Meet Taliferro Neal of Tally Mark Media

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taliferro Neal.

Hi Taliferro, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was always interested in photography but never took the time to actually learn it.

In 2014 I bought my very first camera. It was a Canon T3i DSLR camera from a pawn shop because I wanted to take birthday pictures for my daughter. She was turning 1, and my wife wanted photos. After doing tons of research, I was able to pull off some pretty decent photos.

I have been hooked since then. I have advanced to bigger and better gear over the past few years… as well as clientele such as Toyota, The Texas Lottery, and Brad Paisley.

Alright, 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?
For the most part, it’s been a very smooth journey. From 2008 to 2018, I owned a computer repair business. This was something that I went to school for and somewhat enjoyed.

In 2018 with some encouragement from my wife, I decided to take on photography full-time. I used some tactics that I learned while running my computer repair business to drive sales in my new photography business. I was able to completely replace my computer repair business income within a couple of months.

Today, I am far exceeding what I would be making if I was still in the computer repair business. While money is not the determining factor of why I am happy doing photography full-time, it is definitely a plus.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Tally Mark Media?
TallyMarkMedia specializes in photography and videography services. When I first started my business, I was only doing photography. My mentor at the time encouraged me to pick up videography as well.

He told me, “If you’re only using your camera for photos you’re only using half of your camera.” This made a lot of sense. While photography continues to be my main source of income. I am able to substantially grow and scale my business by adding video services. For example, I was able to shoot an internal use video for Toyota.

This was by far my largest client as well as my largest invoice! Being able to take on both photography and videography projects allows me to diversify my portfolio and stay busy.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Learn your gear. Knowing what your camera is and is not capable of is super important.

Knowing where all of your buttons are so you don’t have to spend time trying to find them is important. Don’t allow your gear to get in the way of your creativity. Learn it until it becomes second nature. As I mentioned before learning videos, it’s also something I highly encourage.

If you’re a camera that can shoot video, learn it as well!

Contact Info:

• Email: Tallymarkphotos@gmail.com
• Website: Www.Tallymarkphotos.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/tallymarkmedia