A Creative Way to Start Working with Celebrities

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It can be a dream to work with well-known people. But if you’re not a part of this community it’s very difficult to get started there.

In this episode, Matthew Jordan Smith shares a creative way to start working with celebrities.

We’ll talk about his personal project Sepia Dreams that led to meeting with many celebrities, publishing a book, a lot of media exposure and sponsorship, and so on. It had so much impact on his life and business.

Matthew is an American photographer based in Tokyo. He is a Nikon Ambassador best known for his portraits of celebrities, icons and fashion models.

He is the host of the Master Your Lens podcast and author of several books including, Sepia Dreams and Future American President.

In this episode, we will cover:

[00:22] About the episode and Matthew Jordan Smith
[02:00] Negative people put their fear on you, but it’s their fears, not your fears
[03:32] How Matthew started his career as a photographer
[05:53] Why he started Sepia Dreams book project and what it is about
[07:43] How he began photographing celebrities for Sepia Dreams book
[10:48] How he planned the project from the very beginning
[12:35] How he conducted interviews with celebrities
[16:17] How Matthew picked the celebrities for interviewing and reached them out
[20:17] The impact that Sepia Dreams book had on his career and life
[23:57] The meaning that Matthew put into the project inspired many celebrities to participate in it
[28:46] After publishing a book he got a lot of media exposure and sponsorship
[32:31] What he would do if he would start a similar project again
[35:46] Where to find Matthew online
[36:32] For the show notes go to marinabarayeva.com and subscribe to the Marketing for Creatives show

Resources from this interview:

Learn more about Matthew Jordan Smith on matthewjordansmith.com
Read a Sepia Dreams book
Learn more about Gordon Parks. A photographer who inspired Matthew to do his Sepia Dreams project
Celebrities, who were the part of Sepia Dreams book mentioned in the episode Vanessa Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Lena Horne
The new book he plans to write about Aretha Franklin
Japanese Washi paper that Matthew uses for printing now
Follow Matthew on Instagram

Connect with Marina Barayeva:

Marina Barayeva

Marina Barayeva is an international speaker and coach who helps women entrepreneurs become recognized experts and confidently sell their services. She is also a TEDx speaker, has presented to audiences in Asia and North America, and has been featured in such media as ArtPeople, CCTV, China Radio International, and others.