Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elissa Title. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Elissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I’ve loved art for as long as I can remember. I attended art camps every summer where I was exposed to famous artists’ work and a range of hands-on classes including scrapbooking, painting, drawing, clay beading, and papier-mâché. Whenever I traveled abroad (and I’ve been to all 7 continents and 60 countries to date), I’d make time to visit special exhibitions, artistic galleries, and museums. What really solidified a career in the arts, however, was taking a graphic design class at Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades, California. I had never heard of graphic design, and my teacher’s passion is a huge reason why I am a graphic designer/photographer today. The photography part comes from an evolving hobby that has since turned professional with international gallery exhibitions and magazine publications– I always used to steal my mom’s point-and-shoot camera when we would travel and for high school graduation, she had asked what I wanted as a gift. Most kids that age would probably say a trip to Europe, but I asked for a professional camera. So, she gave me my first DSLR. Since then, I’ve self-taught myself photography and have worked my way up to getting published on an international level. I’ve had my work shown in gallery exhibits in Greece (twice) and Italy as well as local exhibits in Southern California. I’ve also written a photo essay for Wildlife Photographic Magazine on my time in Arctic Norway and have had photos published in Australia Zoo’s Crikey! Magazine, Outdoor Photographer Magazine, Landscape Photography Magazine, and more. Looking back, it probably would have been helpful to take classes in post-processing but during COVID, I found great benefit in online workshops, lectures, and tutorials on YouTube which has helped elevate my photography to the next level.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Having traveled so extensively, I have seen poverty, declining animal populations, the evolution of new technologies, and consequences of human development on nature. I have interacted with hundreds of people from different religious, political, geographical, and cultural backgrounds. As I’ve traveled, I’ve become more socially aware of the global community and as I’ve become more aware, I’ve become more interested in raising much-needed awareness on a variety of issues. While I support numerous organizations across the globe (including a hot lunch program in Tanzania, rhino conservation in Botswana, and conservation education in Zimbabwe), I’ve found that the greatest weapon is the power of an image. My graphic design work incorporates a lot of my original wildlife photography to spark conversation on how we can work together to co-exist — taking care of our planet, and each other. I also utilize my photography as stand alone images or as part of a larger photo essay. During the pandemic, I also poured my heart and soul into designing (from scratch– no templates!) a 240-page photography book of my travels. This personal project helped me get a job within the book industry where I spent over one year designing photography book templates. My connections in the photography industry also led me to complete a photography book project for a client, helping him organize his photographs into a beautiful 156 page full color photography book on his travels to Cuba. If you need a photography book but don’t want to handle the design, reach out! I’m more than happy to help!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I think the key to building a social media following is engagement. Engage with your followers, engage with accounts you follow, and continually search for hashtags relevant to your work. For example. if you’re a wildlife photographer, you might follow #wildlifephotography on Instagram. I define engagement as useful comments (more than just “liking” a photograph).
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
I never go anywhere without business cards– you never know who you’ll meet! I once met a client waiting in line at a local coffee shop. In the online world, I also gained a wonderful client from Instagram (we follow similar photography accounts and began following each other because of this). Moral of the story: it helps to be engaged, socialize, and network as much as possible both offline and online.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elissatitle.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elissatitle/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissatitle/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdYUmt5iQDMdiH-m0wjiRA
- Other: Photo book: https://www.blurb.com/b/10151952-next-stop-everywhere