We were lucky to catch up with Maria Cardillo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, appreciate you joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
I believe the biggest challenge to profitability in my industry is an overall lack of value in the time and effort it takes to create something. For example, as a photographer, I am providing someone with a service they can see. What the client doesn’t see is the work behind the scenes before receiving the result. Being a creative person is also wildly subjective, which contributes to the fluctuation in value. Client A may respect and value your time more because of their perception of what you have created for them. Client B may still value the service and the result but doesn’t understand the time in which you are spending in between. Most of my clients are artists and musicians in the music industry, which adds another layer to profitability. If I’m photographing a live show, the band’s take-home pay is very much dependent on the venue and how they structure their bookings. Venues often will take a percentage out of ticket and merch sales, leaving the artist with a scarce take-home amount. In some cases, that total amount will be given to the photographer if the band is willing because they see the full potential and value in having solid photographs for promotional purposes, that later turn into profit. Although, in most scenarios, my rates are being negotiated, respectfully, due to the given circumstances, making it challenging to earn a living only photographing bands and musicians.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I went to school for visual communication design, with a minor in advertising and photo illustration. The first couple of years of school were extremely challenging for me. I came from an art background, so a lot of what I thought about my creative ability and process was being dismantled in my design classes. While struggling to keep up with my classmates I decided to take a photography class for an elective credit, which eventually turned into my second minor. This is when a fire was lit in my soul. I was hanging on to every word my professor could teach us about photography and how to use a camera properly. I couldn’t wait to get out of class to go out and work on our assignments. “Wait for, and find the moment,” our professor would say, something so simple that has stuck with me after these last 10+ years of being out of his class.
Looking back I don’t think I could have ever imagined being where I am today, only because I never had the confidence back then that I do now. I did the 9-5 thing as a designer in advertising for years with photography on the side, but now I am a full-time freelancer with an 80% focus on photography services. Though I still offer design and art direction services, photography is my main source of income. My favorite clients to work with are other creatives, such as artists and musicians. Music has always been a huge part of my life and music photography is a beautiful way to express myself in that world. The people who can create or play music that moves my soul are exactly the people I want to work with. My goal is to capture the real emotion and raw energy during live shows. There is nothing better than being in a crowd of people collectively nodding along or dancing to music. Musicians are communicating through their songs and I am communicating it back through those captured moments.
I started hosting and photographing bands in my college basement, which then led me to experiment at smaller venues with local bands. It then took giving the right guy on an airplane a high-five to get me to the next level of music photography. I was at the airport on my way to Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta and noticed this guy at the gate with a Bonnaroo Music Festival shirt on, so I high-fived him and we chatted for a brief moment before boarding. I later bumped into that same guy at the festival, only this time he was running around with 3 different camera bodies and I was extremely intrigued and expressed how I am an amateur music photographer. He then proceeded to tell me how he’s an editor for an Online music publication and asked me if I could write. I said “Yes!” and he gave me his card and said let’s chat when we get back home. The next thing I knew, I was being sent out for my first official assignment with the publication to a punk rock music festival called, Camp Anarchy, and the rest has been history.
It’s been an incredible uphill battle in this industry but I love every moment of it. I take a lot of pay cuts, and cancellations, and also have my fair share of run-ins with music industry divas but being able to be there and photograph the music is usually always worth it.
When I’m not running around in a photo pit, I do offer other photography services like event photography, products, portraits, and family. At the end of the day, people always come first and so do capturing those real human moments.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The best way for me to gain new clients is to go out into the world and socialize. 90% of my buisness has come from going to local shows, attending events, traveling, and then engaging with people. I am naturally a social person so accidentally networking tends to come easy to me, which means I have to work twice as hard on the more mundane buisness side of things. People are my thing, I constantly want to learn about others and hear outrageous stories from all walks of life. After getting to know people in person, the direct business and/or referrals typically come in from those interactions later on social media. Keeping up with posting on social media can be a challenge, and is a job within itself, but I do see that more of the benefits come from using it as a tool to stay in touch with people. I’m always grateful for the people I have met along the way and value those relationships.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One of my most disappointing career stories, which I do not share often, is my real-life “Almost Famous” moment. In the movie, Almost Famous, the main character is assigned to follow a band around in the 70s for Rolling Stone Magazine. The main character works his butt off to get the content he needs for the article while grappling with his motives and integrity. Warning spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the movie, the band denies everything the main character wrote so Rolling Stone can’t publish his article. My story is a little different but involves Rolling Stone Magazine. I received a message from the editor at Rolling Stone Magazine last winter to photographer SZA’s first tour date in Columbus, Ohio. This was a paid, one-time assignment for Rolling Stone and an absolute dream come true. After contracts were signed and deals were confirmed, I could not believe I was going to be representing and photographing for THE music magazine of our time. The day of the show, I received an email expressing how all press and media reps for the show were canceled and not allowed coverage. Though this was out of my control, I was devastated and it knocked me down and out of the photography game for a couple of months. I was feeling sorry for myself until I decided I was completely wasting my time and missing the whole point. Once I pulled myself back up and got over it, I started saying yes to every little gig I could. Pay or no pay. I got asked by Rolling Stone out of the blue, so who’s to say the next big break isn’t around the corner? It is a hustle but the hustle has to come out of love for the craft, not for the fame or recognition.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mariacardillo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdillyphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mdillyphoto
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-cardillo-creative
Image Credits
Maria Cardillo