Clayton Mitchell Photography

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of an IT support company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clayton Mitchell Photography?

Our primary goal was to redo our website and we wanted professional-looking photos to accompany the client testimonials on our front page. We also needed headshots of our internal team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, I hired Clayton (Photographer) in 2018 to redo my headshots as a test. Afterward, I contracted him to take photos of my team, as well as my clients. The process for the client photos started with me connecting him to the client. He then took over the whole thing — they'd discuss a schedule and a location that worked for them and he’d manage the photoshoot. I'd then select the best one to put on our site. 

In 2020, I had grown a beard during COVID-19 quarantine, which I thought made me look smarter, so I decided to hire him again to renew my headshots.

How did you come to work with Clayton Mitchell Photography?

I invited him to my office for a quick headshot, along with a few other photographers. I was really satisfied with his shots, so I contracted him to take on the project. 

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $1,400 on the engagement. This included three separate projects and some touch-up work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We were engaged with him from August 2018—August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

I was very satisfied with the shots he took — he was personable, friendly, and knew exactly what he was doing as far as equipment and the shooting process. It was a great project.

How did Clayton Mitchell Photography perform from a project management standpoint?

He did a great job overall. In the case of my headshots, it was fairly easy as we just emailed back and forth and selected a time and location that worked the best for both of us. 

As far as shooting the headshots of clients for testimonials, I simply connected him to my clients first after getting permission from them. The project had minimal management from me and he was always on time and never flaky, which was a huge blessing because my time was limited.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He really knew what he was doing. Photography attracts a lot of people that don’t really possess the skill to be professional photographers — I’ve worked with so many photographers who didn’t really know what they were doing and seemed nervous or they didn’t have all the equipment they needed. However, when I met Clayton, I could just tell that he had done it a million times before which was really rare. 

In photography, it's also really important to make your subjects feel at ease; we’re all a little bit self-conscious when we're in front of the camera. To help his subjects, he always had a couple of dad jokes at the ready to loosen them up in front of the camera. He was a really great person who was easy to get along with — I couldn’t think of a more likable person I've come across in my years in business.

He’s been doing this for 20 years and he’s very confident with his skills while remaining really friendly and super personable. There were people who certainly had the experience and knew exactly what they were doing, but they weren't really that personable or they were only focused on business. 

Clayton just checked all the boxes of what I would expect a professional photographer to be — I was just always impressed by his professionalism and how skilled he was at his craft. The price of his services was very economical for the quality of work he delivered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project went about as perfect as I could’ve asked for, so I can’t think of anything he could’ve improved. If anything, I think he should’ve charged twice the amount of money that he did — I knew what the range of rates was and for the professional job that he did, he was underpricing his services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to communicate what the project requirements are, which is the key to any business transaction. Photography is very simple, so I think just tell Clayton what you want and if he believes he can do it, he will. His strengths lie in portraits and business photography, and if he doesn’t think he can do it, he’d let you know.