Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Friesen.
Hi Nick, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My co-founder Shane and I grew up in MN/ND and met around 7 years ago. I was a wedding photographer at the time, and he was a software developer. We bonded over the love of working late nights on our businesses (he on his software company, and me typically editing photos).
I had stumbled upon a new method of coaching for headshot clients (now we call it facial expression coaching) and tried it out on a few of my friends, including Shane. This involves teaching someone what muscles in their face contribute to natural-looking facial expressions. These photos ended up on Shane’s online dating profiles, and he began to get far more matches than ever before. He also snapped a few of me for my online profiles, and my matches improved.
Fast forward to 2018, Shane moved to Dallas and proposed the idea of photographing people for their online dating profiles. At the time, he had just started dating his now wife from the photos I took of him (they matched on Tinder). In the beginning, I was flying into Dallas to do sessions for guys, then eventually joined him in Texas.
We slowly crafted our particular style of photography in detail, and it has gradually become more and more thorough over time. We now have worked with over 700 guys in dozens of cities throughout the country and have 6 photographers shooting for us. There have been at least 5+ marriages or upcoming marriages from our photos and countless relationships.
I am also getting married in a few weeks to a gal I met online from some of the photos Shane took for me.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not always been a smooth ride. For years, my only experience was in photography, but in the past year or two, I really had to learn to be a true entrepreneur. Shane was the experienced founder of a few businesses, and I brought photography to the table. With Shane a bit busier with his software company, Memory Share, I have been focusing on learning to be a good leader for the team.
In order to reach the level of photoshoots we have, I had to dive deep into sales, leadership, hiring, marketing, learn some new software tools, and dedicate more hours to the business.
When we first started The Match Artist, Shane was taking the sales calls and I was doing the photoshoots. It was just the two of us. Now, our team is growing quickly and I’m making sure 50+ shoots a month in 10-15 cities are going smoothly. There have been hiccups along the journey, but I’m just thrilled we can make such a huge impact in our clients’ lives and give our photographers meaningful work.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve been some sort of artist for most of my life. With my mom being a piano teacher and dad having a PhD in genetics, I got a little of both sides of artist and analytical. I’ve always hugged the artist side a little closer, but more recently I’ve embraced the business curiosity.
In college, I studied piano and general music, then taught piano and guitar lessons for a few years as I was growing my photography business before The Match Artist. I’ve always been fascinated with various types of art, which started with music. I’ve played a number of styles, recorded music at home, and still play frequently. I think this helped me transition into photography because just like focusing on the mood of a song and the meaning behind it, I want each photo I take to give off a certain mood and carry meaning for the viewer.
I frequently ask clients, “What do you want people to feel when they see a photo of you?” Then, I coach them until the photo gives off that feeling.
I always hear from people, “I’m not photogenic.” I truly believe that everyone CAN be photogenic if they are coached correctly. The thing is, all people are photogenic when captured in the right moment. But the right moment rarely comes during a formal photo session because people are more reserved and usually feel out of their element. That’s where the coaching element comes in for us.
We move people around to show confidence, joy, mystery, and maybe a mix of all three. People look at our portfolio and comment on how natural the clients look, and it’s often from me saying, “Okay, chin up, turn a little, drop the left shoulder, look at my hand, smirk to the left side, etc.” We also shoot in locations where clients feel comfortable, like their own home or places in their city they visit regularly.
When you’re getting photos taken, there’s always a vision in your head of how you hope to look. I’m really passionate about helping guys see their vision come to life. I want to help them see themselves accurately and confidently by taking photos that they’re proud to show off. Most guys have never been captured in a series of photos like this before. The photos we take have the power to help people find meaningful relationships and raise their confidence in their appearance. So many clients that have the house, the car, and a great lifestyle, but nothing is quite as powerful as the way you see yourself. I’m honored that we’ve been able to give clients a more positive outlook on their self-image.
In addition, we’ve been able to create a repeatable process that gets clients 10-15 shirt changes that make the photos look like they were taken over the course of months. I don’t want the photos to look like they were taken on the same day. I’d rather it seem like they just have a photographer friend who they trust and consistently hang out with.
We also highly value the relational aspect of photography, and I think that’s something a lot of photographers miss. We purposely make our sessions 4-5+ hours long to give us a buffer for any activity or conversation that might come up during the shoot. Each client fills out a thorough questionnaire before the shoot with questions about their hobbies, music tastes, what makes them laugh, etc. We want to go into sessions knowing as much about them as possible to legitimately make them feel like they are hanging out with a friend. Actually, most of my local friends are actually past clients because of the deeper nature of conversation that comes from a shoot like ours.
Dating can be a sensitive subject, especially for men who don’t often open up about their struggles. These sessions allow some guys to get things off their chest if they want and feel more confident jumping back into the dating scene. Whether it’s the recently divorced guy, or the 30-something who has spent most of his life working and is ready to start looking for that significant relationship, we want to create an environment where they feel comfortable to open up and be themselves.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
It would have to be my passion for music. With The Match Artist being the main thing I’m currently passionate about, my identity has shifted away from music and into running a successful photography business. I still play piano and guitar every day, as well as consume a few hours of music to keep me going. I guess when people ask about my life these days, I talk about my business, and not what I’m currently learning on guitar.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thematchartist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thematchartist
Image Credits
Nick Friesen
Ben Peterson
Shane White
