596: John Dolan – Balancing Art, Business, and Authentic Storytelling in Photography

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area John Dolan of www.johndolan.com is a superstar in the world of photography. He has built a career in advertising, editorial and fine art photography over the past 30 years. He is the author of the book — The Perfect Imperfect, which has the foreword written by none other than Martha Stewart. One of the testimonials I read online was by Jerry Seinfeld who said: “John has photographed our family for 20 years. It is, to us, a priceless view of who we are and wouldn’t exist without his gifted shutter, lens and eye.” He has photographed celebrities' weddings, including Will Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and so many more. He says… Some photographers are directors. I’m a collector. And that his target is 15 amazing photographs from a wedding. He still shoots 70% film and believes weddings are too important to play it safe. In this interview, John shares the secrets for success by balancing art, business, and authentic storytelling with your photography. Here's some more of what we covered in the interview: What’s on Offer for Premium Members If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, a fantastic back catalogue of interviews, and have ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet. Plus, special member-only interviews. The celebrities are different, but I think one of the skills I've learned over the years is how to get comfortable with people very quickly. It's part of our toolkit, and it's an amazing skill that where you skip the small talk and you get trusted. – John Dolan You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group, where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. The group also has FB live video tutorials, role-play, and special live interviews. You will not find more friendly, motivated, caring and sharing photographers online. Seriously, that's not all. I never look at my phone during a wedding. I don't look at shot lists. I don't look at timelines. I am so in tuned with what the couple is going through. I'm completely focused on them. And the wedding industry is always only shown this really narrow band of, you know, it's your best day ever. And I've always thought this is the widest number of emotions you'll feel in one day. And so that's, that's my guiding principle. – John Dolan In addition to everything above, you'll get access to instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable, and build friendships with other pro photographers with motives similar to yours – to build a more successful photography business. What is your big takeaway? Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what John shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, leave your thoughts in the comments below; let me know your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's episode. I really I run a very simple, not a mom-and-pop business, but a very streamlined business. My contracts are very simple. Because everything's based on trust, even with some of my celebrities, I never did NDAs because I said to them, “You can destroy me in a tweet.