We were lucky to catch up with Marc Morrison recently and have shared our conversation below.
Marc, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I believe photographers/creatives that decide to go it alone and make the move to becoming freelance should be by nature, risk takers. We have to believe in ourselves enough to put ourselves in situations that challenge us, both creatively and fiscally. Photography is definitely not an easy vocation as set-backs can find you often – you have to have the skills to meet each challenge and sucsessfully produce your campaign.
After university I worked as a photojournalist for news and sports photo agencies. I was very fortunate as I had plenty of work shooting exactly what I wanted to shoot. After a few years of steady work and travel I realized I would never make it to the next
level (either professionally or financially) if I remained complacent.
Over the next year I decided to make the transition from the agencies to entirely freelance where I would be responsible for acquiring my own clients and assignments. At first, the magnitude of that decision weighed heavily as business was slow and the acquisition of new clients was not as quick as I anticipated. Thanks to my parents, I was born with a tremendous amount of tenacity and optimism and these traits helped to achieve my goals.
Fast forward 20 years and I’m able to look back at that decision as the best business decision of my life.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I am an Austin and San Francisco based advertising and editorial photographer and motion director who has been shooting worldwide campaigns more than 20 years. My commissions have ventured into various genres and I have photographed numerous advertising campaigns for major agencies; BBDO, Campbell Ewald, Purple Strategies, Inc Design , Ogilvy & Mather, The Team, FleishmanHillard and TMP Worldwide.
My portraiture includes everyone from celebrities to Fortune 500 CEOs and world leaders. And my work has appeared in countless outlets like People, Parade,Fortune, Forbes, The Verge, TIME, Rolling Stone, Essence, New York Times, Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated.
I enjoy pushing boundaries yet understand how to collaborate with the client to achieve their creative vision. My ability to adapt to any situation, work within tight time frames, develop camaraderie with my subjects and produce thought-provoking visuals are
qualities that set me apart from other creatives.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I believe as a professional creative that relies on technology, one cannot discount technological advances – as open-mindedness is one of the primary keys to our success. I have not had to pivot in my business so much as having to adapt to new technologies.
Being a professional photographer has always been about finding creative ways to help your client tell their story and adapting to whatever is thrown your way. Learning new technologies should just be looked at as part of that process.
Accept change, learn it, perfect it and own it. Do not deny its existence as that will be a fatal business decision.
Unless you are a fine art photographer, one where the tools of the trade have not changed in decades, you will be constantly challenged with learning new technologies and new hardware. Like it or not, you have be very savvy with new technologies as your clients will expect and demand this of you.
Certainly being a gear-head is a huge advantage if your vocation and avocation are one in the same. We have a limited number of hours in the day and most of those hours are taken up by our professional and a personal lives. If it so happens that you really
enjoy reading and learning about new equipment then it seems more like a hobby and less like a work task.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
As a freelance creative, reputation is everything! I cannot express how important eduction, experience and a tremendous work ethic are in building a successful operation.
I will only accept a commission if it falls within my skill set and I’m confident I can produce exactly what the client is anticipating. I work in the industrial sector of our industry with regularity and am extremely comfortable in these settings. To make sure I’m always performing at a safe level I have any number of safety credentials and training that are mandatory for a client to allow you on their site. Along with safety training we have to undergo in-depth security background and drug testing as liability issues can be a major problem for prospective clients
You can read more about working in and around industrial settings in this interview I was asked to participate in recently: https://wonderfulmachine.com/article/specialty-what-is-industrial-photography/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marcmorrison.com
- Instagram: marcmorrisonphotog
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marc.morrison.14019
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcmorrisonphoto/
- Other: Behance https://www.behance.net/marc156b Texas Film Commission https://tx.reel-scout.com/crew_print.aspx?id=183455&cid=30&g=&key=&city=austin&subcat=817768%2c&des=&type=C
Image Credits
All images ©2022 Marc Morrison