Image by Mitch Colagrossi
Featuring Mitch Colagrossi
Keeping your craft current and fresh helps you ace the game. In the wedding space, couples hire a specific photographer because they like what they see on their website and social media. They want their wedding, engagement shoot, or family portraits to reflect the style and brand of the photographer they like.
The same can not be said for commercial photography, which is exactly why Mitch Colagrossi is drawn to it.
Going Back to His Roots
“When I started out, I was hired by a guy who did RV and boat photography and I learned a lot of important lessons from him.” Mitch quickly transitioned from shooting vehicles to couples and enjoyed the freedom that came with it. “Weddings are a lot more open. You can just kind of do what you want stylistically.”
Mitch has made a career out of shooting destination weddings but now, a decade later, Mitch finds himself drawn back to the commercial world he started in. “When you’re working with a brand, they have an expectation that what you’re shooting will reflect their brand.” Switching off between being sought after by couples for his personal brand and working with commercial clients within their own brand parameters is what keeps the photographer sharp and engaged. “I love the challenge that comes with the differences in both industries. Lately, I’ve been getting into fashion and editorial photography and I’m loving it.”
Image by Mitch Colagrossi
The Importance of Marketing
Mitch has couples and brands reaching out to him now thanks to social media and a diverse portfolio, but he regrets not putting more time and money into marketing earlier in his career. Right marketing goes hand in hand with keeping your craft current and fresh.
“I wish I would have hired someone to help me with SEO because I’m really not good at it.”
Image by Mitch Colagrossi
Mitch believes it’s important to know your craft as well as all the moving parts that make up a successful business. But knowing how to market yourself and being good at it are two different things. “If I had the time, I could learn more about social media and SEO, but I just don’t like it and it doesn’t come naturally to me.”
Mitch says you just have to know enough to hire the right people to take things off your plate. “I have someone helping me with my social media now and it frees me up to do what I’m good at, which is shooting and editing.”
Image by Mitch Colagrossi
Growing as an Artist with Outsourcing
Outsourcing also affords Mitch the ability to grow as an artist, with free time to learn new things. “I’ve always done a little bit of video work for weddings but I just recently got asked to do more intense cinematic work.”
The transition back into commercial photography is what has motivated Mitch to acquire better videography skills. “DSLRs with video came out and instantly, commercial clients were expecting video.” As a wedding photographer, Mitch was slower to move into videography because as he explained earlier, there’s more freedom to pick and choose what you want to offer your couples. “When a commercial client hires you, you just have to be prepared to give them whatever they want. And right now, that’s high-quality video.”
Image by Mitch Colagrossi
Incorporate the aforementioned tips to keep your craft current and fresh. To check out more of Mitch’s incredible work, head over to his Instagram or follow him on Facebook. You can also visit his website to keep up with everything happening in his career. Save more time to master your craft and let ShootDotEdit take care of the editing.