Nick Evans has been in business as a wedding photographer for 2.5 years at the time of recording. He's already successful and things are only looking better. He has been mentored by some of the worlds best wedding photographers which may or may not have given him a dream start… you be the judge.
Nick, like my previous guests, is super candid and totally open with his responses as I fire question after question about every step of his way from his cold start to photography right through to the dream run he seems to be experiencing now.
Photo by Nick Evans
Here's some of what we cover in the interview:
Photo by Nick Evans
A couple of shout outs
Thanks so much to those of you that have added a rating and review in iTunes this week – it really means a lot to me and makes the podcast more easily found in the iTunes store. If you do leave a review and would like a shout out on the show and a link to your website, you'll need to add your name and your website address. Alternatively, shoot me an email and let me know the username you used in your review.
Dalibor from acimicphotography.com (pronounced achi-mich) did just that to ask my views on business names.
If you'd like a shout out or want to leave a review or rating in iTunes and I'd love you to, head to the Photo Biz Xposed page in iTunes here: www.photobizx.com/iTunes.
In addition to the reviews above, you can also find me on Twitter at andrewhellmich, like Chris from iwillshootu.com, John from johncolson.com and Michael from rammellphotography.com – it's been great chatting to you guys.
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Tyler Alberti – Brisbane photographer and album designer
Nikon 45mm f/2.8D ED PC-E Micro Nikkor Lens
Ian Wilkinson – Brisbane wedding photographer
Marcus Bell – Brisbane wedding photographer
Sound Slides – online slideshows
Stewart Ross – Brisbane wedding photographer
Stephen Govel – Brisbane wedding photographer
Ben Clark – Brisbane wedding photographer
Photo by Nick Evans
What's the premium content?
For premium members this month, Nick allowed me to poke deeper into exactly how he approached other photographers for mentorship. In the audio below, you can hear the exact way Nick approached these photographers, how he separated himself from every other wedding photographer “wanna be” with his emails and approach. I ask Nick about the wording he used, how long his emails were and what research he did before making contact. Nick was incredibly generous and candid with his answers as you’ll hear.
What is your big takeaway?
This week I introduced the idea of you the listener giving me your big takeaway after each episode instead of me rambling on about my thoughts. If you're listening and getting something from these interviews, I'd love to know what. Plus, Nick would also love to hear your views too – let him know you enjoyed everything he offered and what you may implement in your business as a result.
If you feel really game, use the voicemail tab on the right hand side of this page and I'll be able to play your message back on the podcast.
Because podcasts can be played back at anytime in the future – you can still add your comments, I encourage you to. Anyone that has previously commented (plus me) will be notified of your comment and will be back to check it out and carry on the conversation.
That's it for me this week, have a great one.
Speak soon
Andrew
Great episode! One take away that I got from this episode, you had mentioned how some people might point out that even though he is a newer photographer he got a big break by being mentored by some of the best photographers… but he didn’t do anything that anyone else couldn’t do, he didn’t have some sort of in to contact these guys, he just turned on his computer and started emailing them. Anyone can do this!
Great episode! Keep up the good work!
Hey Terry – thanks for your comment! I love that your take away from Nick is totally different to what I was thinking of talking about in the next episode as my take away.
What you point out is 100% true and it once again proves that it’s totally up to us to make it happen for ourselves.
Just finished listening to this podcast. Picked up some really good stuff from Nick. What a quality shooter, and businessman he is. Well done to all.
Dean – thanks for commenting. Totally agree about Nick’s work and the “business head” on his shoulders – I’m sure he’s set for a bright, bright future.
Hope you’re now enjoying your “quiet” season.
I really took a lot from listening to this interview. It’s great listening to industry professionals but sometimes I find it more inspiring listening to another person who hasn’t been around for long and is really successful. It gives me the self confidence I need to think I can still make this work! I like the idea of giving the vouchers away with the final discs etc. I am going to start doing this. I would like to ask how long does it take Nick to edit 700 photos? Do you batch edit most of your photos or do you edit photos individually? Believe it or not I think my biggest take away from this is “self confidence”.It was a very inspiring interview.
Hi Aleisha – I think EVERY photographer goes through stages of insecurity about their work, that’s normal when you’re doing creative work. I’m sure it gets worse when you spend too much time looking at other photographers work.
Like Matt says, back yourself – then practice, improve and experiment along the way.
I love that you spat coffee all over yourself! 🙂 I think I was equally shocked at the $8000 for the very first wedding – now that is confidence!
I loved the idea that Nick just picked up a camera and went from there, his relaxed attitude is fantastic and I’m sure his clients would feel the same.
I think what I got from this was the idea of the album credit and it’s something that I will definitely look at implementing in my own business when I develop more clients.
So thanks Andrew and a big thanks to Nick – definitely will be someone to follow, all the best
Hey Paul, thanks for commenting. I like the idea of the album credit idea as well. Ian Wilkinson does something similar (which is where Nick took the idea) and is tweaking to to suit his business. The new way that Nick is implementing is definitely easier on the photographer that wants to stay away from the after wedding upwell ideas – which definitely doesn’t suit everyone.
This was great, Nick was honest and candid on his journey… I love that he shared that he just “decided” he was going to do weddings before even shooting a wedding. Often i think we set this expectation of ourselves that we have to follow a particular path to becoming a great photographer, Nick shows us that it isn’t always so, just do what you want, do what you love, do the hard work and the rest will fall in to place,
Hi Deb – yes, wash’t he totally candid and honest! I loved that about this interview. Being reasonably new, I was thought Nick may not want to share too much… How wrong was I! Maybe it had something to do with how much others have shared with Nick, maybe it’s just Nick. I’d like to think it was both.
Thanks for adding your comments too 🙂
Thanks Andrew – Another great interview! I really enjoyed listening to you, Nick, and hearing how you started and got going in your business and thank you for your willingness to share your findings on seeking help and advice within the industry. For me, definitely, my takeaway would be the whole mentoring idea and how important networking is. I have only just begun and am basically feeling stuck because there is an overwhelming amount of things to learn, from the actual craft of taking the picture to the post-production to the marketing and website design and… aaarggghh!!! How does one learn all this????? Mentoring seems the way to go!!! Nick, did your mentors help you with all this? Is there any major way that you learned all this or did you just pick things up, here and there, from your networking and speaking with other photographers???? I think you have done amazingly well in such a short time. Well done!!!!!
Hi Pauline – great to hear you enjoyed the interview.
Yes, finding a mentor will definitely fast-track your path – it’s just a matter of finding the right mentor for you. The AIPP have a mentor program that may suit you or you could try approaching a photographer that you admire. With Skype and email, they don’t necessarily need to be in your local area.
Hopefully Nick will stop by and answer your other questions.
Nick is a real talent and just has a natural way with people, which in this industry is a must have ..
Well done Nick on your success, you’ve done very well in a short space of time !
Keep up the awesome work !
Hey Ben, thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Yep, agree that personality is a big help in wedding photography success and it was pretty clear that Nick has that sorted.
BTW – love the travel images on your website – especially the gloved hand holding the camera – had to look at more after that.
Thanks Andrew for your reply and telling me about the AIPP mentoring program. I will definitely check it out!! I, also, have a photographer in mind to approach too!!! Things are looking up!!! 🙂
Nick has a talent for photography for sure I love all of those pictures. I loved the insight you provided this will definitely help me and many others become the photographers we aspire to be.
[…] I think Nick (Evans) said it (along with a few others) that “mentoring” was the primary thing that helped […]
Another kicking pod cast. Great photography also. Hope to be as busy as Nick in 2 years time. Gave me even more hope. ok off to listen to another.
Cracking podcast! One of my faves in the series. Picked up lots of good tips.
One thing in particular was the idea of creating a slideshow for the couple. I’ve created a portfolio slideshow which is on my website and had been thinking of creating a slideshow for my couples but was never sure how best to distribute it to the couple.
Can Nick or Andrew suggest any good ways of distributing the slideshow to the couple. Would want the couple to be the first to see it but then be able to open it up to friends and family and even share on Facebook in such a way that it drives traffic back to my site??
Any thoughts much appreciated
Cheers
Darren
http://www.darrenfoardphotography.com
Hey Darren, great to hear you enjoyed this episode with Nick. He certainly had a ton of good stuff to share.
There are a few ways you can distribute the slideshows and in the interview with Matt and Katie (episode 17) – they share exactly how they do it.
One way is to create the slideshow and host it on your website on a page that you password protect. The problem with hosting the video on your site is you will use a lot of space fast, possibly be charged more hosting costs and slow your website down.
A better way is to host your videos elsewhere ion the web like Amazon S3, YourTube or Vimeo – there are plusses and minuses for each (let me know if you want more detail here). Once your video is uploaded to one of the sites mentioned you can “embed” the video on your site, again, on a password protected page.
Another way is to use software like the ones below and share from their sites.
Whatever you decide, the important thing is to make the video easily accessible by your clients AND their family and friends. You want them to share their video EVERYWHERE.
Here is the software that Matt and Katie recommend – there are others. I have links to these and other resources in the resources page. https://photobizx.com/wedding-and-portrait-photography-business-resources/
Sound Slides – online slideshow software
Show It Web – online slideshow software
Annimoto – slideshow software
Cheers for the detailed reply Andrew.
Will give Sound Slides a blast I think!
I was thinking of embedding on a password protected page or to share from the site…
The tricky bit I guess is getting people onto the page or site. Really rely on the couple sharing passwords and links on social media which I find can really be hit and miss.
Cheers again!
Darren
I agree about the password thing and having people share them.
Why not just create a page for the slide show without links to it from anywhere else on the site?
Really, if other people stumble across it – it’s not a bad thing and it’ll be unlikely anyway.
Great broadcast Andrew & Nick
For a fellow just starting out these podcasts are invaluable.
I know this was a while ago but looking through Nicks work, specifically the portfolio called Cathy & David, Brisbane Wedding… I am wondering what was the light source for the dance floor shots? (the last two or three shots in the blog post). They are beautiful and I am very curious.
Hey Todd,
Thanks for listening dude – glad I could help a bit! Cathy & David’s dancefloor stuff is either natural ambient light, or a bit of bounced flash. Not straight up, behind and off to the side a bit to fill in the eye sockets. And a nice high ISO/wide aperture to bring in lots of ambient. That’s pretty much my dancefloor recipe. Maybe a bit of zoomed direct flash with a slow shutter for some streaky lights too.
Good luck with it dude – it’s a lot of fun!
🙂
Nick
I really took a lot from listening to this interview. It’s great listening to industry professionals. thanks for sharing it , !
Great podcast! It was very nice to hear from someone newer to the wedding photography scene. I really appreciated how open and genuine Nick was with his answers. As silly as it may seem, my biggest take away from this episode was the part about including instructions for how to care for digital files. So simple but not something we are/were doing before this podcast. Every one of our clients will now have those instructions thanks to listening to this episode.