We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mark Campbell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mark, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?
I actually landed my first legitimate client completely by accident. I was driving through my neighborhood when I spotted a garage sale happening down the street. I saw they had a few bikes for sale and I had been recently pondering on buying a new bicycle. I stopped by to take a look, but quickly learned from the owner that the bikes were electric (and way out of my budget). I definitely wasn’t going to buy a $1,200 E-bike, but the owner, Mitch, began to tell me how he creates video and photo content for electric bike companies. I told him I also do photo and video work and would love to work together sometime. That very weekend I modeled for an E-bike commercial Mitch was shooting, where we got to know each other better. Fast forward a year, I’ve shot dozens of photoshoots and video reviews for tons of E-bike companies and have become a much better photographer along the way. Not to mention I get to ride all the E-bikes I want!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Film and photography has been a passion of mine since I was just a child, but it wasn’t until the last 6 or 7 years that I decided to take what I love and turn it into a career. I primarily provide my clients portraits and headshots, and have been heavily involved in lifestyle product photography for electric bike companies for the last year. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this work and am eager to delve more into lifestyle brand photography. Something about building a cohesive palette of emotions and values through visuals is very satisfying to me! And I think that’s one thing that separates me from other photographers; I am a firm believer of authenticity and understand the importance of being able capture a desired feeling or emotion in a photo. I really strive to make sure the work I create meets the needs of my clients.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
By far the most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is the moment I step back to look at a freshly finished project and think “that’s exactly what I saw in my head”. A good example of this is a recent passion project that I not only shot, but modeled for as well. One day I had this surreal vision of me sitting on my skateboard, smoking a cigar with my head on backwards…weird, right?! I desperately wanted to pull this off correctly, so after some rough test photos I finally decided to give it a try. Long story short, it took three separate shoots and many hours in photoshop to pull it off (I happily let my perfectionism take control). But, it felt so very satisfying to see the exact vision I had in my head brought fully to life, down to the exact detail! I think it’s one of the best photos I’ve ever taken.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I think I speak for most creatives here, but there are certain ideas/passion projects that I hope to one day have the resources and skills to pull off to the full degree that they deserve. These are full-length films, photoshoots, music videos, and educational series that I’ve pondered about quite regularly for the past five or six years. I listen to music quite obsessively, so a lot of the projects revolve or are inspired by my favorite music. I’m in no real rush to complete these projects because I want them to be remarkable, but they’re always on a slow simmer in the back of my mind so I can be ready for when the time is right.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marktheodore.wixsite.com/website
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mark_theodore_photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mark-Theodore-Photography-105578174169291
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marktheodorephotography
Image Credits
Mark Campbell