to relive live that joy that you were talking about three times.
- [04:04]
A
Well, the psychologists tell us that most humans will have four partners in their lifetime, or we actually change four times in the lifetime. And that you actually that the way we're built probably means you need four. Four partners in a lifetime. So I think I'm one of those people who obviously Susan and I have managed to evolve together and just become that new person four times.
- [04:28]
C
Self evolution.
- [04:30]
A
Yeah. Does they say? Does they say, or maybe she's just a saint that puts up with me.
- [04:35]
C
I have more to look forward to, Is that what you're saying? Very happy, Ronan. Very happy. Well, for me, I was a chartered accountant. I started. That's where my start was in business. And I did that as a foundation because I knew that I needed to know the numbers and understand the numbers, and that's why I did an accounting degree and worked in chartered accounting, but hated every minute of it. Hated every minute of it. And I was given the opportunity to buy a photographic studio. So I'm one of those people that bought a business and hired photographers because I wanted to work in the customer service, being with the customers and being with the people. Doing the sales, didn't really didn't pick up a camera. I learned how to photograph, but didn't photograph my clients. And I think it took 10 years for me to realize what photography really meant to people and why we were doing what we were doing. They don't teach you this, that sort of stuff for some reason. And we meant to work it out ourselves. And I think you're right, Ronan. I think as human beings we want to give and we want to help other people. And I think that's especially true in our industry. I think photographers genuinely, genuinely want to make a difference and genuinely want to help people feel good about themselves re establish confidence in people and bring joy through photography. So I think I answered your question. Maybe how did I start off? I'm just a slow learner though. It took me 10 years to work out why we were doing what we were doing.
- [06:09]
A
Yeah, but like often people go through their whole life not knowing why they do what they do. But what I do see in the creative arts, regardless of what it is, often people want to, who are creative, who want their work to have an impact on others. And we see this even if we go back in time before photography and we see the great artists like they truly wanted so much to have an impact on the people that they created portraits for, painted portraits for that, you know, they spent time living with those families to understand what do they want to tell the world, how do they want the world to see them, what message do they want to send to the world. And they spent so much time living with that people and those people and talking to those people individually before they ever picked up a paintbrush and they wanted their work to have that impact for their clients. And that's what we do as difference maker photographers. Right?
- [07:08]
C
It is. Well, it's hard to pick up a camera and know what people want without having any discussions.
- [07:13]
A
So Janine, tell us about a client that comes to mind where, you know, you worked with them and you could see the impact your work was. You could see the impact that the work has for that client. Not just that day, but today, tomorrow and forever. Like just give us an example of a client and how does it all come about, you know?
- [07:38]
B
Well, it's interesting because I have, I almost have two clients and I know Steve, when we talk about being a difference maker, we have lot, many clients within one family. Right. And so, but for me specifically, I usually have the parents and I have the child and the photography affects them both very differently. And so one, one client in particular and she's so funny. I, she's been a client for life. I have photographed her kids. Now the oldest daughter is about to turn nine and photographed her ever since she was six months old, right? Pretty much two or three times a year for different things. And now we're at the point like ever since she was about 4, she decided what we were doing for her birthday portraits and it would be a conversation with me and her mom on, on what? You know, what are you obsessed with this year and things like that? Well, this year it was, it was going to be Minecraft all the way. I mean she was Minecraft, Minecraft, Minecraft. Night before it's K Pop Demon Hunters and her mom called me and she's like, Janine, I am so sorry. She's huh. All of a sudden she doesn't like Minecraft anymore and she really wants to do K Pop Demon Hunters. Do you have any ideas? Right? And so we talked through it. I'm like, we can figure something out. And so she comes in and she owned the studio and she, she walked in with all this confidence and she's like, Ms. Janine, I'm gonna be a K pop Demon Hunter. And she like, she just, she got in into the studio and she took over and she's like, I want this pose and I want this and this is my microphone and this is my sword and I'm gonna slay demons and I'm gonna sing my song. It was absolutely hilarious. And this is, she's always had personality, but it was nothing like this, right? And so we, we, we did her K pop demon hunter 8th birthday portraits and, and then we designed a storybook for her to have and something for to be displayed in her room, right? And her mom, about two weeks after the, the portraits were delivered she, she emailed me and she's like, you're not going to believe this. And she's like every, and it was around the holidays, right? She's like every person that comes into our house, she has to bring them up to their room, her room to show them her album as she is starring as K Pop Demon Hunter and the portrait on her wall and she's like, there's not a pr, it's the holiday. So people are coming through all the time. She's like, every single person has to get dragged upstairs because she's so excited about what she created. Wasn't even Ms. Jeanine, it was what she created in the studio, right? So, and I see this a lot. You know, that's just one of the more Recent stories but I see this a lot with our, our little clients is when they are given the opportunity to be heard and listened to by both their parents and myself to create what means something to them. They feel accepted, they feel loved, they feel heard. And watching their creativity shine, I think it's amazing. And I've had older kids now that like this past year was the last year, was the first year I photographed high school seniors of babies. I did newborn sessions, right. And so it's like this full coming of age type thing that they've grown before. My, my camera and my eyes and they, they same thing. They'll be like, you know, coming to the studio and knowing that their parents love them enough. Like I could just see it in the way that they were talking, the confidence they had but that acceptance that they were allowed to be part of the creation. And it's never you need to smile like this, you're not doing it right. You know, like my clients, my parents don't ever say those types of things to their kids. And it really is this collabor between the child and the parent and myself. And you can see that reflected in the kid and the confidence they have, maybe too much confidence but the confidence they have and that creativity that's allowed to be explored. And I think it's a magical, magical thing to watch happen for a child to be given that gift. And for the parent, you know, this is why I say it's like the two, two sides of it, that's the child for the parent, they now have that. Like as a parent Steve, you know, like your kids go through phases so fast. This is a matter of a day from Minecraft, K Pop, Demon, Hun, you know and we often obsess about, well remember what my kids looked like but many times we forget what they actually loved at a stage. And so I've had so many of my clients tell me they're so thankful that we don't just capture what their child looks like at an age, but actually what they loved at that time. Like my own daughter when she was a year old, I photographed her with her favorite stuffy. She took that stuffy to college. Like that has been her favorite stuffy. It's the only stuffed animal she took to college. And so we have that back from when she was, you know what I mean? And so it's like these little segments of our life that the parents get to always have that reminder of. It's the story of their child told in photography and the child gets to have that confidence and that love and accepting for who they are. I just think it's a magical combination.
- [12:23]
A
Janine and Steve, I'm reading this book. I wasn't going to talk about this, but Janine just sparked something in my head. I'm reading this book at the moment called how to Get Ahead in the Age of AI Open to Work. Right? And Janine just sparked something that's in the book. I'm only the first 60 pages in, but they talk about, in this world of AI, how we've evolved as, as humans to be rewarded for being efficient, being rewarded for getting the task done. You know, Steve often talks about busyness, right, that we get lost in busyness. And they talk about, you know, white collar jobs that they say AI is now threatening the white collar worker. And it's always been the blue collar worker that was normally threatened by things. And one of the things that comes out in the book is that our whole school system is even built for us to be machines, you know, so even as white collar workers, you have to go in and you have to do the work and see if the body say, yeah, that's why I hated being an accountant, you know, that it was all driven by efficiency and you had to do this and you have to do that and you had, you know, that, that we just moved from the industrial area era when we were in factories and we had to do things to the same methodology came into the white collar workers, right? In finance or wherever we work in law forever. It was just a, a treadmill of being more efficient, billion every minute, all of that stuff, right? And they make the point that what AI means for people is that we can be what we truly are as humans, which is creative. That we can be problem solvers again, that we can. Because AI can do all of the stuff that's repeatable, right? So, you know, whatever that is, whether that's auditing and it's just the same thing over and over and over again, or it's, it's, it's doing financial analysis, which is over and over and over and over again, or producing spreadsheets or whatever that is, right? AI can do all that. And what that will mean is, is that we can be creative again. And Janine, you did for that little girl, right? You provide an experience for her which showed her not only is it acceptable that you can be creative because often the school system knocks that out of us on purpose, by design, so that we can be robots, whether it's a blue collar robot or a white collar robot, right? Kills that creativity. And for me, what you've just described is, you know, you are allowing her to be creative and be her. And I think that's priceless.
- [14:55]
B
I agree. And it's a good way of phrasing it, because it is. Don't get me started on our school system running. That would be a whole nother podcast. But it does it. We are. There is this time where society just kind of does it. The school system people beat the creativity out of you. And to give that gift to a child to be creative, to be expressive, to be who they are, I do think it's a gift, and I do think it's very special. And especially for a child to know their parent accepts them for who and what they are, no matter what that is and. Or what creative thought they have for not to be told, that's stupid or that's dumb or that'll never work, or why would you do that? You know, all those little negative things that people don't even think, realize, they say, but they say it, and it can really hurt a child. And you never know which statement that is negative like that, when told to a child, will completely destroy their desire to ever put themselves out there again or to create again. And so my hope would be that when they have these portraits where they are celebrated for their creativity and who they actually are, if a teacher says something like that to them, or an aunt or a grandparent or a parent by accident because they didn't even realize they said it, they can look at that portrait and be like, no, I can be a demon hunter if I want to be a demon hunter. You know, and it'll give them that daily, you know, boost reminder in a way that they can be what they want to be and they can create and they can be amazing, and they don't have to be what the system tells them to be.
- [16:22]
A
So Steve is the person in the world that I think knows people better than anyone I actually know personally. No one else knows people as well as you do. So when you think about Janine and the story she's told about that little girl, right? What do you think that meant to her parents? I know you weren't there, but, like, what would be. What would you think it meant?
- [16:41]
C
As Janine was talking, all I could really think about was that physical act of pride that a parent has when they display that photograph that you created for them up on the wall. Says a lot to that child and says a lot to that parent when. And I've done this myself, like, when I'VE displayed something in my front entrance. It's making a statement about the pride that I have in my child or those children that I'm displaying. And I think it's something that parents should involved their children in because it is a celebration of that person. It is a moment of pride. And I can't begin to describe that feeling that I get when I'm putting something up. And that recognition that your children give you in the fact that you are proud to display that part of them that you value or that part of them that they value in themselves. It says acceptance. So, you know, when you were to. I don't even know what. Whatever that was that you Lethal. Whatever it was that. I have no idea. I'm obviously of a different era. Was it you need a what?
- [17:56]
B
K Pop Demon Hunter.
- [17:58]
C
A K Pop demon hunter.
- [18:01]
B
It was all the rage last year with. With the kiddos. It's a Korean thing. Yeah.
- [18:06]
C
Sounds like a cereal box. But anyway, there's a huge element of acceptance. There's a huge element of pride. And that's why I love to encourage parents to buy wall art to display their children. Their children in and to have those treasure boxes where they are. A treasure box where you can display a different photograph that means something completely different to you every day. And it's. It doesn't need to live in a specific location because it is portable. You can move it. And I've often moved. You know, it's amazing when I miss my kids, like they've been away for a while, it sort of gets. Ends up in my office, and then it ends up in the lounge room, and then it ends up in those areas that, you know, you want to feel them and you want to be around them, even when you can't be around them. And it just makes. Makes it all complete, I think. But the fact that that child sees you, that level of acceptance where you want to display them in a place of prominence and, you know, I've been doing lots of call assessments, listening to clients talking about their experience. Two years later, four years later, six years later, and they're still talking about how they sit and look at that photograph and how that still has changed their life, changed their perception of who they are and how that's inspired them to do certain things and be certain things and say certain to each other. What we do is so much more than click a shutter, and it's got to be done with intention.
- [19:38]
A
I was just about to say, Steve, it can be so much more. Yes, but often there's many Photographers who don't make it so much more because
- [19:47]
C
it's, you know, a lot of the times they're shooting for themselves and, and they don't really understand what. And going back to what you were saying before about those Renaissance artists who would live with their clients and learn about those clients and understand what matters to them and who they are, what is their personal. What do they stand for, what do they want to say, what are the most important parts of who they are and how do they want to be shown or expressed? They're all the things that matter to the client and that's what will make a difference to them. But I think a lot of the times we're obsessed with props and backgrounds and all of the criteria that is going to win the next category at some international awards that we can put on our, on our website that were an internationally acclaimed. Yes, it's great, but that's for you. And we're dealing with so much these days. There's so much happening in the world and I just feel that right now people need us more than ever to be true to what the client needs and what we can do to help them celebrate a part of themselves. I think, you know, when I think back to my, my turning point, it took me 10 years to get to this turning point. And I think, you know, this. And I've said this story a few times, but a really quick version of it. A mum rang me and said, we've just moved from Melbourne, from Adelaide to Melbourne. I have a teenage daughter. She's really struggling at school. She can't make any friends. It's been three months now. She's so depressed. And she used to be a bright, bubbly, the brightest girl at school. I just don't know who she is anymore. I want to come in and do something that's going to spark some confidence in her. I was so used to just doing a spiel. Oh, yes, no worries. We do hair and makeup. The shoe takes this long. But that just the way she said it, you could tell she was so emotional about what she was asking for. And long story short, we discovered that, you know, when I got her on the phone, I asked her about, you know, when she did feel confident. For her, it was she. She used to play violin and for her it was stepping onto that stage and the lights come on. And that was her moment of really losing herself in the music and feeling confident, knowing that her parents were there and that she was making them proud. So we designed a shoot around that and it wasn't until a month after that, mum displayed that. She said to me that she displayed that canvas. Cause she bought a canvas next to the front entrance because she wanted her daughter to face the world every day with that confidence that she has as she's playing violin. And that call a month later was to tell me that and to say that it's made an incredible difference to her daughter in that since then she. She left the house differently. She's made three. Three great new friends. Her life has completely changed. And it wasn't until that mom called me and shared that story that I really realized what we were doing or what we could be doing. Because before that time, I spent 10 years telling people we could change them, we could make them look better. The hair and makeup is artist is going to transform you, but that's just transforming the way they look. And we used to get compl that this doesn't look like me. And we never got it because we thought, well, we've made you look better than what you normally look. Right. But we never asked before then. We didn't know the purpose before then. And it wasn't until I realized what an impact this could have on a child's life, what an impact this could have on a family, how important the placement of that artwork is getting them to think about where is this going to have the most impact for that child. It brought out a whole awareness. And I think now this is a, you know, after. I'm not going to say how many years, far too many years we've refined it. And I honestly think that there's never been a better time for photography. Because as the world gets crazier, as AI takes, as you said, away all the mundane stuff, people can generate photos of themselves, but what they can't do is bring out a belief in someone and reset the self talk, the self doubt that people have in their minds. And I think as an industry, we have that opportunity to do that.
- [23:57]
A
How great was to be Janine for you every day to know you're making this difference to all those important young people in our world and our parents. Like there can be nothing more satisfying, can there?
- [24:12]
B
Yeah. No, you're right, Ronan. And it's, you know, it's interesting because my journey in understanding this came as I grew as a mom too, you know, and it's interesting because I know, I'm sure Steve had this happen with him, but becoming a mom, no, not becoming a mom, as a dad. Watching your kids grow.
- [24:29]
C
Okay,
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B
you're so literal. But yeah, no, so, like, right now, you know, Aaron being off in college gives me a whole nother appreciation for moms whose senior portraits I had created for their children. And now, you know, I look at my portraits of Aaron in a whole different way now. And while she's away for me and James, she's still there, you know, and. And so we look at her. Her photos are on the wall, you know, and we stare at her little. When she was little, dressed up like a wizard, and we stare at her as a senior with her violin, you know, And. And. And so it's like, oh, she's still here having dinner with us, even though she's not, you know? And it does bring me great comfort. I know she's out there in the world doing what she's supposed to be doing. And so, yes, like, aside from that story I told earlier and having great satisfaction and knowing that the children we photograph in the studio are given this gift of confidence and acceptance and belonging from their parents and what we create for them, for the parents, knowing that what we're. The story that we're telling of their kids childhood will live in their homes way past their kids growing up and moving on. And that, to me, is amazing, too, as the mom knowing that I've given that gift to the moment and the dad and the siblings, that everybody is still together even when we're apart, because we have those photographs, kind of like smell and sound and music instantly bring back the memory of that moment instantly. And it's very powerful. And while I would love to be a songwriter, I think it would be really awesome to be like a female version of Bob Dylan and write music that everybody, you know, could change the world. I don't have that skill, but I do have this one. And so. So it's my way of being able to change the world with the children and the families that we photograph. So it is. It's a fantastic gift. And there's nothing greater. I love it.
- [26:25]
A
All right, so all of you who are listening to this podcast who haven't yet joined the difference maker revolution so you can amplify the difference that you bring to the world by making a difference to your clients and let them discover something. You discover something about themselves or discover something new. Or as Janine said, just imagine allowing people have the confidence to be whoever they want to be, despite the system that's built by others to knock that out of us so that we can be robots. Who wants to be a robot? No one wants to be a robot anymore.
- [27:01]
B
Nobody wants to be a robot. Boo.
- [27:03]
A
So Click the link below and join the difference maker revolution. We'll see you on the inside.
- [27:08]
B
Go leave us a review if you like the podcast too. We will love your review and we'll see on the inside. Guys.
- [27:14]
C
See you on the inside. Click the link below.