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Walid Azāmi started his career in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles working for Madonna and others. In this episode, he dives deep to talk about why you must follow your instincts or follow your gut, and why that’s been the biggest reason why he landed some of his career’s biggest opportunities.

Who is Walid Azāmi?

Walid Azāmi is a photographer & director who got his start by working with Madonna + Co to help create a multitude of projects under her brand. It was there that Walid realized his place in the creative world and began teaching himself photography & directing. That type of dedication and intent is what helped him create visuals for some of the world’s biggest icons and brands including Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Volkswagen, HP Computers, Target Stores, and a video of the year nomination for Tamar Braxton’s debut release. Walid has since worked with numerous other brands and celebrities and recently added author to his resume.

Walid started this project to share his experiences with others, hoping they also find a path to success. How to Photograph was that project to help other photographers gain success in the commercial world

Why Should You Listen to Walid Azāmi?

There are plenty of reasons why you should listen to Walid Azāmi. Let me give the top 3:

1. Walid is a self-taught photographer and artist who started from scratch and went on to work with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.
2. He is a refugee from Afghanistan who landed in the United States by chance. And ever since has worked hard to leave no stone unturned to turn that chance to an opportunity. The biggest thing he shares is why you should follow your instincts.
3. Walid shares some really good advice for entrepreneurs in the second half of this episode where he talks about hiring photographers for headshots and so much more.

What You’ll Learn from this Interview?

Walid talks about a lot of things in this interview. Here are specific things you’ll learn:

1. How Walid landed a job with Madonna from being just a young refugee in the United States?
2. Walid tells why you should follow your instincts and shares the strange story that led him to land his first photography gig after buying a camera for almost $3000!
3. Walid talks about what excites him the most when it comes to photography and what he does.
4. He shares the best marketing advice he’s received ever (in fact, he shares two of them!).
5. He talks about the experience working with Madonna and the ONE THING he learned from her, that’s changed him forever.
6. Walid tells entrepreneurs how to go about selecting a photographer to shoot your headshots, and how to prepare yourself for a photo shoot.

and so much more!

How Can You Listen?

Walid’s interview is available in audio.

Direct Link to Audio

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How to Get In Touch with Walid Azāmi?

Twitter: @WalidAzami

Instagram: @howtophotograph

Website: howtophotograph.net

YouTube: @WalidAzami

Walid’s interview on Smart Passive Income.

Join the Newsletter

I wanted to take a minute to tell you about my newsletter. If you happen to be running a business, or just getting started, I want to invite you to signup for my newsletter. Every week I share resources, stories, and conversations so we can exchange notes as we build our businesses. So if you are a business owner, entrepreneur or solopreneur, or whichever way you identify yourself, do signup for the newsletter at designyourthinking.com/newsletter.

Signup for Walid’s Photography Course

Walid Azāmi is launching his signature course on photography where he teaches the business of photography from scratch. I strongly recommend you consider taking this course if you are in the business of photography anywhere around the world. You can check out the details at howtophotograph.net/dyt.

I must remind you that the above link is an affiliate link and I’ll get paid a small sum if you signup using that link. That small sum will go towards producing this show. But I want to offer you two things when you purchase Walid’s course using this link.

1. You’ll get two 60-minute coaching sessions with me where I’ll basically help you with any business challenge you may have. This offer is valid for the first 3 signups only!
2. I’ll give you a framework to develop products that help you build super fans. This is a framework I teach my customers and students and is the same framework that’s used by companies like Slack, Facebook, Google, and so many others.

I just wanted to make sure you understand how much value I see in Walid’s course and I just don’t want you to miss something like that. Again, the link is howtophotograph.net/dyt.

Thanks for Listening!

Please do share your thoughts:

• Leave a note in the comment section below.
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• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.
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Special thanks to Walid Azāmi for taking the time to join me this week!