Today we’d like to introduce you to James Connell.
Hi James, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a graphic/web designer since 1999. Part of my college requirements for my graphic design degree included photography as an elective. I always enjoyed taking photos and hoped to someday own some decent equipment. That day came in 2013 when I purchased a Nikon D90. As soon as I learned my way around a camera through experience and watching YouTube videos, I was hooked. I knew I couldn’t get my wife to sign off on the ten thousand dollars worth of equipment I would need to be successful, so I searched Google for the most renowned wedding photography companies in Manchester, NH to fund my venture. Dave at A Photographic Memory hired me based on my limited portfolio. I was hired as a second shooter and photographed approximately 15 weddings as well as a handful as the main shooter for myself.
At the end of 2013, my wife and I decided to move to Florida – which at the time had approximately 144,000 weddings more than New Hampshire. I again searched Google for the best wedding photographers, only this time I searched for Tampa, Florida. I found Celebrations of Tampa Bay and emailed them about my aspirations. They responded and told me to look them up when I moved to town. I moved to Lithia in 2015 and was instantly hired as their main photographer. I have since photographed over 150 weddings and have branched out into real estate, headshots, families, seniors, and portraits and now shoot for myself as two other companies.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part, I would say it has been a smooth road. Photography made up 50% of my income last year, and I continue to grow my customer and referral base over time. Fortunately, I have a graphic/web design job and an awesome boss that lets me take time off whenever I need to help pursue my passion.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I call my work bright, bold, and beautiful as well as creative, unique, and timeless. I like my images to be vibrant. I use an off-camera flash 90% of the time as it helps me to get the shot I envision as well as add depth and dimension to the photo. A lot of photographers these days market themselves as “light and airy natural light photographers.” I personally think the light and airy thing is overdone and there are way too many earthy (think brown, copper and sage greens) coming through in other photographer’s photos. These colors are unrealistic and not actually found in nature and in my opinion, will ultimately date the photo and not be as desirable once this fad has passed. My editing style combined with my unique angles and backgrounds helps to create a consistent and timeless photo that is sure to be enjoyed from generation to generation.
What matters most to you? Why?
Customer experience is my sole focus because if the people I am photographing aren’t having fun, it comes through in the photos. It all comes down to fostering a relationship with every person that reaches out to my company. I prefer to speak to potential customers on the phone and try to offer more value. For instance, other photographers charge astronomical amounts for photography and still only give the customer a limited number of images. I charge and hourly rate and give all the edited photos that come from the session. I cannot see holding on to photos to make more money. I feel people are paying an honest price for a service and should receive all photos rather than get soaked and spend more money to get all images from a session.
Pricing:
- Weddings starting at $795
- Headshot sessions starting at $125
- 45 minute senior sessions starting at $250
Contact Info:
- Address: 16808 Hawkglen Place, Lithia, FL 33547
- Email: james@jamesconnellphotography.com
- Website: https://jamesconnellphotography.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jmsconnell
- Facebook: facebook.com/jamesconnellphotography
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jconnellphotog
- Other: Reviews: https://bit.ly/2HMRrbn
Image Credits
James Connell Photography
