We were lucky to catch up with Jeff Mindell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new venture – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?

My very first freelance client was in 2013 or so—an interiors shoot for a new (then) gelato shop in Beverly Hills. After using Instagram to post photos of my “new life” in LA for friends and family back home on the east coast, the owner had seen the content I was putting out there (as my account was public) and reached out via email asking how much I would charge to take photos of his newly-opened space right there in the triangle. Because I loved photography and composing vignettes of beautiful interiors, I had just organically been sharing images of the spots I was frequenting around town. I’ve always been told I have a great eye, but admittedly was caught very off-guard when there was now an actual real life offer to shoot something…for cash money. Keeping in mind this was just when social media marketing was getting it’s footing and no one was really doing the influencer thing yet, me looking to build a portfolio by way of instagram was 100% not the goal, nor did I realize this was even a possibility!

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 back background and context?

My name is Jeff Mindell and I’m a photographer and content creator based in Los Angeles. I’m also a co-collaborator for Studio DIY, the lifestyle brand founded by my wife, Kelly.

I shoot content for a wide variety of lifestyle categories, as well as making some of my photography available for public and wholesale purchase via my print shops on Simply Framed and Society6.

I like to think I’m pretty good on camera as well, working as a creative partner and personality with many top-tier brands over the years including Dunkin’, Zillow, Disney, American Express, Meta, Cirque du Soleil Gillette, West Elm, Ray-Ban, Microsoft, Samsung and Kimpton Hotels.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

From the very beginning, I have always said that my hard and fast rule is that if social media didn’t exist, would I care to talk about “x” product/brand/service/etc. with friends and family organically anyway? It’s kind of been my not-so-secret filter ever since I started out and has proved to serve me well. It’s yielded a really wonderful, respectful, and like-minded audience of people around the world who find me as a trusted, relatable voice in an otherwise extremely cluttered marketing landscape.

Also, just be nice to people. I’m not one to burn bridges as relationships matter and no one wants to work with an asshole. Kindness goes a very, very long way.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Yes. My favorite question I get when I go home is “But how do you make money?”—and the thing is, this whole industry is still so new that those of us who got in on the ground floor are still navigating that whole journey. There’s not necessarily a road map for what to do next or how to pivot and parlay a learned skillset onward and so I definitely started off in the beginning by saying yes to anything and everything that came my way. That being said, you quickly learn about your own moral compass, set up boundaries, and realize what you stand for and want to represent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeffmindell.com
• Instagram: @JeffMindell

Image Credits

images my own.