030: Julie Maxham, Freelance Art and Motion Producer, Chicago

09/30/19 • 50 min

Today, Julie Maxham comes to the show and shares the incredibly varied experience she gathered at the side of some amazing mentors.

She and Heather talk about best practices and today’s episode is full, full, full of hands-on tips on what to do with your online presence, how to have the best website and the type of information to put out there.

Key Takeaways

[:31] Heather introduces Julie Maxham and invites her to share the path that took her from art school to saving Annie Leibovitz’s work from mini storage in New York, to where she is today.

[12:45] Julie has benefited from a long list of amazing mentors, she explains how she developed her own art producer style while rubbing shoulders with the industry’s greatest.

[14:32] Heather asks what Julie’s teams say about her!

[15:49] Having a rep to work with — and then a good producer — just guarantees someone has your back, Julie explains how you can both help each other make sure no balls are dropped.

[16:53] Julie shares what she feels have been the biggest changes in the art production world starting with mini in-house production companies with on-staff photographers, DPs, etc.

[21:20] Julie shares her tips for grabbing her attention: it starts with Instagram and it’s about showing who you are as a person. Heather and Julie dive into why it’s so very important today to showcase who you are and what makes you unique.

[25:10] Julie introduces Heather to the “Peanut Butter Photographer” to highlight how showcasing yourself can lead to work. She also shares her number one thing not to do with your books and promos if you don’t want to seem dated.

[28:00] Online sourcebooks are a resource Julie uses when she tackles locations where she doesn’t know many photographers — and her daughter makes a special appearance on the podcast!

[31:00] Getting a job approved with Julie starts with the question: ‘What’s the budget?’ because that number dictates where Julie will start looking for photographers.

[33:20] Heather and Julie discuss the different ways clients can fill their content bucket — new shoots, stock photo, royalty-free and rights-managed — they also talk about how these categories affect lifestyle photography.

[36:36] Heather shares her tips on working with cost consultants!

[39:59] Julie touches on having started to do more motion in the last year, mostly for Instagram — and if she doesn’t see motion on your site, she is moving on to the next one!

[41:48] Websites have to have categories that make sense; don’t make Julie fill out the little form to get in touch, have your information out there and have your name be clear on all your platforms! Heather and Julie list down all of the best practices on website organization and online presence.

[49:45] Heather thanks Julie for coming on the podcast, and invites listeners to tune in for the next episode.

Thanks for listening.

In an industry where the rules are always changing, it’s helpful to hear from those on the front line. Heather Elder is the visionary behind NotesFromARep’sJournal.com; visit her website for industry updates, stunning photography and video, and the artists behind the work.

Mentioned in this episode

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More about your host

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