Meet Luke Irvin of Mixed Mercury in Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Irvin.

Luke, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A few years back, I was going to school at ASU to study computer science. I was loving all my programming classes, but I found all of the other fluff work to be painful. Almost every night I would end up spending my time researching a variety of topics centered around helping businesses marketing themselves using the internet. Once I felt comfortable with my skills I approached a local artist and asked if I could build him a website to sell his work through.

Once I built his website we needed some photos of his work. I started out getting shots on an iPhone and quickly took my girlfriends camera to increase the quality. Fast forward to now, and I have photographed everything from art to medical cannabis, and even beer. I truly have a passion for working with small businesses. Helping them with marketing provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Now I spend my time meeting with places like locally owned breweries to take photos and make videos that show consumers why they are different. My favorite projects are campaigns where I am able to incorporate all of my different skills to really make an impact on customers.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have definitely been through some ups and downs over the course of my career. The main two are the stresses of being self-employed and the struggle of pushing yourself creatively. As any entrepreneur would know, running your own company brings about some of the highest highs and the lowest lows.

For a while, I was constantly worrying if I would be able to make the amount of money I needed to get by. Now I am much less concerned with cash flow and more focused on raising the bar all of the time. The surge of digital cameras over the past two decades has created a market ripe with talent that is always growing.

I am a competitive person, so I often compare myself with other local talents, which isn’t always the best idea. Over the years I have refocused on my own craft and constantly striving to get better at photography, video, and web development.

Mixed Mercury – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Currently, Mixed Mercury offers web development, professional photography with a specialty in studio product work and video services with a focus on entertaining and informational content. We are very proud of the relationships we have been able to build with local brands because it gives us a closer connection to our work.

We stand out from the crowd by truly understanding your business before we begin the project. To do that we try to buy some of our clients products and enjoy them or share them with others. When we have a grasp of how and why people connect with a brand we are much more capable of sharing that story with the masses.

We always love to ask about the support network – have there been people, perhaps mentors or advisors, who have played a big role in your success?
I wouldn’t be where I am without the support of all the artists who hired me to shoot photos of their work when I was just starting out.

My first photo/video/web jobs were helping out local glassblowers here in Arizona. There is a wide and thriving underground glass community here in AZ, and many of the people involved helped me grow as a business and a creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mixedmercury.com/
• Email: luke@mixedmercury.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixedmercurymedia/?hl=en

Image Credit:
Luke Irvin

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