Mark Condon is quitting his full time day job to pursue his passion of photography which wasn't a decision to take lightly with a young child, living expenses and a tougher than ever industry to break into. He knew there had to be bookings before making the leap and to get bookings, he had to be noticed and that's where his story differs from most.
Mark was getting noticed and attention for his personal projects which were then leading to paid photography sessions. He's continued with his personal projects and now has an approach that almost ensures more attention, more bookings, more business.
Mark is also the founder and curator of the super popular photography blog, shotkit.com and author of the similarly titled book, shotkitbook.com.
Here’s some of what we cover:
What’s on Offer for Premium Members
If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this episode where you can hear lots more content from where we dive deeper into some of the earlier topics plus some new ones that I pushed hard for that include:
If you're on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interview with Mark Condon, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your podcast app.
What is your big takeaway?
Following this interview, I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you’d like to implement or learnt from what was shared? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.
Whenever I post projects or personal work, it attracts paid work – Mark Condon
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Mark or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below.
If you’d like an easy way to show Mark your thanks and support for the show at the same time, click the link to create a tweet and automatically show you’re listening: https://photobizx.com/tweet
iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs
Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!
Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners means more interviews and ultimately a better show.
If you have left a review in the past, thank you!
If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know your website URL just like I have with “Lollies Lauren” below.
GREAT PODCAST
By Lollies Lauren of Lauren Gray Photography from Australia on June 30, 2015
Fantastic Podcast. Wish I had known about it sooner.
I have been a premium member just over a month now and love listening to these podcasts whilst I edit. Lots of great content.
I'm learning so much and have a note book full of information. Looking forward to applying the new techniques to my business.
Can't thank you enough Andrew.
Cheers Lauren
Hi Andrew!! Holey Moley!
I am busy catching up on the PhotoBizX podcasts. I skipped to Kristen Kalp's episode 'cause she is so cool'!
I vowed to NOT sign up to any more things this year so I could digest everything I have been reading, learning & listening to but after that episode I just had to. I totally identified with you when you spoke about letting that mind chatter undermine your confidence that you could have done better on a shoot (whether it a wedding or personal shoot) but then downloading the files & thinking “yay I love them” Do you think that ever goes away? Part of me hopes it does & another part of me thinks “no way” as it keeps you striving to get better and better.
Your dilemma with the day in the life session resonated too. I do Family Story sessions that are similar but are yet to take off, so I feel the same frustration about how to put them out there. I am hoping with the new site, this may change. Here's my first Family Story session http://www.tracyleephotography.net/wear-your-slippers-to-your-next-photo-session/
And my new site!
It took so long because I wanted to put into action everything I had learnt over the past year. The toughest things were –
- Putting the real me out there. Something that kept coming up in so many podcasts from you (thank you too for asking all the question we ALL WANT TO ASK our heroes in photography but are to self-conscious to actually ask 😉 )
- Being realistic about my pricing & charging what I feel is my value!
- Shooting how and what I really love to attract like minded clients!! In my new galleries on the new site, I took out certain images that were gorgeous but really didn't float my boat haha Eg- I no longer cute wrapped up newborns because it simply is not my thing and there are people out there who do it so well. I shoot newborns exactly how I enjoy shooting & convey this to my clients too.
The PhotoBizX podcasts are gold. I often go back to my faves & listen again to really absorb what resonates with me.
Thanks Andrew – you really are doing something pretty cool & your honesty about your own business is refreshing!
My new site arghh! – http://www.tracyleephotography.net/
Next step – absorb Kristen's “sales without shame” & see what the next adventure will be!
Sales Without Shame – Photography Sales Course by Kristen Kalp
Kristen Kalp was last weeks guest and I shared details about her Sales Without Shame course. After hearing about her strategy to use printed proofs for the sales session (part of the course) I promised to give it a try and have since ordered two lots of proofs for two of this weeks sessions – I'll let you know how they go.
Since the interview, I downloaded Kristen's course and there is so much more to it than printed proofs! It's a complete strategy for portrait sales including:
- Products to sell and show
- Overcoming and dealing with rejection or resistance to your prices
- Questions you need to be asking during the session to give your client what they actually want
- How to move quickly and completely through the session
- How to deal with discount hunters
- How not to give everything away
- Using incentives to make the sale happen and actually get paid
- What to do when the decision maker isn't at the session
In addition to the tactics you'll find cheat sheets and forms to use during your sales sessions with everything laid out in order so you don't miss a step.
I've since passed the course onto Linda to follow for this weeks sales sessions. Usually it would be Tenneille but she is heading off on holidays for 6 weeks!
I was also pretty excited to see a complete module for wedding photography too! Topics include selling albums to disc only wedding bookings, selling extra pages to client who have ordered an album and doing it all easily and without fuss.
Honestly, if you're someone who struggles with sales and selling, you give too much away, feel intimidated by some clients or don't feel you're worth what you need to (and want to) charge, have a look at Kristen's course and make use of the $200 saving for the next 3 weeks only.
Here's the link again: Sales Without Shame
Competition to beat Pat Flynn
A few weeks ago I was hoping for your help to beat Pat Flynn, an inspiration to me, by having more visitors check out Cole's Classroom after having Cole Joseph on the podcast than Pat Flynn generated after having Cole on his podcast.
I heard form Cole and although we didn't beat Pat, we were close to even with him. Not bad considering the number of listeners Pat has to his show – over 100,000 per episode!
Cole wasn't disappointed and said not to worry, he had a blast doing the interview, which was great to hear.
If you're a user of Adobe Lightroom and haven't check Cole’s Classroom, you really should. The free preset downloads and information, tutorials and help Cole provides on his website is truly first class.
And if you did check out Cole's website following that episode… thank you.
$1 Trial for the PhotoBizX Premium Membership
If you're a regular listener to the free podcast, you definitely know you're missing out on a ton of good content that could be the difference in you speeding up your success in this business or working things out yourself… slowly.
If you've wondered what you get for $20 per month with the membership, will it be good value for you?
Now you can trial the Premium Membership for a measly $1 for the first month! Here's the link to go check it out and stop missing info that will impact your photography, your business, your life: https://photobizx.com/try
Any questions or hassles, email me or leave a comment below – hope to see you in the membership area shortly.
Book More Portraits than You Ever Thought Possible
After first talking about the ebook for portrait photographers almost a year ago, it's finally done and you should have a copy (or how to download a version of it) in your email by now. It's free and I'm hoping will help you generate a stack of portrait sessions if you follow the instructions.
The email I'm referring to went to all Premium Members and anyone on my email list. If you haven't received a copy and would like one, head to http://bookmoreportraits.com/, add your details and you'll have it in minutes.
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Mark Condon's Work featured on Polka Dot Bride
Mark Condon's Work as featured on White Magazine
Jing – Free Screen Capture and Screen Recording Software
Coles Classroom – for lightroom presets and tutorials
Sales Without Shame – Kristen Kalp's Sales Course (on special for PhotoBizX listeners NOW)
Equipment
Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
Nikon 35mm f/1.4G AF-S FX SWM Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Nikon D810 FX-format Digital SLR Camera Body
Sigma 340306 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Lens for Nikon (Black)
Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Dicapac USA Inc. WP-S10 Waterproof Case for Compact Digital Cameras (Dark Brown)
Thank you!
Thank you again for listening to the show and thanks to Mark for being a fantastic and thought provoking guest!
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!
That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!
Thanks and speak soon
Andrew
Hey Mark, cool to hear about how you were famous in Japan. I have a somewhat related story in that while I’m Canadian, I apparently had the right height, blonde hair, and blue eyes required to be a Swedish embassy greeter on the weekends… was quite hilarious, and it was Manpower Japan of all places that found that gig for me.
Anyway, good interview, and I liked the 35mm project that you mentioned. I’ve brainstormed it in the car while listening, and have come up with my own variation that I’m going to publish to Instagram. Stay tuned! 🙂 @ShotByCA
Another Japanese superstar!
I’ll keep an eye out on Instagram Chris, looking forward to seeing what you’ve come up with.
Hey Christian! Sorry for the late reply. Yes your look is exactly what Japanese love – am sure you were popular over there! Looking forward to seeing your Instagram project soon. Cheers, Mark
Another great episode Andrew. I completely agree on the importance of responding to inquiries right away, especially since that potential client is almost always contacting multiple vendors in that single sitting.
In my community the market is very saturated with wedding and portrait photographers, but time and time again I’m hearing from clients that they loved that I responded right away to their inquiry and that when they called, I actually picked up the phone!
You’re dead right Ahmad, responding to emails, picking up the phone and being responsive can be all it takes to stand out in a crowded market.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the episode!
Great interview guys, thanks. My biggest takeaway is to not worry so much about my style not being defined yet. I like that fact that you are using different styles for each wedding. I put too much pressure on myself to have come up with a style and stick to it, but I’ve not even got my first booking yet (almost hopefully!), so that’s a ridiculous thing to do to myself! I will be freer in my approach to editing now and not worry if one set of images isn’t that similar to the next. Thanks!
Great to read your comments Daniel and yes, you’re definitely being too harsh on yourself at this stage. Shoot how you like and feel free to mess around in post, experiment and find what you like.
The toughest part, I’ve found, is trying to not be overly influenced by other photographers. I made a point of not following ANY photographers local to me to help with that. I believe it has made a difference in what I’m putting out there now.
Have fun with it and go with your gut.
Thanks Andrew – great advice. I will keep messin’ and let you know how it goes!
A great podcast to listen to, i love shotkit.com and its nice to hear how down to earth and open Mark is about the wedding photography industry!
I too am on the cusp of going full-time with my Wedding Photography business, I’m just waiting to fit the final pieces of the jigsaw together.
Thank you Andrew for another great Podcast! My biggest takeaway from this is being true to myself and to concentrate on my own business and not to waste so much time on how others are conducting theirs!
Keep up the good work 🙂
Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed hearing Mark’s story and great takeaway!
Wishing you great success with your changeover to full time – that’s fantastic. Stay in touch and let us know how you’re going.
I only just realised there were comments here! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to leave your thoughts and I wish you all the best of luck. We’re all in this together 😉
Really useful interview with Mark. His beautiful images suggest much more experience than 20 weddings. Perhaps due to exposure to lots of other people kit and ideas and an open mindset not always focussing on one style. I have a list of great wedding locations to call. This has prompted me to get on the phone and offer them some photography for their websites, no strings attached!
Agreed Rob – Marks photography far exceeds what anyone would expect with the number of wedding photographed.
Great idea re your wedding locations and free shoots – love to hear how many take you up on your offer and how it works out in regard to bookings and referrals.
Thanks Rob, that’s really kind of you to say. My wedding work still has a lot of refining, but I do agree with you that I’m not focusing on one style.
This might sound weird but I listenned to this podcast again the other day, just to remind myself what to do re. projects and working with vendors! I’m a do as I say and not as I do kinda guy (easily distracted!)
Re. the wedding locations, I’ve not actually found any Sydney venues I like enough to want to shoot at – maybe someone has a suggestion? Recently, I’ve decided I want to shoot in NZ, so have created a landing page specific for that (http://goldhatphotography.com/new-zealand-wedding-photographer/) and am experimenting with FB ads. Clicks seem to be cheaper than in Sydney, so will see how it goes. So far I’ve had 4 enquiries for about $50 – not great, but then again, a real eye opener as to what can be done with FB no matter where you’re located.
Thanks again Rob! I wish you all the best in 2016.
Cheers
Mark