Mara Ellison

Profile

Commercial and editorial photographer with 9 years of experience shooting for consumer brands, national magazines, and advertising agencies. Specializes in product, lifestyle, and food photography, with a proven record of delivering campaign assets that reduced client retouching costs by up to 30%. Proficient in full-cycle production from concept development through post-processing, with a client roster spanning Fortune 500 brands and independent publishers.

Work Experience

Lead Commercial PhotographerMar 2020 - Present

Prism Creative Studio, Austin, TX

Directed and executed product and lifestyle shoots for 14 national brand clients annually, delivering 2,000+ final retouched images per year on or ahead of schedule.
Reduced average post-production turnaround from 12 days to 7 days by standardizing a Lightroom catalog workflow and building a 400-preset library adopted studio-wide.
Negotiated and managed a $180,000 annual equipment and vendor budget, cutting overhead 18% over two years through consolidated supplier contracts.

Editorial PhotographerJun 2017 - Feb 2020

Lone Star Living Magazine, Austin, TX

Produced 60+ editorial photo spreads per year covering food, interiors, and lifestyle, contributing to a 22% increase in single-copy newsstand sales over 18 months.
Collaborated with art directors on 8 cover shoots annually, achieving a 100% on-time delivery rate across 34 consecutive issues.
Mentored two junior photographers, reducing onboarding time from 6 weeks to 3 weeks by developing a structured style-guide and shoot-day checklist.

Freelance PhotographerAug 2015 - May 2017

Self-Employed, Dallas, TX

Secured and serviced 40+ independent clients in food, portraiture, and event photography, generating $94,000 in revenue across 22 months.
Built a repeat-client rate of 68% through consistent delivery of gallery-ready images within 5 business days of each shoot.
Expanded social media following from 800 to 11,400 followers on Instagram by publishing behind-the-scenes content that drove inbound inquiry volume up 3×.

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