We recently connected with Cody McCracken and have shared our conversation below.
Cody, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Yes I have been able to earn a full time living from my photography. It was definitely a journey. I feel like what really helped me was breaking down my monthly bills and costs of doing business. Once I got the number I needed to hit every month I saved up enough money to pay those bills for a year.
That way I had a full year of bill money saved up to cover me if I started struggling or needed time to find a part time job. I could have definitely sped up the process slightly if I did calculate everything. I was determining going full time by how many bookings I had instead of how much money I was making a month. I wasn’t booking many people however the money was enough to cover my bills.
Cody, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Cody McCracken and I’m a wedding & boudoir photographer. I got into photography in general over 6 years ago. I used to make funny youtube videos in high school. I decided 6 years ago to get a nice camera to do some more videos but aim at helping people. However once I got the camera I realized it was very good at photos and I knew a ton of amazing photographers. After testing it out I fell in love with it and really went all in.
I do photography for couples who want to document their wedding and have their photos look natural, authentic, and joyful. Some couples are new to photos so I help make that super simple for them. They also love candid moments more than poses so I make sure to prioritize that as well.
I also help women grow their confidence or spoil their man with boudoir. Boudoir is a type of photoshoot that is very vulnerable but allows you to see yourself in a different light. So many women have said it feels like therapy.
I’m very proud of how many friends I’ve created and lives I’ve seen changed. I’d love for everyone to know it’s okay to be personal with business owners. I enjoy hearing stories and feeling like a part of the family. Being personal is a good thing in my book!
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
SEO. I 100% wish I knew about SEO sooner. It has changed my business so fast and allowed me to get clients on auto pilot. I was struggling finding clients but Google allows people to naturally find you. Once I learned seo it changed everything for me. Now 95% of my clients come from Google.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I feel like being very personal and providing helpful niche content built a reputation for me. So many business owners are standoff and just flat out don’t get to know their clients. Be personal and care about their interests. Also create helpful content about what they are looking for. Lookup questions about your field that people are asking or need help with and answer those questions. If you provide value to them before they are even a client it will give you an edge against someone who doesn’t.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://onefocusphotos.com/knoxville-tn-wedding-photographer
- Instagram: instagram.com/onefocusphotos
- Facebook: facebook.com/onefocusphoto
- Other: https://onefocusphotos.com/wedding-photographer-in-virginia https://www.onefocusboudoir.com https://instagram.com/onefocusboudoir
Image Credits
One Focus Photos