We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matt Lerer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Matt, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

I come from a family of if you want something and you have a passion for it, go all in! It was simple for me because I had a lot of confidence in my passion/work and I felt it was time to introduce others to the way I see things. I researched who I would get photos printed from, what avenues I would take to get my work out there, what promoters I would have to contact in order to try and get into shows, and do I rent or buy my set ups for the shows if I get in. The initial investment was the cost of the photos, promoter fees, and at the time, tent rentals. From inception to the first show I was accepted into was incredibly quick and there was no time for nerves. It was go time!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’ve always loved photography and photographs in general and I was introduced to the photography side of it from someone who raised me as a son from the time I was a teenager. My dad was a surgeon but also somebody who had a passion for photography and he passed that on to me starting at about the age of 18 years old. I was a sponge for his knowledge and he taught me everything he knew about photography. Very quickly he could see that there was something different about the photos I was taking. I could say he was always my number one fan and always wanted me to get my work out there.

My work has been printed on paper, canvas, and my favorite, aluminum. I would consider my work to be fine art but with an explanation on the art part of it. I don’t know if I can technically call it art but I would say it’s just the way I see things. When I take photographs I immediately look for something that I would like to see on the wall in my own home. I look for something from a different angle than what most people may look for. I look for something that will stop others in their tracks.

I’m most proud of the reactions that I see on peoples faces when they see my work. The eyebrows going up, the mouths open, the head shaking, the pointing, the gasps, the wonderful comments, and everything else that goes along with people being taken by surprise. I would much rather have the experience of seeing these reactions over the actual transactions.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I will quote my brother on this one. He was being interviewed for a cable network talk show and he was asked about ideas being brought to him and what he looks for in a potential future business partner. He said that he has never had an idea that has come across the table that started out at ‘A’ and ended at ‘A’. He said every idea has always ended at X, Y, or Z, or some other letter in the alphabet. So he always looks to do business with somebody who has the ability to pivot. As a professional photographer/artist I think if you are geared toward a specific audience you have to be able to switch things up if that audience changes. Living in south Florida, I do well with images of beaches, beach life, sea life, sunrises and sunsets, palm trees, and things like that. That limits your audience but things can still go very well with beautiful images. I’m lucky enough to have traveled all over the world and have images that go along with my travels. There are always people who have been to some of the same destinations that would like beautiful images to jog memories they have of those places. If some images are beautiful to me they may not be looked at the same way to clients and some images they may like might not be as exciting to me. As a business I have to be able to pivot to attract different groups of clients than I am normally used to. I have a lot of images from Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, and these will be some main images I will show at art festivals out west this summer. This is very large pivot point for me because I have to have the inventory to go along with that switch. Again, it’s a go all in scenario.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

My clientele started out small with one person that wanted the number of images for their home in a golf club community I actually taught tennis at this club and got into a discussion about photography with someone who I was teaching at the time. This gentleman wanted to see some of my work so I went through a handful of images that I had transferred to my iPhone and the rest was history. He was as close to being in shock at the quality and beauty of the images as anybody could have been. I got together with him and he acquired a number of large images. Word got out pretty quick that this gentleman had my work in his house and as others saw the images I started having more and more people contact me. Getting your work out there one way or another so people can see it first hand I would say is the most effective way for me to grow my clientele. Word of mouth and of course the art show circuit are amazing ways for people to see my work or anybody’s work for that matter. I personally think a website, or moreover a very elaborate website, is nothing more than a fancy business card. There’s nothing like having a physical piece of work right in front of somebody and that’s what will blow up clientele for most people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mattlererphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattlererphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.lerer

Image Credits
Matt Lerer Photography