The Bloom CEO

A conversation with Jon Younger about the freelancing revolution. 

Matthew Jordan Smith is an American photographer based in Tokyo, Japan and working between Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles. He has photographed some of the worlds most famous celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Queen Latifah, Angela Bassett, Tyra Banks and more. His advertising clients include Olay, Pantene, Revlon, Showtime and HBO. 

In his spare time Matthew focuses on personal projects, photo exhibits and book projects. To date, Smith has published three books, Sepia Dreams, Lost & Found, and Future American President. 

He has received numerous awards including the Vision Award and the George Eastman Power of Image award. He is a Nikon Ambassador and the host of the Master Your Lens photography podcast. Matthew is represented by LVA Represents in New York City.

Peter Hurley is one of the most well-known portrait and headshot photographers based in NYC.

Joel is an award-winning photographer who has managed to reinvent himself over 4 times during the span of his career. Topics covered:
- How to be an artist who isn't broke
- How to re-invent yourself
- Core principles of success as a freelancer

Creatives have a subconscious imperative to create art and self-express. But capitalism isn't structured where this can work for most creatives. The only way forward is to create a financial foundation for yourself so that you can be in a place where this is possible. 

This episode was recorded live during a Bloom event called Creative Movement. 

An exclusive backstage event with a conversation between Paul Mikhay, Chris Do, and Jamie Brindle. Topics covered:

1. What does it mean to be an artist?
2. How do you reconcile the need to self-express with client needs?
3. What about the term, “Freelancer”?  How has the term evolved?
4. What are the stages of freelancing? 
5. What options are there for increasing revenue if you don’t want to hire? 
6. How do you decide how to price yourself?
7. Is content creation a good idea for freelancers?
8. How do you hunt and gather in marketing? Know your strengths.
9. What is something that you didn’t expect about being a content creator? 
10. Principles for showing up online that attract followers.