Mark Clennon on Cultivating Your Own Inspiration

03/15/22 • 31 min

Freelancing, like any career path, comes with its highs and lows. It’s the personal nature of the work that can make those peaks and valleys more extreme than in any other industry. It’s when your first truly incredible opportunity comes and you know that you’ve created it for yourself that all of it—the good and the bad—pays off.

Welcome to episode five of the Freelance Founders podcast. We’re talking to Mark Clennon, a New York-based photographer who works toward capturing the Black experience.

Today, Mark is telling us all about how he got started as a freelance artist, what it was like to have his first-ever photography piece run in the Huffington Post, and how his personal projects keep him passionate.

Some Questions asked:

Tell us a little bit about your career path, where did you start? (01:22)
Has everything you’ve learned been self taught? (04:15)
Was it intimidating for your first shoot to be with a major retail brand? (06:17)
How did you navigate all of the huge requests and opportunities you received after your BLM protest photo went viral? (15:44)
When you're on your own as a photographer, how do you measure success? (22:37)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What Mark’s shooting schedule looked like when he first transitioned to freelance (03:20)
How Mark got the opportunity to shoot his first big campaign with Footlocker (04:49)
About the iconic image that Mark took at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 and how it came to be (09:05)
How Mark deals with lack of inspiration and where he’s been finding it lately (19:15)
Mark’s mantra as a freelance artist (24:34)

Connect with Mark:

Let’s Connect:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode five of the Freelance Founders podcast. We’re talking to Mark Clennon, a New York-based photographer who works toward capturing the Black experience.

Some Questions asked:

Tell us a little bit about your career path, where did you start? (01:22)
Has everything you’ve learned been self taught? (04:15)
Was it intimidating for your first shoot to be with a major retail brand? (06:17)
How did you navigate all of the huge requests and opportunities you received after your BLM protest photo went viral? (15:44)
When you're on your own as a photographer, how do you measure success? (22:37)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What Mark’s shooting schedule looked like when he first transitioned to freelance (03:20)
How Mark got the opportunity to shoot his first big campaign with Footlocker (04:49)
About the iconic image that Mark took at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 and how it came to be (09:05)
How Mark deals with lack of inspiration and where he’s been finding it lately (19:15)
Mark’s mantra as a freelance artist (24:34)

Connect with Mark:

Let’s Connect:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Carolyn Bothwell on Founding Freelance Founders

For many, the value of freedom in our careers can be quickly overshadowed by the want or need for stability that corporate jobs often bring. But here’s the thing: the benefits of an established freelance community can instantly outweigh all that and provide the support and guidance of a traditional position.

Welcome to episode four of the Freelance Founders podcast. We’re talking to Carolyn Bothwell, a copywriter, brand strategist, and our founder.

Today, Carolyn is sitting down with us to talk all about her experience starting Freelance Founders, where her inspiration came from, and what made her realize this was the direction she wanted to go in.

Some Questions asked:

Could you take us through your career, starting with when you were full-time, to present? (02:54)
How and why did you decide to start Freelance Founders? (07:23)
What was the biggest hurdle when starting Freelance Founders? (15:00)
What do you feel is missing in the freelance community itself that you hope to achieve with Freelance Founders? (17:28)
What does success mean to you? And how would you measure it in your own career? (27:57)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The two biggest moments that made Carolyn decide that freelance copywriting was the path she wanted to take (05:24)
How having this podcast has created a space for freelancers to share and showcase their tips and stories (13:14)
Carolyn’s dream goal for Freelance Founders’ future (21:32)
Freelance Founders is always open to and looking for new members from all locations and all walks of life (25:02)
Carolyn’s mantra and where it comes from (30:37)

Connect with Carolyn:

Let’s Connect:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Savannah White on Why It’s Best to Underpromise and Overdeliver

When we start out as freelancers, it can be incredibly easy to underestimate the value of our work. Most of us would probably admit to intentionally underselling ourselves because we’re lacking confidence or in order to placate clients. Only as we begin to establish ourselves in our chosen field do most of us gain the perspective and conviction to charge what we’re really worth.

Welcome to episode six of the Freelance Founders podcast. We’re talking to Savannah White, a stylist, creative consultant, and costume designer.

Today, we’re discussing with Savannah how she made the shift from Arkansas to New York, our mutual early experience with PR firms, and how she differentiated herself at the start of her career from others in her industry. We also chat about how she keeps her inspiration flowing and fresh, and the importance of staying flexible when it comes to building your business.

Some Questions asked:

Do you feel like being part of the free internship era made it harder for you to know your worth when you first started out? (02:48)
You’re from Arkansas, you came to the Big Apple. How did you get into all of this? And how did you decide, “I want to go do the styling route”? (06:51)
What have been some of your favorite projects? (13:49)
How has joining an agency helped your career so far? (26:34)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Why Savannah has low-balled herself for much of her career (01:46)
Savannah didn’t even know how she could make a living from styling when she first began (11:09)
How Savannah tries to hone in and connect with her clients (24:07)
What Savannah is currently working on and how she measures her success (33:00)

Connect with Savannah:

Let’s Connect:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.