We recently connected with Mary Anne Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.

Mary Anne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
This is going back 20 years but one of my regular clients told me we were going to be doing a shoot at a building that was under construction downtown. I I had worked for them before and knew this usually meant just at the bottom of the building but when we got to this particular building he said we’re going to be going up on top and photograph the guys working on the building.

We had to take the construction elevator (which is on the outside of the building) up to around the 50th floor. Next we had to climb up probably 6 to 8 floors worth of ladders that were just inside where they would be stairways later on. We finally made it to the top and it was unfortunately not a beautiful day and kind of windy and so when we got off the ladder at the top the ladder actually fell over from the wind! I looked down over the edge of the building and saw a helicopter flying around below us so we were very high up!

My assistant and I actually both had a fear of heights and we both felt like we conquered it that day! I also learned to always ask exactly what the job is before assuming it’s just gonna be a bunch of people in front of the bottom of a building. And request hazard pay!!

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?
I am a fine art portrait photographer. As well as shooting digital , I shoot large format black and white film and wet plate collodion. The resulting portraits are unique and often have a ethereal quality to them. I work with the sitter to convey the feel they want their portrait to have.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
I was invited to submit my fine art portfolio to be considered for a really big hotel commission. I was very excited when I got it but realized that it was larger than I initially thought and since I was shooting a special infrared film, all the work had to be done the old fashioned way. Having a very small darkroom to work in, it was a challenge but ended up being a beautiful series of photographs and it is probably my favorite job ever!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
As a visual artist, I keep up with my clients via email but a few times a year I do like to send an actual photograph so that they can place it on their desk or billboard (if people still use those) and have a physical reminder that hopefully does not get thrown away.

I recently have had a few people who I gave a print to contact me a few years later for inquiries so I feel like this method is still quite effective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maryannemitchellphotography.com
• Instagram: maryannephoto_atl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh4mbZ_wodM&ab_channel=MaryAnneMitchell

Image Credits
All images copywrite of Mary Anne Mitchell.