Creative Campfire: Conversations for Creative Entrepreneurs

Episode SummaryShelly sits down with James Barnard — logo designer, Adobe speaker, and founder of the Designerrrs design community — met while doodling at a craft table at Adobe 99U in NYC this past June. James shares: his winding path into design (failed record producer, years of data entry, self-taught Photoshop), why it took a decade to niche into logo design, and how one TikTok video bragging about a LogoLounge feature turned into 70 leads and three months of bookings overnight. pricing on demand instead of hours, why he presents one logo concept instead of ten, the one-page brand guide he built for budget-conscious clients, the 50/50 rule that keeps his pipeline from going quiet.Timestamps to jump to:00:00 — Intro and How they met in NYC at Adobe 99U03:32 — James Back story: From wanting to be a record producer to self-taught designer09:38 — Niching into logo design and the SEO win that followed17:17 — Going viral: the LogoLounge TikTok and the 15M-view pencil tool video26:58 — Why he built the Designerrrs community (the poop emoji logo story)28:24 — Teaching in public: "a rising tide lifts all ships"32:01 — The one-page brand guide for budget-conscious clients35:18 — How James actually prices a logo project38:13 — One concept vs. fifteen: two schools of logo design41:32 — The CRM and lead-scoring system behind his business44:12 — Landing his first Adobe MAX talk48:02 — Scripting content and platform-specific strategy52:05 — The 50/50 rule for marketing vs. client work53:44 — Family, running, and book-bindingAbout JamesJames Barnard is a logo designer and founder of Barnard.co, a freelance studio based on the Gold Coast, Australia. Originally from England, he spent over a decade in UK publishing — including Runner's World, Men's Health, and The Daily Telegraph — before going freelance and niching into logo and brand identity work. He founded the Designerrrs design community, speaks at Adobe MAX, and teaches design workflows to a large following on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.About Shelly Shelly Waldman is the founder of Creative Camp, a business education platform for commercial photographers and creative freelancers, and host of the Creative Campfire podcast. A working commercial photographer with a background in finance and economics, she brings an "Analytical Creative" lens to pricing, positioning, and business strategy.Links and ResourcesJames's website: ⁠Barnard.co⁠CRM Episode on Creative CampfireJames's community: Designerrrs Follow James: @Barnardco on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn CRM mentioned: Bloom — bloom.io/james for a free first year⁠CRM Episode on Creative CampfireKeep the Conversation GoingFollow along on InstagramSupport the show buy Shelly a coffeeSign up for the Camp BulletinIf you loved this episode, leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — it helps more Campers find the fire.Want to know what gear I use to make the podcast here you go. It's listed below.Podcast Gear:Shure MV7 micAudiotechnica M50x headphones HP Omnibook 7 TB2 on the go mics for iphone/mobile Rode Wireless microfor phone or camera Rode Wireless GO III 

This week is a pod swap, Campers — we're gathered around a fire shared with Patrick Fore of The Terrible Creative. Patrick reached out about joining forces, and what came out of it was a raw, honest conversation about money shame: the stories we inherit from our families, the fear behind undercharging, and how to separate the emotion of money from the math of running a business.IN THIS EPISODE:- How childhood money stories (layoffs, blue-collar roots, "money Saturdays") quietly shape how we price and negotiate as adults- Why Shelly's economics degree and ten years at Citibank became the backbone of Creative Camp's whole philosophy- The messy truth about second shooters, copyright, and who actually owns those images- Licensing 101: why usage is baked into (or missing from) most photographers' pricing- A real-time negotiation story: Shelly's client asked her to cut a quote in half, and what she did instead of caving- Why people undercharge — fear, identity, scarcity — and Shelly's "raise it until you get a no" method- Patrick's "gamify it" trick for taking emotion out of budget conversations- The stoic reframe that helps with money anxiety: "what's the best thing that could happen?"- Patrick's brutal 2025 (from $123K to selling his backup camera) and why just surviving deserves a gold starRESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED:- Patrick's podcast and book, The Terrible Creative: theterriblecreative.com- Patrick's portfolio: patrickfore.com- Patrick on Instagram: @patrickfore- The Terrible Creative on Instagram: @terriblephotographer- Ren & Jen's Photo Dump EP 50 on "would you start over in 2026"- Dawn Heumann's thought piece on starting a photography business today and another piece how much goes into a photo shootCREATIVE CAMP LINKSInstagram: ⁠⁠instagram.com/creativecamp.pro⁠⁠Substack:⁠⁠ substack.com/@creativecamp⁠⁠⁠⁠Camp Bulletin⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠⁠: buymeacoffee.com/creativecampAnd if this episode helped, leave us a review — it helps more Campers find the fire.- Basecamp Bundle — four courses covering swipe copy, visibility, usage licensing, and goal planning, all for $197: outpost.creativecamp.pro/basecamp/- Creative Sidekick — 6 months of 1:1 coaching on strategy, pricing, and pitching. Apply for a discovery call: creativecamp.pro/sidekickABOUT THE HOSTShelly Waldman is a commercial photographer and the founder of Creative Camp, a business education platform for photographers and creative freelancers. Known as "The Analytical Creative," she draws on a background in economics and ten years as a financial analyst to help creatives build sustainable, well-priced businesses. She hosts the Creative Campfire podcast from her home base in London.ABOUT THE GUESTPatrick Fore is a commercial photographer and host of The Terrible Creative podcast, where he talks candidly about identity, money, and the long middle of a freelance career. He's the author of Lessons From a Terrible Photographer, now available on Audible. Find his work at patrickfore.com.

Twenty years in commercial food and lifestyle photography will teach you a lot about reinvention — and this week's guest is doing exactly that in real time. Dawn Heumann joins Shelly by the fire to talk about what happens when you dismantle a perfectly curated Instagram, the vulnerability of showing up on video to the AI systems Dawn has built to run cold outreach, content planning, and client research — and lands on the bigger question every commercial photographer is asking right now: what does this career look like on the other side of the AI shift? It's a wide-ranging, generous conversation between two friends who've known each other since a portfolio review years ago.LINKS AND RESOURCES:Wisprflow.ai — the voice-to-text tool Dawn uses for her AI brain dumps*Dawn's website and where you can find the resource for the AI BlueprintUnscripted — Dawn's garage videosDawn on InstagramFolkhaus — Dawn's production studio and creative partner for ongoing social contentFolkhaus on InstagramSUPPORT FOR YOUR BUSINESS:“We all need help in different places.” — Dawn HeumannDawn said it best on this episode: none of us are amazing at everything, and asking for help is a skill worth practicing. If you're ready for that kind of support in your own business, Creative Sidekick is 1:1 coaching built for photographers and creative freelancers who want a strategic partner in their corner — not just another course.Learn more about Creative SidekickAnd if this episode had you thinking about your own AI workflows, we're building an AI Blueprint workflow class to help you set up the kind of systems Dawn talked about — without the overwhelm.Register your interest hereABOUT THE HOST:Shelly Waldman is the founder of Creative Camp, where she brings her background in economics and finance to business education for commercial photographers and creative freelancers. Known as “The Analytical Creative” and Creative Camp's Head Counselor, Shelly is a working commercial photographer based in London who's spent her career helping creatives build pricing, pitching, and business strategies that actually hold up.ABOUT DAWN:Dawn Heumann is a commercial photographer working in food and lifestyle. She's the founder of Folkhaus, a production studio that partners with brands to keep up with the endless demand for social content, and she's increasingly building in public on Instagram about AI, personal brand, and the future of the industry.SUPPORT THE SHOW:The show is produced with love and zero backing. If you like to support the show, Buy me a coffeeWork with meInvite me to be a speaker in your communityFollow along on InstagramJoin Camp BulletinIf this episode helped, leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — it helps more campers find the fire.

This week at the fire, Shelly welcomes Costas Millas, the fine artist, graphic designer, food stylist, and photographer behind Made by Mr. Millas — for a conversation about creative process, patience, and building a solo business after two decades in design. Costas walks through how his food art stories began with a pink-and-black rhubarb series for an Instagram photo competition, the making of his award-winning Spaghetti series, and the deeply personal journey behind No Colour, his self-published, hand-numbered black-and-white photo book born out of a difficult year. They dig into mood boarding, letting ideas marinate, maxing out the gear you already have before buying more, delegating on big productions like his work for Fortnum & Mason, and why slow, meaningful creative work still has a place in an increasingly optimized, AI-accelerated world.Resources & Links MentionedMade by Mr. Millas — website & No Colour book shopCostas on Instagram & LinkedIn: @madebymrmillasThe Eat, Capture, Share competition, hosted by Kimberley EspinalLola Fowler's Food Styling Diploma*World Food Photography AwardsPodcast Gear:Studio Mic: Shure MV7*Headphones: Audiotechnica M50x *Laptop: HP Omnibook 7 *Mics for iphone/mobile Rode Wireless micro*Mic for camera or mobile: Rode Wireless GO III* *affiliate links. If you buy through any of these links it's supports the show, or supports Costas. Some Things Should Take Time“Not everything needs to be optimized — including in our business.” Costas's words this episode are a good reminder that a sustainable creative business isn't built on hacks alone. If you're ready to slow down and build the strategy underneath your creative work, start with the Basecamp Bundle — four foundational courses on swipe copy, visibility, usage licensing, and goal planning to get your business fundamentals in place.Check out Basecamp BundleStep Into the Light: The Visibility ProjectFree, nine weeks, curated straight from guests on this podcast — one conversation dripped into your inbox each week to help you step into the light at your own pace.👉 Sign up hereAbout the HostShelly Waldman is the founder of Creative Camp and host of the Creative Campfire podcast, a business education platform for commercial photographers and creative freelancers. Known as “The Analytical Creative,” Shelly is a working commercial photographer based in London whose background in economics and finance shapes her distinctive approach to pricing, usage licensing, business strategy for creatives and education design.About the GuestCostas is based in the UK and originally from a Graphic Design background, he started out as a hobbyist food photographer who loved to cook and bake, sharing images captured with his iPhone on his Instagram Made By Mr Millas. Now working full time as a Food Photographer, Food Stylist and Art Director, he is known for his bold and colourful style, his creative concepts and renowned Food Art Stories, including the self published book NO COLOUR. His clients include Nikon, Adobe, Fortnum & Mason, Fratelli Beretta and Clean Eating Magazine. He was named Food & Drink Photographer 2024 at The British Photography Awards and in 2025, was awarded the Food Stylist Award at the World Food Photography AwardsKeep the Conversation GoingFollow along on InstagramBuy Shelly a coffeeSign up for the Camp BulletinIf you loved this episode, leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — it helps more Campers find the fire.

Gather 'round Campers, this one was recorded around a real campfire, deep in the woods at The Secret Campsite in Sussex. Shelly sits down with her longtime friend Angus Light, founder of Locate Productions, for a conversation about building a B Corp production company inside one of the most wasteful industries on earth (advertising) and then, with the campsite's own founder Tim Bullen, who worked in luxury goods advertising and marketing segmentation before it was a thing, the conversation turns to rewilding, nightingales, and why the advertising industry might be exactly the right tool to make nature cool again.In this episodeHow Angus fell into location scouting in Soho in 1998 and built Locate Productions from a broom cupboard in BatterseaLocate's "fly at last resort" policy, and why 65% of the ad industry's CO2 emissions come from flyingBecoming a B Corp: what it actually restricts (fossil fuels, airlines, gambling, tobacco) and how that hits revenueThe Agency for Nature campaign — five agencies, five youth subcultures, one client: natureTim's leap from a luxury goods media business to building The Secret Campsite from an old garden centre"Toe-dipping" into nature: why the ask shouldn't be full conversion, just curiosityInsure4Nature, and turning a home insurance premium into a nature-restoration donationResources & links mentionedLocate Productions — locateproductions.comThe Secret Campsite — thesecretcampsite.co.ukAlbert (BAFTA's sustainability arm) — baftaalbert.orgAdGreen (carbon calculator for the ad/production industry) — weareadgreen.orgPurpose Disruptors (Agency for Nature campaign) — purposedisruptors.orgClean Creatives (fossil fuel divestment pledge for agencies) — cleancreatives.orgInsure4Nature (home insurance profits fund nature restoration) — insure4nature.comBuild the thing that pays the bills firstLocate didn't start as a sustainability company — it started as two people and a broom cupboard in Battersea. The mission came later, once the business had legs to stand on. That's the order Shelly cares about too.Still nailing the fundamentals — pricing, positioning, getting paid what you're worth? Start with the Basecamp Bundle — four courses, one price.Ready for one-on-one, dig-into-the-weeds support to take your business from scrappy to established? That's Creative Sidekick — six months, just us, building the thing that's actually yours.About the HostShelly Waldman, founder of Creative Camp and host of the Creative Campfire podcast. "The Analytical Creative," and Head Counselor to a community of commercial photographers and creative freelancers learning to build financially confident businesses. With a background in economics and finance she brings a numbers-first, no-shame approach to pricing, licensing, and business strategy for creatives. She's also a working commercial photographer and speaker, based in London.About the GuestsAngus Light, founder of Locate Productions, a B Corp-certified production company working across the UK and Europe. He's spent over two decades pushing sustainability into the advertising and production industry — from AdGreen's carbon calculator to the award-winning Agency for Nature campaign — and believes the industry's real skill is storytelling in service of a livable planet.Tim Bullen, founder of The Secret Campsite in Sussex, an off-grid retreat built from a former garden centre using reclaimed materials and zero concrete. After 13 years running a media and market research business in the premium and luxury goods sector, sold his business to build a space where people — and wildlife — could get some room to breathe.Keep the conversation going:Drop us a DM on ⁠Instagram⁠.Support the show by ⁠buying us a coffee⁠ Sign up for our ⁠Camp BulletinLeave a review and share your thoughts on the episode — it genuinely helps this little fire reach more people