We were lucky to catch up with DIXIE DIXON recently and have shared our conversation below.

DIXIE , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

The most important question you can ask yourself is what is your own personal definition of success! Success means different things to different people. If you can focus on a mission, a deeper meaningful vision that you’d like to accomplish, success comes naturally! Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life! Passion, vision, love for what you do, and a deeper mission all breed success!

DIXIE , 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?

Hi there, I am a Fashion/Lifestyle/Advertising photographer and Film Director and for me this isn’t a job at all, this business is a labor of love! :) Telling stories is one of my biggest passions and my team and I run a full-service production company that creates iconic content for lifestyle brands, beauty companies, fashion campaigns, ad agencies, and magazines. The truth is that the technical part of the job is such a small percentage of what we do. The majority of what we create involves a high level of optimism, being able to solve problems on the fly, assembling the right team of hard-working crew aka “the Dreamteam”, and most importantly diving deep into that ultimate creative vision. That is where the magic happens!! I love everything about creating content for our clients and seeing them succeed makes my heart happy! Some of our clients include Virgin, Nikon, Magpul, Kathy Ireland, Disney, Marriott, and People Magazine to name a few.

Ideas are everywhere but it is the ability to execute those ideas on time, on a budget, and in a beautiful way that is rare in this highly digital insta age and what drives our team to create. It is always our goal to over-deliver to our clients’ expectations all while having an amazing experience aka a lot of fun while create. I have made some of my best friends in this industry and love working and collaborating with talented individuals who have the same passion for what they do.

I got into this industry at 12 years old when my Dad gave me my first Nikon Camera and I was deeply humbled and grateful that it all came full circle when I became a Nikon Ambassador of the United States and in 2021 ranked #1 Fashion Photographer by One Eyeland Awards.

Any advice for managing a team?

The biggest advice I have for managing a team is to work with folks that ultimately inspire you #1 and don’t be afraid to hire someone who is even more knowledgable than you are in a particular aspect of your business #2. We all have our strong suits- for me I love connecting with clients, learning about their vision, shooting that vision in a creative way, connecting with the team and talent while shooting, and keeping it all a fun experience for everyone. And for the aspects that I am not nearly as passionate about, I have found some amazing souls- Nancy (Producer) and Eric (Crew Chief) to work with who are experts in production and lighting so that I am able to focus on what I love and they are able to focus on what they love. None of us are the boss, we all work together with full ownership of each project which is why we all put 110% into every single production. It makes it such a joy when everyone is able to step into their own power and do what they do best! Team work makes the Dream Work!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has been a huge part of my photographer journey! While in college, facebook had just launched so I started uploading new work every time I did a new shoot so the word got out there quite quickly. In the beginning, I shot anything and everything to cover my expenses while setting up fashion shoots to build my fashion portfolio. In this creative business, the key is to show the type of work you want to be shooting. So you have to first go out and create a portfolio of the types of projects you’re interesting in photographing so that art directors can get a feel for your vision and vibe. So that is exactly what I did and little by little, the more I shared my fashion work on instagram, facebook and in person, the more work I attracted. The best advice I can give is to share the work you LOVE most on social because the authenticity behind it speaks volumes!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dixiedixon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdixiedixon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dixiedixonphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dixiedixon
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamdixiedixon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DIXIEDIXON/videos
• Other: https://g.page/DIXIEDIXONPHOTOGRAPHY?share