My Story | How Photography & Video Became A Passion
Humble Beginnings
I grew up making cheap, cheesy pictures and youtube videos for my hobbies. I didn’t have the fanciest gear, nor did I know what types of cameras were considered good when I was younger. I just knew I needed a camera that could take pictures & video. I even remember editing everything on the built in video editing apps that computers typically come with, such as Windows Movie Maker. I loved making videos about my hobbies, because aviation has always been a passion of mine, and still holds a place in my heart & soul to this day! As time went on, I had other responsibilities in life that made me sacrifice my hobbies in order to pursue a college degree. After completing my core classes through my local community college, I transferred to Auburn University to obtain a degree in aviation management. Throughout my time at Auburn is where my passion for Photography & Video began to takeoff like never before.
Drones = Weddings
One of the first classes I had at Auburn related to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Everyone refers to this as “Drones”. This was my specialty because my biggest hobby was flying remote controlled airplanes of various sizes and speeds. This class however was designed to teach us about the federal regulations pertaining to flying drones both in public and for commercial use. It was a good bit of information to take in, but this class was where my passion for photography & video was born. My professor for the class had mentioned to us toward the end of the semester how drones can be used to start businesses. My professor had my undivided attention because I loved flying remote controlled aircraft, and if I could start my own business in this field, I was going to do just that. My professor didn’t say how to start one, but he mentioned how drones can make money by using them for real estate, agriculture, weddings, and much more. Out of all those examples, I kept imagining using a drone to film a wedding ceremony, but of course that not what he was trying to say in regards to that! I started to do my research on business providing aerial services, but found that this was a market that was too saturated to even attempt to start my own aerial business with drones. I decided if I was going to use a drone to make a profit, I’d need to be able to offer more than just aerial services. Several friends of mine were months away from getting married at the time, so I decided to take a chance and ask if I could film their weddings. I had no experience at all with this, but I was constantly watching tutorials, reading various blogs, and visiting the local camera shop to find the best gear possible to work with, as well as how to film a wedding. After several months of research and preparation, it was time to film my first wedding!
The First Of Many
My first wedding I filmed, still holds a place close to the heart. Two close friends of mine were getting married and I remember it like it was yesterday when I watched them meet and talk to each other for the first time. And now here I am filming their wedding in front of hundreds of people! My first time filming a wedding is like what you’d expect if you too are experienced in this industry. It was a ton of work, but I made a ton of mistakes in the process. I mainly made a mistake on the type of gear I was using because I really didn’t get enough time to fully grasp how to make the camera and gear work to my advantage. I had many shots that were overexposed, the reception was so dark that I had noise & grain in all the shots. Basically, I had some adjustments to make after filming this wedding. Overall, when I presented my finished wedding reel to a few videographers, they really liked how I put it all together. I learned that I was good at telling stories about a couple’s wedding day and to them, that’s what mattered so much. Yes we even discussed the issues with some of the shots, but overall, I had a good wedding film from their perspective. I was very pleased to hear that! As time went on, I went to film several more weddings where I switched up my game plan on what gear to use. Overtime as I tweaked the type of gear I was using and getting more time to work with the gear, my quality improved and I was still creating unique storylines that focused on the couple. As I was once told, practice makes progress!
Going All In
As I mentioned earlier, I have a passion for aviation. It was the primary reason for going to college. I was fortunate to have had a job lined up after graduating in my field working at the local airport in my hometown. For the next year and a half, I was loving my time working in aviation, but knew I desired something else that I couldn’t give up; photography & video. When I started working at the airport, I was told that eventually I was most likely going to have to decide which career path I want to pursue, but I wasn’t going to be able to have both. My grandfather said the same thing to me years before he passed away, “you can either fly or you can have a family, but you can’t have both”. For me this was the same decision my grandfather made, but with a twist. Do I give up on photography & video to work a job that was depriving me of spending time with family, friends and my passions outside of work, or do I go all in to pursue my own business, allowing me to have more opportunities with family & friends. To me I loved my time at the airport, and I can remember evening struggling to walk out on my last scheduled day. As time went on, I did find my true happiness in life that a full time job just couldn’t provide me. Today I continue to grow, both as a person and a businessman. The start of a business in photography & video has not been easy, but I wouldn’t ask for anything else! As for my other passion, I still have found ways to interact with the aviation community I have grown up to know, and have had many opportunities to go fly and make new connections with some amazing people! Ultimately I chose a tough road, but this road produces many great rewards as long as I put in the effort every single day.