Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Towns.
Jason, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My photography journey started at age 14. One of many mentors, Carlton Burton, handed me a Nikon D80, and in his very frank way, told me to “go shoot some stuff”. He critiqued my work, which was mostly bad, but made it a point to notate the good. He was the first person to walk me through the importance of lighting within photography. Immediately after high school, I was hired by Elizabeth Baptist Church and photography took a bit of a turn to focusing more on audio/visual technology and post-production. I’ve learned so much from so many in the 17 years since, including a person I credit greatly with helping to sharpen my photography skill-set, Ross Oscar Knight. I interned with Ross for a year and worked on various projects with him and his company in the years since. I learned a lot of the foundations of entrepreneurship from the time working with he and Loyall Hart.
Has it been a smooth road?
This is a tricky question because it’s yes and no. When things are smooth, they are really smooth. Bookings come easy. Work gets turned around quickly. Clients love everything with no revisions. It’s how we entrepreneurs view business with rose-colored glasses. Things can turn bumpy swiftly though. There’s always a slight panic when bookings fall through when clients are not happy with the work; which in turn pushes deadlines on other work back and could eat into your project costs, profit margin, etc. I believe a lot of struggles, especially with getting started, is not evaluating all costs of business. Essentially, focusing on desired results and not carefully considering all factors that go into running a business.
A major sticking point for me in terms of doing business is giving too much away. One thing Ross always said to me is that I priced myself too low for my market. In the beginning, I was so eager to garner business that I would take almost any job offered and I was terrible at negotiating pricing with clients. Ross was the person to really advise me in dealing with pricing, difficult clients, etc. The greatest thing he did was break down a project per hour worked, and compared it to the amount charged. What it broke down to was barely $12/hour! I reset my entire pricing structure afterwards and became incredibly picky about jobs I take.
I knew I would have to do some work for free and focus on building relationships in order to get into different markets, and that’s what I did. I leveraged almost every relationship I could to get myself and my work in front of different eyes to garner a new sector of business. It worked out pretty well.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
This too is an interesting question to answer now. Pre-COVID-19, I would say my company focuses on full-service photography and video services. Since COVID-19 (and also being furloughed from my corporate job), my business has focused more on leveraging my audio/visual and photography/content creation background. Now, I offer everything from audio engineering, recording, mixing, video producing/directing/editing, photography and post-production.
I’d say what I’m known for depends on who you ask. I like that aspect about myself and how I’m presently rebuilding my company. My newer clients know more of my audio, I want the company to be more representative of my entire skill-set. I feel like this gives me the opportunity to build a more diverse clientele, create more avenues for relationships and potential business, but also bring in others within my network to partner and potentially garner business for themselves. I’d say this ability to provide a diverse range of skills and offerings to customers is what sets me apart and also gives me the greatest sense of pride. Also, a true point of pride is being able to help others reach goals and grow their businesses as well.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I used to define success by the amount of jobs I had booked and how much money was coming in. I now view success as influence. If I’m able to leave a positive impression with a client and ensure that I exceed their expectations, then I consider it successful. The other element is if I’m having fun, enjoying myself or inspiring others by my work. To me, there’s no better place than Atlanta to begin any journey within the arts. It’s such fertile grounds for creativity and there really isn’t a pre-designated segment for what creators are looking for. When you examine big cities such as New York, Los Angeles, etc., you know what to expect and to work for. Atlanta is a place for nearly anything you want to do. I’m also biased because I’m from here. My encouragement would be for Atlanta to maintain it’s diversity and not segment ourselves to just music, TV, theater or film.
Pricing:
- I do pricing per project, typically starting at $500
Contact Info:
- Website: jasondennard.com
- Email: jasondennardphoto@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jasondennardphoto
Image Credit:
Loyall Hart (Loyall Hart Photography & Ross Oscar Knight Photography), Kenny Thomas (KTP Photography)
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