Business development is likely the most stressful element of a photographer's career. Having to market and sell while navigating the relentless fear of rejection is what separates those who are able to successful grow their careers from those who continue to struggle.

Well, let's fix that, shall we?

My guest today on the Beyond the Image podcast is Vanessa Joy. She has worked with thousands of photographers not only in mastering their craft, but to actually build a sustainable business.

Vanessa is a Canon Explorer of Light and has generated a multi-million dollar photography business working with brands such as BravoTV, Hilton Grand Vacations, Profoto and more.

In this episode of the podcast, Vanessa and I dive deep into the reality of marketing and business development for creative professionals, what works, what doesn't work and what ultimately is the one thing that can generate new business.

As a gift for listeners, Vanessa Joy has a free social media guide. Just DM her "instatips" to her IG at https://www.instagram.com/vanessajoy

Thank you for checking out the Beyond the Image podcast. As always we appreciate your reviews on the Apple Podcast App, Spotify or wherever you get your episodes!

https://jamespatrick.com/ 

The last planner you will ever need! Plan out your year, months, weeks and days with The Legacy Planner to get more done, stay on track and chart out your most successful year ever!

Why do some individuals seem to possess the capacity to consistently achieve great things in their lives, while others tend to struggle? Perhaps you have wondered the same thing and questioned what specifically separates the two groups.

If we are to believe musings from the infinite parade of social media memes, then each of us are already abundant with endless potential. Yet despite that potential, for some unknown reason, only a small percentage of the population seems to have the right key to unlock it.

To add to the confusion, that “key” is often defined as simply being the result of hard work, grit, hustle, persistence, determination, perseverance, or a multitude of other buzzwords that sound really great and empowering—but don’t actually provide a concrete answer.

What is it that actually separates the individual who is able to achieve his or her health goals from someone who battles with their health year after year? What distinguishes the efforts of the person who stimulates and grows their mental acuity from someone who regularly suffers from stress and atrophy? What is different about those who foster enriching relationships from others who remain lonely? And what distinguishes someone who achieves their business goals from those who do not?

For the past decade, these questions have been central in author James Patrick’s obsession behind deconstructing and comprehending how humans are able to cultivate change, and thereby achieve success within their lives. His goal was to decipher the exact methodology of achievement, systemize it, and make that approach accessible so others could put it into action.

Through his editorial research, the writing of his best-selling book Fit Business Guide: The Workout Plan for Your Brand, and the hundreds of interviews he conducted for the podcast Beyond the Image, James discovered the elements that are responsible for crafting change, and devised how to reserve engineer them so they can be applied to anything we wish to achieve.

After all, success leaves clues.

What those clues have shown is that creating the change you seek and turning the impossible to possible comes down to three essential pillars: Vision. Purpose. Legacy.

The Legacy Planner is how you can apply all three to your own life to ignite the change, growth, and success you’ve always imagined.

GET A FREE PDF COPY AT https://jamespatrick.com/legacy/

OR GET PRINT COPIES ON AMAZON AT https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJ4R45NV 

Early in my career I got scammed by a client who hired me to photograph an event for his company, and then never paid me. His company eventually disappeared and two decades passed until I came across him again.

He had relocated, launched a new company and was on the cover of a pay to be featured magazine. 

What happened next with the magazine was really interesting.

[NEWS] The Legacy Planner is newly updated for 2025! Get your copy now at https://jamespatrick.com/legacy/ 

The last time I dared talk about photographers using watermarks, I got a few (okay, a lot) of angry messages.

But I hope this time you hear me out on why watermarking your photos is a futile effort that only satiates ego and does nothing to actually help your brand or business.

https://jamespatrick.com/

By default we only want to share our wins and successes. The fear is that if we are open and honest about projects that don't go well or client experiences that are not stellar that it will somehow reflect negatively upon us. The truth is, when we only share the positives about our careers, it gives a false aspiration of what a creative career truly looks like.

Throughout our careers we will lose more work than we will ever win. That is the simple math of it. And once we acknowledge that reality - we can begin to look at losses as not failures but as opportunities to learn and improve our services to the right clients.

https://jamespatrick.com/

When I am in the mood to torture myself, I hop over to Photography Facebook Groups and read the comment sections whenever a photographer asked for help, support or advice.

The inevitable result is a barrage of awful keyboard critics giving the worst advice pretending they are being altruistic and supportive - but in reality just trying to keep others out of the industry they believe they are at the center of.

In this episode I discuss what happened when a photographer made the mistake of asking for help.

https://jamespatrick.com/

I selected 13 (of course) of the most terrifying photo experiences I've had in my 20+ year career. Everything from having people physically assault me to say I'm too young to be a photographer.

Enjoy my awful memories while I go into an anxiety attack reliving these horrific experiences.

https://jamespatrick.com/

Okay don't get too mad at me for this episode! It is not that I am encouraging photographers that they have to work for free. But I wanted to dissect how someone could professionally and respectfully ask a photographer to collaborate or provide services at low-to-no cost.

https://jamespatrick.com/

How do we best compete as photographers in a way that supports the community and industry as a whole? And what happens when photographers go against that supportive environment and try to harm other's businesses?

In this episode of the Beyond the Image podcast, host James Patrick discusses both sides of competition from healthy to unhealthy.

Connect with James Patrick at https://jamespatrick.com/

When should photographers work for free? If you've followed me for anything length of time, you've seen the numerous videos and posts I've done about cheap clients trying to take advantage of photographers. You would, no doubt, asssume I would be diligent about saying that no photographer or creative should ever work for free.

But that is not what I feel at all. In this episode of the Beyond the Image podcast, I chat about the times when photographers and creatives should consider taking out the camera without being paid.

What do you think? Connect with me on my website https://jamespatrick.com/ or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jpatrickphoto