Madison Avery Somerville with Madison Avery Studio

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. I’m super excited about my guest today, Madison Somerville. Madison is a business portrait photographer that I was introduced through a mutual network contact. I think it was John Ricardo. Thank you, John, for introducing us. She’s here in Houston, Texas. She received her first camera as a gift from her father in 2011 and never looked back. She’s been back in Texas since 2021 and has rebranded herself and her business as Madison Avery Studio. Her mission is to help professionals and business owners look their best, tell their story, and connect with their dream clients. Madison, welcome to the show.

Madison Somerville: Hi Trisha, thanks so much for having me. It’s really a pleasure to be here.

Trisha Stetzel: Well, I’m so excited to have you on. You and I have had several conversations around what you’re doing and the way you do it, and I just love how you capture the realness of people in the photography that you do. So what? Tell me about your favorite clients. Who is it that you love to work with the most?

Madison Somerville: So I love working with lawyers and engineers above all else. All professionals really. But but lawyers and engineers are just my my cup of tea. I guess I get along with them really well. We jive and I can help them a lot.

Trisha Stetzel: Awesome. So tell me about your experience in that space. Some people listening may be like, she wants to work with who? Uh, because it is like this. Very what? Most of us sitting on the outside looking in, maybe a staunch profession. Right. And what I know about your work, and we’re going to tell people about where they can find that is it is very real. And it is not this stuffy, staunch kind of photography. So talk more about, you know, the work that you do in that space for this, these particular professions.

Madison Somerville: Sure. So I see business changing and some of these more, as you call it, staunch uh, or traditional, uh, professions are they’re facing a lot of competition today from both each other, from AI, from the changing way we do business. And it’s becoming more and more important for those kinds of individuals to differentiate themselves, they often have a ton of knowledge that nobody knows about. They have experience, they have stories, and people have never heard these things from them because it’s not traditionally thought of, uh, lawyers and engineers telling their story or connecting with their, their people. But I see a huge opportunity for them to do so as the world becomes more digital, as we do more business online, and as people connect with one another to do business with people that are like themselves.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Talk a little bit about Madison. The the difference between using like a stock photo or using AI to create these photos versus what you’re doing for your clients.

Madison Somerville: So the main objective or result that I’m trying to get my clients is to create a platform, an audience, a personal brand around themselves and what they believe in. And there’s no one in the world like you. And so I help people highlight that and show that they’re not just a stuffy professional. I also enjoy fishing, or I also enjoy, um, connecting with this nonprofit or supporting this cause. Or these are my values and just helping people think about that and present that so that they show the whole picture of who they are. And I just doesn’t allow that human connection and stock photography the same thing. You’re not connecting with the actual business owner, and you just look like everyone else who’s doing what you’re also doing. And people want to connect with other people. And the best way to do that is through our faces, our, you know, faith. There’s nothing like face to face connection. And digitally that’s through photography.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, that’s and you’re your photography is beautiful. So, uh, give a little plug. Where can they find some of your work? They’re probably curious. Already listening, to the show today. So where can they find some of your work? Madison?

Madison Somerville: Sure. You can find it on my website at Madison Avery Studio.com. Or I’m also on Instagram at Madison Avery Studio and LinkedIn as Madison Avery Somerville. Yeah. All right.

Trisha Stetzel: I want to dig in just a little more into this AI space. You and I have had this conversation around, uh, you know, it’s, uh, people deem it to be less expensive and it’s easier. I just put my face out there, and then they put my face on some body with some clothes and some hair, and it doesn’t even look like the person anymore, in my opinion. Uh, so talk a little more about being in this photography business and how you might see AI as competition or not.

Madison Somerville: Sure. Uh, for for my own business.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely.

Madison Somerville: Okay, so I do and I don’t because at the end of the day, humans buy from other humans. We don’t. Occasionally we buy from robots, but it’s usually like commodity, you know, things that don’t really matter that much to us. If you’re going to get your estate plan done or you, uh, need a tax attorney or you’re starting a new business and you need help with with, uh, forming that the human is who you’re going to be working with. And so we you want to be able to connect and get along with that person. And I just doesn’t give you any kind of idea of what that human is like.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, that’s very true. And when I look at your photography, it’s just so human. There’s something about the way you capture people’s faces and the activities that they’re doing in a way that really brings life to that person. And I agree with you. We do so much business online. We’re looking for that. Still looking for that human connection because we’re humans. Why wouldn’t we be looking for that human connection? So what is I want to talk about people who have pictures that are really old online. What is best practice for updating your headshot or the the photos that you have on your website or LinkedIn or any of those social areas?

Madison Somerville: So it depends a little bit for on your goals, what kind of business you’re in, how you market your business, and that kind of thing. But at minimum, every two years we change our hair. We change the way we look. Shave your face, change your clothes, lose weight, gain weight, whatever it is, we look different and also and people notice when you post a new picture, update your LinkedIn profile. And it’s just another way to show that you exist and remind people, oh hey, I’m here.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. So shout out to those of you who have picked your profile picture on LinkedIn. It’s like 15 years old. Please update it. Yes, please update it. Please. You know who you are. You know who you are.

Madison Somerville: You deserve.

Trisha Stetzel: Better. So, Madison. Yes, exactly. Uh, we’ve talked a lot about just headshots, but I know you do a lot more work than just headshots with attorneys and engineers. So talk a little bit more about the other work that you do in your business.

Madison Somerville: Sure. So part of it is that the personal brand photography and kind of strategy and consulting around that, what are your goals? What are you trying to achieve? Where do you want to go? How can photography help you get there? And then I also photograph corporate events. So awards ceremonies, uh, networking events, galas, that kind of thing. I really enjoy, uh, connecting with people and capturing the fun of the event.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And from a photography perspective, you talked about even capturing the things that people do outside of work. So is that something that you enjoy as well? Like if somebody wanted to go to Galveston or go to Kemah or something like that. Do you also capture those images for people?

Madison Somerville: I do, and I think a comprehensive personal brand strategy includes various aspects of your life. And so some of my clients we do take go out on several shoots so that they can capture the different aspects of their lives.

Trisha Stetzel: Awesome. I, you and I had talked a little while back about a program that you want to run a couple of times a year, and I’m just curious if you’d like to share that with the audience today. I know the timing on it is we’ve got several months, I think, before you’re running it again, but I would love to get this out there in front of people because I think it’s an amazing program. Can you talk about that?

Madison Somerville: Thanks. Sure. So it’s called the Reflection Project. And the idea is to take time for ourselves to reflect on how far we’ve come and the progress we’ve made in our lives. We move so fast, and life is so busy that sometimes we forget, oh, I’ve come really far in the last six months. I’m spending more time with my kids, or I’m spending less time on the screen. I’m eating better, I’m exercising more, the small things. So the purpose of this project is that twice a year around Christmas and New Years, and then in the summer, I will come out to you and capture your portrait on film, and we will have a conversation about kind of what you, uh, done the past six months and what you hope to accomplish in the following six months. And then once that six months is over, I will send you a physical print of one of the pictures we took together and a little worksheet to help you kind of reflect back on the time since we captured that image. And the idea behind the physical print is that it’s it’s hard to ignore. It’s there in front of you. You see yourself. There’s just something magical about having a physical photograph. And then you always have that record that’s apart from all your other photography on your phone or your computer. That is a record of that time and place.

Trisha Stetzel: Above that man. So I love that the idea of the reflection and celebrating our wins, that’s something that I always talk with my clients about, is making sure that we take the time to celebrate the things, even the small things that we’re doing that are making us better humans or better business people or better friends, better parents, better siblings, whatever that looks like. And I love that you’re running this program. Uh, is there more information on your website about that matter?

Madison Somerville: There is information on my website through my, uh, social links. So it’s, uh, Madison studio.com/social, and there’s information on that page.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. Fantastic. Tell me your favorite. Um, tell me your favorite client story.

Madison Somerville: So probably my all time favorite client story is a young man that I met out networking. He’s not that young, but younger than myself, but. And I met him at networking. He had recently started a nonprofit, and he he felt like he was ready to kind of level up, be more of a professional than a young man, and kind of come out as a nonprofit founder and really make a splash with his business. And so we worked together, I guess, about a year and a half ago, and took some, some photos that he’s then used to promote his nonprofit. And the growth has been incredible. That year he had like triple or quadruple the people from the year before, and this year he’s partnered with University of Houston. Like it’s become this huge thing and I can’t take full credit for that, but I do. He told me his in his words, he that that investing in that photography shoot helped him to feel confident that he was a professional and able to go out and do do the great things that he’s done.

Trisha Stetzel: That’s amazing. And in part it was you and the and the the work that you did together. But being able to experience that alongside of him, I think is really cool as well. Let’s talk about, from a business perspective, um, how do you find your clients? What is your best source or how you engage with the people that you want to bring to your business?

Madison Somerville: Uh, networking has been huge for me. I get out and meet people, and I think that the way, maybe the way I approach networking is a little bit different than some people. Um, I really just go out there trying to build relationships. I’m not even generally trying to sell anything to anyone. I want to hear about the people that I’m meeting. How can I help them? Having kind of an attitude of service and giving first and just being present. And then eventually people start to, how can I work with you? They start to kind of come around and ask, you know, I might need some photography. They start to consider photography as an option for their business where they might not have before, but I really think it’s because I don’t push it and I just say, this is what I offer, this is how I can help. And yeah, it’s it’s it’s the long term strategy for sure. But, um, yeah. And just being out I mean at least minimum one networking event every week. Okay. All right.

Trisha Stetzel: So then you and I, you and I even met through networking. Uh, I believe that in most businesses, building relationships is the key to how you source your clients or even build strategic alliances inside of your business. And that’s why you and I have had so many conversations and continue to try and recognize ways that we can help each other. And I love that about you and being out there and building relationships. And as a photographer, I think it’s very special that that’s something that you want to do, because as you build those relationships, you get to know people and then you get to actually take their photos and see who that real human being is behind those photos. So thank you for doing such amazing work. Uh, how can if people are interested either in your reflections program or having some shots done, whether they’ve got a group or they want to do some headshots for their business, how can they get in touch with you? Madison?

Madison Somerville: Uh, the best way is to send me an email or, uh, give me a phone call. My email address is hello at Madison Avery Studio.com. And maybe we could put my phone number in the show notes or.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. I’m going to put all of your connections in the show notes and, yeah, whatever you want to put here verbally, we can get out there as well. Uh, and we’ll make sure that you’ve got, uh, that folks who are listening can just point and click and get in touch with you right away. Um, anything, Madison, that we didn’t touch on today, that really you wanted to bring out in the show?

Madison Somerville: Um. I think one of the things that stood out to me the most from client feedback is how how surprised people sometimes are by how much fun and how enjoyable the photography session really was. I think people sometimes dread being photographed. To be honest, I kind of do sometimes too, and I really try to make it fun, enjoyable, lighthearted. We get the best photos if you’re having a good time. So really, it’s my intention to help us just have a have fun.

Trisha Stetzel: I’m glad you brought that out because I think a lot of people, especially my husband, I know personally, right? He’s like, oh, we have to take more pictures. I don’t want to take pictures, and I don’t mind them. Uh, so yeah, I think it’s really cool that you’re, uh, wanting to capture people having fun or enjoying what they’re doing with you when it comes to photography. And I love your work. You do such amazing work, Madison. I love the heart that you have. Uh, you and I connected because we both have high energy. And I think that that is something that, um, we can bring to others. And I’m so glad you were on the show with me today. Madison. Thank you for being here.

Madison Somerville: Thank you so much for having me. It was really a pleasure.

Trisha Stetzel: And that’s all the time we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another exciting episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay inspired and keep thriving in the Houston business community.