CanvasRebel: Meet Carolyn Clement

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with CanvasRebel. From helping clients feel appreciated to plans for the future, we had lots to talk about. I’d love for you to check it out below!

CanvasRebel: Carolyn, appreciate you joining us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

Carolyn Clement: Working for Starbucks was one of the best experiences I had in terms of understanding what creates customer loyalty. It’s how you make people feel that brings them back – it’s not about the coffee.

One holiday season, the staff was asked to hand out 150 $5 gift cards to our regular customers – those we knew by name and drink and saw daily.

Instead of simply handing the cards out, I took the initiative to personalize every gift card – it required extra effort but was totally worth it to see how people felt seen and appreciated.

Now as a business owner, I know a little gratitude goes a long way; and that applies to customers as well as employees!

CR: Carolyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

CC: My name is Carolyn and I’m a professional photographer with over 15 years experience. I specialize in family and newborn portraiture; I love kids and being able to connect with them and capture their authentic personality makes my heart smile!

I started my career in photography in 2007 in NYC where I worked my way up from studio manager to photo assistant, learning everything I could while on set during the day and taking classes at the International Center of Photography at night.

I worked with as many photographers as I could – food, wedding, editorial – and eventually decided that my love of children was really what I should be specializing in. Fashion and commercial photography were not a good fit for me but I could use that experience in my family photography and offer clients a style they hadn’t yet seen – more urban, less green parks.

Now I’ve been in Philadelphia for over 10 years and I have a very successful family photography business.

CR: Have you ever had to pivot?

CC: I’m currently in the process of pivoting. I recently started a 2nd business and it’s completely unrelated to photography.

After experiencing a terrible series of events with an abusive therapist, I’ve created an advocacy website for other victims of this kind of egregious abuse.

My past experiences designing and building a website, writing blog posts, marketing with google ads and so many others skills are all proving to be helpful in this next venture.

I’m still excited about photography but I love not knowing where this new opportunity may lead. It’s the excitement of the unknown!

CR: What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

CC: As a family photographer, the best source of clients were definitely mom groups and all social events that were baby-focused.

I offered to photograph gatherings and special occasions and gave those images for free with absolutely no pressure to buy. My goal was simply to meet as many humans as possible, continue building my portfolio and eventually start charging for my services.

I follow this rule now when it comes to working for free: if I can’t imagine NOT photographing the event, or if I’m portfolio building – I will shoot for free. This has been a very useful policy over the years to not feel obligated to photograph everyone I know.

Read the full interview and view more photos here: Meet Carolyn Clement - CanvasRebel Magazine.

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