1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy nom the United States 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border 8 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: are here illegally, your next you will be fined nearly 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported. You will 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: never return. But if you register using our CBP home 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. 14 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: border and families will be protected. 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 17 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 3: Thank guys, Welcome back, U y l H. This is 18 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 3: going to be an interesting conversation because I don't think 19 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:11,119 Speaker 3: that we've ever interviewed somebody who has mastered the art 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 3: of photography. 21 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 4: I thought I was afraid. I want to say, I 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 4: for sure. 23 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 3: It's one of these things that, especially talking about the 24 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 3: content creator economy, I mean, you gotta have a photographer. 25 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 4: That's important. 26 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 3: We've had photographers for since we started early Alysia, and 27 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 3: everybody has a photographer. Photography is something that goes back 28 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 3: ancient times right as far as you know, depicting things 29 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 3: and capturing moments. It is something that's very, very important. 30 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 3: So Cam Kirk is not just a photographer. He's also 31 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 3: an entrepreneur. That's why the story is interesting. 32 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 4: So he's able. 33 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 3: A lot of people are skilled that one particular thing, 34 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 3: but they don't know how to actually make it a business, 35 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 3: build a brand, make money, and have multiple streams of income. 36 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 3: So celebrity photographer but opened a studio, transition from you know, 37 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 3: doing hip hop to doing corporate brands as well and 38 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 3: doing variety of other things. So her first and foremost, 39 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 3: thanks for joining us. 40 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 4: Appreciate it, man, Thank you all for having me. Man, 41 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 4: this is on my bucket list. So I appreciate that. 42 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 5: Man. I appreciate that, man. 43 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 4: Nah for real. 44 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 3: So there's like I said, there's a lot of creatives 45 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 3: out there, a lot of people that are photographers or videographers, 46 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 3: especially now, for like there's more photographers and videographers than 47 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 3: ever before than ever, how did you get started and 48 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 3: how were you before we even go to the business side. 49 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 4: How were you able to scale? 50 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 3: You've taken pictures of like dog and g Z and 51 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 3: you know, like I said, become a celebrity in the 52 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 3: photography world. So what was your journey from getting introduced 53 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 3: to photography, mastering the craft, and then becoming a celebrity photographer. 54 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,399 Speaker 4: Yeah, man, it's a long journey, but I'll give you 55 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,959 Speaker 4: like a quick synopsis of how it started. Originally from 56 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,559 Speaker 4: PG County, Maryland. So back in Maryland, my dad's photographers. 57 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 4: My dad's been doing photography about thirty plus years. So 58 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 4: every apartment house we ever lived in had a photo 59 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 4: studio in a basement. But I never was like into it. 60 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 4: But it was a way that would earn allowance. So 61 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 4: my dad said, if you want to get these shoes 62 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 4: or you want to do this, you got to come 63 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 4: with me on the set or to shoot and assists. 64 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 4: So my dad put a camera in my hand very 65 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 4: very early, but it never was like something I thought about. 66 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 4: Fast forward to when I moved to Atlanta, attended Morehouse College, 67 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 4: fell in love with just the culture of Atlanta, the 68 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 4: music scene. I honestly just wanted to find a way 69 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 4: to be around it and to be you know, connected 70 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 4: to it. When I first graduated college, I got a 71 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 4: degree in business marketing. So when I graduated college, I 72 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 4: was managing a music artist. So I had a camera 73 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 4: that my dad told me to get. I had a 74 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 4: little camera and I used to use the camera just 75 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 4: to photograph our stuff, Like we couldn't afford to pay 76 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 4: a photographer videographer. So I would be like, Yo, I'm 77 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 4: gonna take your pictures. I'm gonna record our music videos. 78 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 4: And at that time, I was like the only one 79 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 4: doing it in the city. 80 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 5: It was crazy to talk. 81 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 4: This is twoenty and eleven. So from working with him, 82 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 4: other local artists would just be like, yo, twenty five dollars, 83 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 4: fifty dollars, and I was like shit. At that time, 84 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 4: rent in Atlanta was dirt cheap. My rent was four 85 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 4: hundred dollars, So all I need to do was figure 86 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 4: out a way to make four or five hundred, maybe 87 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 4: a thousand on that month. I was lit like a 88 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 4: stay there. I had to get a real job. So 89 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 4: I was just really using my camera like that and 90 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 4: it was the easiest thing I ever attempted to do, 91 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 4: Like it just just worked so fast. Forward a little 92 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 4: bit after that, I was still just doing it as 93 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 4: a way to manage my artists, like we're gonna get signed. 94 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 4: This shit is just something I'm doing for right now. 95 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 4: And then right after that, twenty twelve, me and my 96 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 4: artists had a fallen out and he told me basically 97 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 4: like I want to like, you're not lit enough to 98 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 4: basically be my manager. That's the quickest way he said it. 99 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 4: And I'm like, bro, I've been pouring on my energy 100 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 4: into you. That's why I'm not out here just for 101 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 4: you know, pushing myself. And at that point he just 102 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 4: lit a fire under me, and I was like, I'm 103 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 4: gonna get lit off this camera, like I'm going to 104 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 4: make it. By February, I had shot Schoolboy, q Estelle, 105 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 4: and Jezi all on the same weekend, my name was 106 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 4: all of a complex magazine. Everything it just like it 107 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 4: was like that. A couple months later, I was with 108 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 4: Future traveling with him, like everything just went like but extremely. 109 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 3: What was the step to even like was it one 110 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 3: particular thing that kind of catapulted you, or you just 111 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 3: was hustling, just going to clubs introducing yourself. 112 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 4: Now, like in Atlanta at that time, it was like 113 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 4: a renaissance like of just culture. It was like you 114 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 4: walk down the street and Future was a local artist. 115 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 4: Like all these people are local, right. So now when 116 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,840 Speaker 4: you look back at my portfolio, you like, man, you're 117 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 4: done shot Metro Future, Young Thug, rich On m Kwanigo's. 118 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 4: But back then they were the person you just walk 119 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 4: down the street and see you know what I mean. 120 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,039 Speaker 4: You just had to believe in who they were. So 121 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 4: at that time, it wasn't like I was like pushing 122 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 4: to be in certain rooms. I just was working with 123 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 4: the community that was around me. And it was just 124 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 4: like they just ended up turning into the biggest stars 125 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 4: in the world, and I was the only one with 126 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,359 Speaker 4: the camera documenting them. Like I would go to certain 127 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 4: concerts in Atlanta, io'ld be the only one in the 128 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 4: presspit at that time. Were you doing it for free? Free? 129 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 4: For sure? Everything I was doing was the work kind 130 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 4: of just found you. The work found me and that 131 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 4: I was in the right network of people, and it 132 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 4: just it really just took off like I was the 133 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 4: only one doing it. 134 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 5: Damn, that's pretty impressient. So that original core herd of people. 135 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 5: You said that Future you start to go on tour, 136 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 5: so now obviously this is more than just Atlanta. So like, 137 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 5: what did that look like? Is it now that I'm 138 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 5: doing this work and I'm going to be doing it 139 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 5: for the drivation of a time or is he just 140 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 5: doing shows and Georgia at the time or. 141 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 4: Yeah, at that time, you gotta think like hip hop, 142 00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 4: especially Atlanta, hip hop wasn't as mainstream accepted as it 143 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 4: is now, so when they would do runs, it would 144 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 4: be like club shows that live or something like that. 145 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,919 Speaker 4: So my first time really moving out out of town 146 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 4: what an artist was with first time was really with 147 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 4: Jeezy for All Star Weekend, but that was like a 148 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 4: really quick stint. It didn't really shake into anything. And 149 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 4: then after that I got with Future and I went 150 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 4: with him to Miami for a trip and we're just 151 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 4: in a club, like it's not like touring like where 152 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 4: you're getting the atmosphere of tour buses and all that. 153 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 4: It's like one off show here, You're right back in 154 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 4: Atlanta the next day. So I was doing that, and 155 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 4: to be honest, like I kind of feled at it 156 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 4: with Future because I didn't really know what I was doing. 157 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 4: So it's a few times on that road I got 158 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 4: left in the club, like you just couldn't keep up 159 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 4: with the energy. So Future It's manager at the time, 160 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 4: Eb avenue Ward was just like, Yo, you need to 161 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 4: go work with Young Scooter. Like, y'all, you just stick 162 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 4: with him. He's coming up. You hang with Scooter and 163 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 4: you can kind of get your stripes. And that's really 164 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 4: who changed my life, Young Scooter, like just the time 165 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 4: we spent together. But it was kind of just that, 166 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 4: like it wasn't like touring it was and glamorous at all. 167 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 4: It was like one hundred dollars. You get a hundred dollars, 168 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 4: you get to go around, record some video and turn 169 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 4: it into like a little vlog or something. 170 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 5: And are you are you studying the craft at the time? 171 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 5: Are you just taking pics and maybe calling Dad like, Hey, 172 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 5: what am I supposed to do with this? 173 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 4: I'm not studying the craft at all, to be quite honest, 174 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 4: but I am studying the career path of the craft. 175 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 4: So I never really and that's that's one of my 176 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 4: biggest regrets early on was like I didn't really take 177 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 4: the time to master a camera, but I did learn 178 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 4: like who's Shine the Manion? Whose motion family? Who's zach Wood? 179 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 4: Like certain icons and what do they? What do they 180 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 4: do to be where they at? And where could my 181 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 4: career eventually go. But I wasn't really studying the craft, 182 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 4: but I studied just how to. Like my first thing 183 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 4: was like how do I just make my pictures of 184 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 4: my videos clear? Like that was my thing. HD. Everybody's 185 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,439 Speaker 4: going to lean into AD. I can learn the tricks 186 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 4: and the camera tricks and the art style of it later, 187 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,319 Speaker 4: but if I can learn when I'm in a room, 188 00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 4: these are the settings to get the best quality video photo. 189 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 4: I did studied that part, and then over time it 190 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 4: just grew and my dad was my worst critic. I 191 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:09,079 Speaker 4: hated showing him my work. He destroyed my work every time, 192 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 4: Like every time it was it was actually like encouraging 193 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 4: in a certain and a weird way because it made 194 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 4: me like, all right, I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna 195 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 4: proved to you. But he was my worst critic for sure, 196 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 4: and rightfully so a lot of that work I look 197 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 4: back now, I'm like, man, if I knew what I 198 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 4: knew now in those rooms and those opportunities, I could 199 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 4: have really created something magical. And some of the work 200 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 4: has still translated, which I'm grateful and thankful of, but 201 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 4: some of that work would have been just insane the 202 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,679 Speaker 4: opportunities I got. So what is some all right? 203 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 3: So as far as some information, what's some information for 204 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 3: content creatives. 205 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 4: Photographers to know to have better pictures? 206 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 3: Anything from a cell phone filter to a full fledged camera, Like, 207 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 3: what is some things that since you're self taught pretty much, 208 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 3: what are some things that you learned along your journey 209 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 3: to make for better photos? 210 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 4: See, people people look at art and photography is pretty subjective, right, 211 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,839 Speaker 4: So like somebody would look at art and say it's 212 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 4: an art form. Some people say it's a skill set. 213 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 4: I'm kind of a believer in both. When I first 214 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 4: got into it, I was like, it's an art set, 215 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 4: it's an art form, Like it ain't know one which 216 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 4: way to do it. You could take a picture and 217 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 4: it's blurry and that could be somebody's favorite image. There's 218 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,719 Speaker 4: mistake images like that are some people's favorite images. So 219 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 4: my advice to a lot of photographers though now is 220 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 4: just study the ends and outs of the craft of it, 221 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 4: because once you learn the skill of it, you can 222 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 4: manipulate it to be whatever it is you want. So 223 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 4: there's no right or wrong way. But if you don't 224 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 4: know the simple basics of ISO F stop exposure, Like, 225 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 4: you're going to embarrass yourself when you really get into 226 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 4: a real room if you don't know how to do lighting. 227 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 4: And I was, I was like that, I was embarrassing, So. 228 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 3: Talk about that, talking about that, All right, let's let's go. 229 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 3: Let's go one by one lighting. How important is lighting 230 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 3: and explain it? Like for somebody that's a novel, it's 231 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,200 Speaker 3: like that doesn't really even know why lighting is important. Like, 232 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 3: let's talk about lighting and how that changes everything. 233 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 4: Lighting is the most critical form of photography or videography 234 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 4: is the number one starter and Layman's terms. If you're 235 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 4: in your room and it's dark outside and you try 236 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 4: to take a selfie of yourself, how grainy that picture's 237 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 4: going to be, how dark it's going to be, and 238 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,719 Speaker 4: then you go and stand in front of a ring 239 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 4: light you know if you've seen that, or in your 240 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 4: mirror and your bathroom mirror. While people take selfies in 241 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 4: the bathroom mirror's the best lighting in the house. It's 242 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 4: like that is the most basic night and day. So 243 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 4: then that applies to, you know, photography at every scale, 244 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 4: whether you're shooting outside. You know, if you ever try 245 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 4: to take a picture and the sun's behind you and 246 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 4: you notice I can't see myself where I look shadowed out, 247 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 4: then you literally turn around and the sun's in front 248 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:52,119 Speaker 4: of you. It's like, that's the most critical part of photography. 249 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 4: It's understanding that I can have a four hundred dollars 250 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 4: camera with the right lighting. Amazing. I can get a 251 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 4: camera from target right now, disposable film camera with the 252 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 4: right lighting, I can make something that looks like one 253 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 4: of these album covers on the wall. So lighting is 254 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 4: the number one. So what's what's the best light to buy? 255 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 3: If you're in a studio, It's hard to say what's 256 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 3: the best. 257 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 4: It's hard to say. It's like what's the best camera. 258 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 4: It's hard to say what's the best light to buy. 259 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 4: I don't think it's that cut and dry. There are 260 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,319 Speaker 4: certain lights that you should have within your kid. I 261 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 4: would say, like, as a photographer, you want to go 262 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 4: strobe lighting. In my opinion, there's some photographers that like 263 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 4: constant lighting, like what you have in here now. Most 264 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 4: videographers obviously are going to have to use constant lighting. 265 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 4: I'm a strobe light type of person, but using strobe 266 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 4: lights is way more challenging. You have to have a 267 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 4: skill set for that because if I have a strobe light, 268 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:49,120 Speaker 4: I can't actually see what it's going to look like 269 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 4: until I take the picture for the most part. But 270 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 4: with a constant light, you know you can set the lighting, 271 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,079 Speaker 4: look through your camera and see, okay, it's lit right here. 272 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 4: The lighting is going to hit them right here. So 273 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 4: I like strobe lights because you get the better quality. 274 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 4: Strobe light is it's a it's a flash. It's like 275 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,199 Speaker 4: a camera flash. It's just it just that. Yeah, it's 276 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 4: not it's not on, not on all the time. 277 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 5: You're going to put the stroll in it right now? 278 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,679 Speaker 4: Well, it's strobing will work for the video the video 279 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 4: and be in the dark, but definitely they take a photo. 280 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 4: The strobe is what's gonna It's the most powerful form 281 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 4: of the light. So you can get high power flash flash. 282 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 5: Yeah. 283 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 4: So they have obviously flash you could just put on 284 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:30,839 Speaker 4: top of your camera. Then they have the ones that 285 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 4: are big and stand up on c stands and light 286 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 4: stands and tripod stands whatever, and you can get busy 287 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 4: with it. I'm a I'm a strobe light photographer, but 288 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 4: there are some photographers that prefer constant lights. It all 289 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 4: just depends. But it's hard to like say exactly like yo, 290 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 4: go by this, this and this, and you're gonna be right. 291 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,839 Speaker 4: It's more like it's all in circumstances. There's some photo 292 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 4: shoots I've done I used one light. There's some I've 293 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 4: used five lights. Like it literally is a style, it's 294 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 4: a technique. It's it's really what shape the photograph. The 295 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 4: lighting is what creates it and makes it look a 296 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 4: certain type of way. 297 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 5: You talked about the functionalities inside of the actual camera, 298 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 5: and so like, our journey is pretty interesting. We start 299 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 5: with iPhones and then we move the cameras. I know, 300 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 5: if you get trying to figure out what camera, and 301 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,439 Speaker 5: Mike was like, Yo, you gotta get this, this camera, 302 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 5: this camera has got the gotta have four K. And 303 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 5: I'm like, all right, I got that. I found a 304 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 5: four K camera and then I started seeing all these 305 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 5: buttons and then you just said iso, I'm like, well, 306 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 5: I have no idea what that is and so trying 307 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 5: to study that and understanding like how that changes the 308 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 5: temperature of the room. So explain the importance of ISO 309 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 5: because when people see it on their camera, if they've 310 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 5: never touched it, ye numbers, it's gonna be like four 311 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 5: hundred to two thousand, and it's like what do I do? 312 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 4: Yeah? So in your camera, there's three settings that's going 313 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 4: to control from just basic terms, how much how light 314 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 4: or how bright your photo is versus how dark your 315 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 4: photo is. There's three settings you can change. It's gonna 316 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 4: be your f stop, which many would call that like 317 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 4: your apertures. So that's how much light your camera lets 318 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 4: into your into the photo. That also determines how much 319 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 4: of the photo is going to be in focus. So 320 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 4: the lower the number, and most most lenses or some 321 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 4: lenses can go as low as one point two and 322 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 4: go as high as twenty two. The lower the number 323 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 4: is the least amount of focal points you're gonna have, 324 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 4: so like the least in focus. So if I'm at 325 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 4: a one point two right now, I could probably take 326 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 4: a photo of you and your nose might be super sharp, 327 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 4: your eyes might be out of focus. It might be 328 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 4: a little softer, So some people use that to dictate. 329 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 4: Like you've seen like a dope photo in the skyline 330 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 4: and the background looks really blurry, but that person just 331 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 4: pops out. That's what you use your F stop to control. 332 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 4: If I'm doing a group photo and it's a team, 333 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 4: I need to be up to at least F eight 334 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 4: and higher because I need as many people as possible 335 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 4: in focus. But from lame sense, when you look on 336 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 4: your camera, if you start just turning the knob, you 337 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 4: would just start to see it get darker or lighter. 338 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 4: It doesn't necessarily like you wouldn't really know. Same with ISO, 339 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 4: so ISO controls how much grain it's going to get 340 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 4: into your photo. So now the beautiful thing about technologies 341 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 4: is advancing. Most of these cameras can go to a really, 342 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 4: really really hot ISO and it won't really have much 343 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 4: of an effect. So your ISO really starts to like 344 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 4: one hundred and go to like sixty four thousand. When 345 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 4: you're up to like the higher range, your image starts 346 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 4: to have grain and it's not crisp. So now it's 347 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 4: like speckles and shit all in your photograph. So that 348 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 4: kind of changes the quality. So you use a lower 349 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 4: ISO determines the better quality of your photograph, and then 350 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 4: you have a shutter speed. Shutter speed determines how fast 351 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 4: the photo takes. So if you are shooting someone in 352 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 4: motion or moving, you want to higher shutter speed. And 353 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 4: that's how you can see someone move their hands, and 354 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 4: they hand might look all blurry, but their faces in 355 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 4: focus because they use a low shutter speed and use 356 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 4: a high shutter speed. If you're doing sports basketball someone 357 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,440 Speaker 4: dunking or performing on the stage, you need a higher 358 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 4: shutter speed so that nothing looks out of focus. Or 359 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 4: you can manipulate it and do a low shutter speed 360 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 4: if you want a motion blur, or you want to 361 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 4: create like this wild artistic effect on the image of 362 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 4: like somebody gliding, or capturing someone's shadow as they move 363 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,879 Speaker 4: from left to right, you'll lose a low shutter speed. 364 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 4: But all in all, to the average beginner, when they 365 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:35,679 Speaker 4: get to their camera, they can manipulate any one of 366 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 4: those three buttons, and what they would see just from 367 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 4: face value is the camera the picture getting brighter or darker. 368 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 4: But these are the three things you're actually manipulating. 369 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 5: What about temperature, because I know that that plays a 370 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:46,680 Speaker 5: role too. 371 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 4: Yeah, temperature plays a room, like when you really get 372 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 4: into it, a lot of people control the temperature. But 373 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,120 Speaker 4: again with technology advancing so well, these cameras, you can 374 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 4: just put it on auto or a lot of that 375 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 4: stuff you can fix in the background because that's just 376 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 4: your color, the color that you're doing. So when you 377 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 4: don't like to do a lot of editing, you might 378 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,119 Speaker 4: go into the camera change your temperature and that just 379 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 4: basically controls like whether my skin tone's gonna look blue 380 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:15,120 Speaker 4: or what's gonna look orange? 381 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:20,399 Speaker 3: All right, So talk about positioning of target when actually 382 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 3: taking a photo, because a lot of like it's like 383 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 3: a candidates are always good, right, or like some photographers 384 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 3: they like to like get like people in the corner 385 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 3: pocket on the cell phone. People turn their phones upside 386 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 3: down to get hero shots of people, or like if 387 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 3: you're standing in front of something, they're like stand further back. 388 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 3: So it's the depth perception matches up. So, yeah, what's 389 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 3: your thought. I know everybody's different, but what's your personal 390 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:49,119 Speaker 3: thought on that? 391 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,160 Speaker 4: Yeah? I think once you like you've mastered those those 392 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 4: early ones y'all asked me about, like ISO F stop 393 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 4: shutter and all that, that's when the fun can happen 394 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 4: after that, right, And that's when you get into compositions 395 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 4: and how you like to frame up your subject or 396 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 4: things of that nature. I'm always a believer in like 397 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,360 Speaker 4: leading eyes and like where the viewer goes. So sometimes 398 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 4: if I take a photograph and if I do off center, 399 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 4: you know, my artists, whoever I'm shooting to the right, 400 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,199 Speaker 4: I like to ensure that they're always it's very basic, 401 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 4: but they're looking in the direction of the empty space. 402 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 4: It's like you're guiding your viewer to see them and 403 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:28,680 Speaker 4: then be able to see empty space. You will never 404 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 4: basically have me turn to the left right here if 405 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:32,879 Speaker 4: the end of the frame is right here, because then 406 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 4: I just go off the picture and I'm not looking 407 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 4: at whatever it's left. So sometimes you can frame someone 408 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,719 Speaker 4: to the right, have them look the other way so 409 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 4: that you can like show off a mural or something else. 410 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 4: It just adds, like it takes the viewer on the 411 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 4: journey when they're looking through the photograph. But a lot 412 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 4: of that stuff starts to get into like the art 413 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:52,919 Speaker 4: form or you know, like you mentioned people turning their 414 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 4: camera upside down and doing all that stuff. They call 415 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 4: it like leading lines. They definitely do help with the 416 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 4: raw like feeling that you get from a photos. Sometimes 417 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 4: it's things that you can't describe or you can't just 418 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 4: see it. That's where the skill set and the art 419 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,920 Speaker 4: form kind of comes into play. But composition is definitely 420 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 4: very important when you're trying to tell a story. 421 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:18,439 Speaker 5: Do you feel not pressure? But when you look at 422 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 5: the space overall, when you look at everybody has the phone. 423 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 5: The technology is incredible. Oh yeah, I like to call 424 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 5: myself an iPhone photography. I'll be honest. I'll be honest. 425 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,879 Speaker 5: But when you see pictures, do you automatically identify like 426 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 5: this is somebody who really does it or this is 427 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 5: somebody that has skills on their phone. 428 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 4: Oh? Super, you can see it, like you can tell. 429 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:44,919 Speaker 4: But what the pressure comes in at? As technology advances, 430 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:47,880 Speaker 4: the picture quality you can get on the iPhone now 431 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 4: is the same that you can get on the same camera. 432 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 4: I spent five six thousand dollars found if you have 433 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,439 Speaker 4: the right lighting right, the right lighting and the right scenario, 434 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 4: you can get the same quality. And the megapixels, which 435 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 4: is like the image size that you create from a 436 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,160 Speaker 4: certain camera are almost identical. Now you're hearing. Like when 437 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 4: you see iPhone ads or Google as, they don't even 438 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,360 Speaker 4: promote the phone. They're promoting the picture quality, Like everything's 439 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 4: about it being a camera. And you know, even Apple 440 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 4: has those billboards where it's shot on the iPhone. They're 441 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 4: showing you you can take your iPhone and turn it 442 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 4: into the biggest scale, which is a billboard. So with 443 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,159 Speaker 4: just the world and the way that we consume media, 444 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 4: it's all digital now. You really don't need these big 445 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 4: cameras shooting five K, six KAK because once you put 446 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 4: it on YouTube or wherever, it's shrinking it down already 447 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 4: you're compressing regardless. So it's kind of even in the 448 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 4: playing field. So with technology advancing, I don't feel the 449 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 4: pressure from other people loving the art form because I 450 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 4: just think that makes people appreciate what I do more 451 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:48,640 Speaker 4: and respect it more if they feel like they're part 452 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 4: of it. But the pressure comes in with technology. It's like, 453 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 4: as technology keeps advancing, will people need me anymore or 454 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 4: will they even care about the quality? You know, to 455 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 4: a certain degree, I think that that's what's really changing 456 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 4: and making it tricky for photographers. And I saw in 457 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,719 Speaker 4: your interview you called a content creators and a new 458 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,199 Speaker 4: starving artist, And I agree with that, Like, I think 459 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 4: that's what it is now, Like the value of what 460 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 4: we do is changing because content is being consumed so 461 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 4: fast and so regularly that people take it for granted. 462 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 5: And it's being generated right when you think about I 463 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 5: can take the picture or I could just have artificial 464 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 5: intelligence to create the. 465 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 4: Picture super the exact same photo. So wow. 466 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 3: So as far as like, okay, you turning your skill 467 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 3: set to a business right and really having structure, as 468 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 3: far as okay, this is how much I'm a charge 469 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,159 Speaker 3: in my services, this is how I'm gonna market myself. 470 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 3: I'm gonna make content for myself as opposed to just 471 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 3: making content for other people, so people can actually know 472 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 3: who I am, so I can build momentum. When did 473 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 3: when did that kick in? 474 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 4: So my career, I started following artists. So as I 475 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,479 Speaker 4: mentioned a lot of the artists I work with the beginning, 476 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 4: I was with them at the beginning of their career. 477 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 4: So I saw what Future did to become a household name, 478 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 4: and I saw what young Scooter did, and then I 479 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 4: saw what Mike what made it? What the Future do? 480 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 4: They did? Like just in terms of their run, just 481 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:22,959 Speaker 4: from interviews, taking photoshoots of themselves like electronic press, kids 482 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 4: making appearances, getting styled, dressing a certain way, the presentation 483 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 4: of who they are and who they were. I saw 484 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 4: that formula from the music industry like I was there. 485 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 4: I was a part of it. I helped with it. 486 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 4: I saw them invest in content, invest in these webisodes 487 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 4: that we were doing, putting ads on the front of 488 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,640 Speaker 4: their websites, like I started to see it. So how 489 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 4: it really worked for me. I saw with the music 490 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 4: artist side first, and like I said, I work with Future, 491 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,439 Speaker 4: I work with Young Scooter for the longest, and I 492 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,159 Speaker 4: worked with Gucci. When Scooter and Gucci got locked up 493 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 4: at the exact same time, I had a reset what 494 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 4: I was doing and I started in working more with producers. 495 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 4: I came back and started working with Metro Booming, did 496 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 4: a lot of work with Mike Will made it. I'm 497 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,120 Speaker 4: at Metro in the dorm room at Morehouse, So I'm 498 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 4: working with Metro like at the beginning of his career. 499 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 4: But I'm learning things that I saw with Future and 500 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 4: Scooter and how they were able to do certain things 501 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 4: earlier on in their career and blow up. So now 502 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 4: feeding those certain things to Metro and seeing can it 503 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 4: work from a producer standpoint, like somebody that's not traditionally 504 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 4: in front of the lens, someone that's kind of behind 505 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 4: the scenes. Hey, bro, don't you know you own fifty 506 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 4: percent of that record, just like Future, So why don't 507 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 4: we go to the radio station and talk to them 508 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 4: about the record? And you own it too, you know, 509 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,199 Speaker 4: why don't we shoot the music video for it? You know, 510 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 4: while we waiting on Future to tell you that that's 511 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 4: going to be his next single, and as world, we 512 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 4: could just get together and say, hey, Future, cam's here, 513 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 4: we got the camera, turn the song on, we're gonna 514 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 4: shoot the video. And that was like a formula that 515 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 4: me and Metro started where it was like he produced 516 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,439 Speaker 4: the record, I shoot the video. And we kind of 517 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 4: came up that way, but it was propelling both of 518 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 4: our careers. Getting his songs from just being B track 519 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,440 Speaker 4: c tracks on mixtapes and actually making the music videos, 520 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,520 Speaker 4: which pushed those records to be bigger. My portfolio started 521 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,720 Speaker 4: to build, His awareness started to build because we started 522 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 4: putting them in the videos, like you're going to be 523 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 4: in it too, and then people started to see it, 524 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,919 Speaker 4: so I got to see now with work from an 525 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 4: artist to a producer, like the same formula. We were 526 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 4: going to radio stations, he was doing interviews with Fader, 527 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,399 Speaker 4: all these same stuff. I saw Scooter and Future do. 528 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 4: So when I work with Metro and he started blowing up, 529 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 4: he ended up DJing, getting on tour. I was with 530 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 4: him on the Rodeo tour and all that. When I 531 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 4: came off the Rodeo tour, you know, fast warding Live. 532 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 4: When I came off of that, I was like, will 533 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 4: it work for a photographer, Like you know that's twenty fifteen, 534 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 4: I'm like, can I do that? I watched him do it. 535 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 4: I watched these artists do it. Can I do that? 536 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:57,880 Speaker 4: And if you've been following me from that time, that 537 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,680 Speaker 4: is the formula I'm on. I'm on the music industries 538 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 4: formula for how to blow and artists up. That is 539 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,399 Speaker 4: the cam Kirk brand formula. And that's how I've been 540 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,159 Speaker 4: able to stay in the game as long as I have. 541 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 4: And that's also how I've been able to turn what's 542 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 4: just a typical photographer into a business because they look 543 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:17,160 Speaker 4: at me as an entity the same way they look 544 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,440 Speaker 4: at a Metro or Future or whoever. So that's really 545 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 4: how it started for me and how it worked for me. 546 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 4: I saw it and then I just started applying it 547 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 4: to myself. So I do interviews. I've had a bunch 548 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,679 Speaker 4: of interviews with like double XL the source, like the 549 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,639 Speaker 4: same publications that's talking about the rappers they talk about me. 550 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 4: I've been in those same places. I treat my art 551 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 4: galleries like concerts. They're like shows. I do it the 552 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,800 Speaker 4: same way we have fun, you have DJs. It's not traditional. 553 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 4: I brand myself. I started putting my face on billboards, 554 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 4: my own money, same way, and artists to do it 555 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 4: like I do a lot of the same things. I 556 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,679 Speaker 4: have cameramen following me. I do vlogs of my photo shoots. 557 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 4: It's a cameraman shooting, the cameraman shooting. It's like those 558 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 4: same things we're doing. And I was doing the twenty 559 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 4: fifteen that nobody was doing, and it was a formula 560 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 4: that works. And now to this day it's to me 561 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 4: the formula for success, and whatever field you're in, we're 562 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 4: seeing it now. I mean I saw doctors be having 563 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 4: vlogs and cameramen of themselves, like everybody is branding themselves 564 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 4: as a brand and as in front of the camera. 565 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,520 Speaker 4: And I think that that's a formula that I saw 566 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 4: in the music industry early on. It just applied to 567 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 4: photography created history, So I like to think. 568 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 5: So yeah, I mean it's tough sometimes as you're in it, 569 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,160 Speaker 5: it's tough to realize what you're doing when you're talking 570 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 5: about these artists like of course today like we know future. Yeah, 571 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 5: obviously we've seen what Metro's doing. I mean he's headline 572 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,440 Speaker 5: of shows, and so you're part of that history as well. 573 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,640 Speaker 5: From a technical side, right, you're taking photos, but you're 574 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 5: also creating video music videos from an editing standpoint at 575 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,639 Speaker 5: this time, because you're say in twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen, 576 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 5: this is like videos are starting to come on to YouTube. Yeah, 577 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 5: what are you using at that point to really get 578 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 5: the best product out? 579 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 4: So again, I'm learning on the fly, So I used 580 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,399 Speaker 4: early on, I was using final cut Bro, and I 581 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 4: was just freestyling or figuring out things I used to 582 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 4: like not like again, I'm not technically trained, so I 583 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 4: would just study. So once I knew I wanted to 584 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 4: do it, I would study. So I would go and 585 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,199 Speaker 4: watch a music video that I liked especially if I 586 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 4: found one that was like a similar tempo to the 587 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 4: song I just shot. And I mean probably get in 588 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 4: trouble for this, but I used to just take the video, 589 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,880 Speaker 4: download it, throw it in final cut, layer my clips 590 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 4: on top, and cut at the exact same format, like 591 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 4: you know, like after three seconds they changed the camera angle. 592 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 4: I would study it, like how many different camera angles 593 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 4: do they have and they's scene, how many different shots, 594 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 4: how many different locations. And I just started to get 595 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 4: really like technical from there and just learn how to 596 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,479 Speaker 4: flip it to whatever it is I'm doing, until I 597 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 4: was able to develop a style or a niche, and 598 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 4: I would just add a little something on it that 599 00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 4: made it feel like me figure out how I want 600 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 4: to end every video so it's consistent, or it's branded, 601 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 4: or where my logo pops up. So but it started 602 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 4: just freestyling, like taking chances. I didn't have a rule 603 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 4: book because you got to keep in mind also I 604 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 4: started photography twenty eleven, twenty twelve. That's the start of Instagram. 605 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 4: That's the start of all these platforms where content is 606 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 4: just being given away, so that the rule book that 607 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 4: Jonathan Mannon followed does not exist anymore. Like that process 608 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 4: of you know, you sell everything or every picture you 609 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 4: take costs money and everything is this you don't just 610 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,960 Speaker 4: give this away for free. The viral videos or just 611 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 4: home videos like that was all brand new. So we're 612 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,160 Speaker 4: developing our own blueprint for how to do it. 613 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 3: So as far as okay, so you do that, you 614 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 3: get in recognition as far as you know, becoming a 615 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 3: well known photographer in the culture. So now are people 616 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 3: reaching out to you or are you still like kind 617 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 3: of reaching out to artists to kind of book yourself 618 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 3: to do photo shoots and different things like that. 619 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 4: I've never reached out to an artist ever, Like I 620 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 4: think the only one time I did that I was 621 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 4: really already established, and that was when I first heard 622 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,640 Speaker 4: a little baby and I was like this, he's next, 623 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 4: Like I already know he's next, and I want to 624 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 4: shoot him. That's when I first saw my dog's video 625 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 4: and I reached out to Pete like this guy, I 626 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 4: have to work with this guy. Like But besides that, 627 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 4: I never reached out to artists. But Atlanta is is 628 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 4: one degree of separation from everybody. So, as I mentioned, 629 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 4: when I really really got my start work with young 630 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 4: Scooter being around young Scooter. I'm every day meeting Gucci man. 631 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 4: I met Gucci through Scooter, Then through Gucci, I met Doff, 632 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 4: I met young Thug, I met like honorable c. Note 633 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:51,959 Speaker 4: like I'm meeting everybody in the same sphere of things. 634 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 4: So once you get known for one thing, and I 635 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 4: was the only one doing it for real like at 636 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 4: that time. So once you become cool enough for Gucci 637 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 4: to have you around, you're definitely cool enough to come 638 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 4: work with me, you know what I mean, or do 639 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 4: this for that. And there was a lot of people 640 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,760 Speaker 4: at that time that were around that again became icons 641 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 4: and legends later, like the you for being around? How 642 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,160 Speaker 4: much was you charging? Zero dollars for the most part, 643 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 4: But when you started charging money, how much was you 644 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 4: charging when I started charging. When I really started charging money, 645 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,480 Speaker 4: I went from anywhere from like one hundred and fifty 646 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:31,120 Speaker 4: dollars probably scaled up to two fifty, started scaling up 647 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 4: to five hundred for a shoot or photo shoot, video shoot. 648 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,640 Speaker 4: It just depends. In Atlanta, It's all about relationships. So 649 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 4: I was in a I was honestly in a weird 650 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 4: situation where some situations I couldn't charge because the relationship 651 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 4: meant more than the petty amount of cash. So there's 652 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 4: certain situations where I'm getting phone calls at the same day, 653 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 4: like when I shot Migo's Freaking No More video, Coach 654 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 4: k called me at twelve noon and said, meet us 655 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 4: at Magic at three pm. We need you to shoot 656 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,040 Speaker 4: the video for a Migo's Freak No More. There's no 657 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 4: room to all right, let's take the time. Hold on, 658 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 4: hold on, hold on? What's the budget? Like, you know, 659 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,720 Speaker 4: it's no time. It's like, can you be here? All right? 660 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 4: I'm gonna gather at wherever I can and I'm gonna 661 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 4: meet you there. You know what I mean. At that point, 662 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 4: you're shooting the video and it's like they're not talking 663 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,479 Speaker 4: to you about no money, you know, for real. And 664 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 4: that's like the good and the bad about Atlanta. Atlanta 665 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 4: don't really do business the way that other states and 666 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 4: cities would do business. But those relationships have changed my 667 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 4: life and carried me a long way. And my formula 668 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 4: at that time was always the relationship with the artist 669 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 4: is more important than the dollar that the artists can 670 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,400 Speaker 4: give me, because I know our work together and the 671 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 4: impact of our work will attract someone with the real money. 672 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 4: To be able to pay me. 673 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:50,959 Speaker 5: What was the piece or the video that when people 674 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 5: reference you, they're like, yo, he did that, y'all See 675 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 5: which video was it? 676 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 4: In video terms, it was young Thug the language be 677 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 4: Language just when him in Metro flipped Drake's language song. 678 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:09,360 Speaker 4: That was a video that like, Okay, he's dope. And 679 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 4: then the second video I did that was actually didn't 680 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 4: even think it would be that crazy was It was 681 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 4: like a vlog video I did of Travis Scott in 682 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:22,400 Speaker 4: Metro working on a song called Skyfall, and that video 683 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:25,560 Speaker 4: was just me capturing the making of the record in 684 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,720 Speaker 4: the studio. And at that time, even stell Travis is 685 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:30,600 Speaker 4: like one of the most hype artists in the world, 686 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 4: so his fans just geek out over any type of 687 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 4: content of them. So I did a making of that 688 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 4: video making of that song right before he dropped, as 689 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 4: before Rodeo, and he put it out. That has been 690 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:43,760 Speaker 4: a video that people stop me on the street and 691 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 4: talk about and it's weird. It's like that video my 692 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 4: first Nike job. They referenced that video is why they 693 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 4: hired me for the job, and I'm like that that 694 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,360 Speaker 4: video was just me and my little camera like it 695 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 4: wasn't much, but it was those early videos that really 696 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:02,480 Speaker 4: like put my name on the map. But it didn't 697 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 4: really change for me money wise. It was just like 698 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,439 Speaker 4: cult fame or like cultural fame or like stuff like that. 699 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,279 Speaker 4: The money didn't really change or the real opportunities didn't 700 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 4: really come until I started working were with the corporate 701 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,279 Speaker 4: brands and sponsor and things like that to really like 702 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 4: push the work that we're doing. So how did that 703 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:27,240 Speaker 4: transition happen from hip hop to corporate? That transition? Honestly, 704 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,400 Speaker 4: I rode a wave where Atlanta became the hot spot, 705 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 4: you know, from everybody, So everybody wanted a little piece 706 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,600 Speaker 4: of Atlanta and everybody wanted a piece of Southern music 707 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 4: and trap music. So my early jobs that were like 708 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,120 Speaker 4: for brands like a Puma or Nike all that, a 709 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:46,400 Speaker 4: lot of it came from me being the go to 710 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,759 Speaker 4: guy for the artists that they now were featuring in 711 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 4: their brands. So a lot of that work was like, 712 00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:54,439 Speaker 4: if we want to document a part of hip hop 713 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 4: culture in this commercial world, let's get somebody truly from 714 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 4: the culture to do it. So when I was up 715 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 4: until like twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen, although I was like 716 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 4: a local go to guy for like camera work. Even 717 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,520 Speaker 4: the artists didn't really respect me in a way where 718 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,960 Speaker 4: they were giving me their photo shoot budgets or they 719 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 4: were giving me their album cover looks. They were kind 720 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:17,759 Speaker 4: of calling me like the homeboy, like YO, pull up, 721 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,280 Speaker 4: take some photos I'm feeling fresh today, or capture video today. 722 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:23,800 Speaker 4: It wasn't never like I was dealing with managers or 723 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 4: labels and hiring me. So after twenty fifteen, well my 724 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,720 Speaker 4: name was buzzing, but my bank account was on zero. 725 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:32,839 Speaker 4: I was like, I got to figure out a way 726 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 4: to how do I make money and how do I 727 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,319 Speaker 4: get bigger opportunities and bigger looks from the artists I'm 728 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:39,319 Speaker 4: working with. So that's when I came up with this 729 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 4: idea called Day four exhibit. And the Day four exhibit 730 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,480 Speaker 4: is me basically working with artists and putting them on 731 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:50,000 Speaker 4: billboards with my own dollars. So on twenty sixteen, I 732 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 4: was like, what could I say to these artists that 733 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 4: allowed them to take me serious enough to show up dress. 734 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 5: Ernest? What's up? You ever walk into a all business 735 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 5: and everything just works, like the checkout is fast, the 736 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,680 Speaker 5: receipts are digital tipping is a breeze and you're out 737 00:36:07,719 --> 00:36:11,000 Speaker 5: the door before the line even builds. Odds are they're 738 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 5: using Square. We love supporting businesses that run on Square 739 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:17,800 Speaker 5: because it just feels seamless. Whether it's a local coffee shop, 740 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,480 Speaker 5: a vendor at a pop up market, or even one 741 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 5: of our merch partners, Square makes it easy for them 742 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 5: to take payments, manage inventory, and run their business with confidence, 743 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:31,280 Speaker 5: all from one simple system. If you're a business owner 744 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,840 Speaker 5: or even just thinking about launching something soon, Square is 745 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 5: hands down one of the best tools out there to 746 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:41,000 Speaker 5: help you start, run, and grow. It's not just about payments, 747 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,040 Speaker 5: it's about giving you time back so you can focus 748 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,799 Speaker 5: on what matters most ready. To see how Square can 749 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 5: transform your business, visit Square dot com backslash, go backslash 750 00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 5: eyl to learn more that Square dot com backslash, go 751 00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:00,439 Speaker 5: backslash eyl. Don't wait, don't hesitate. Let Square can handle 752 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:04,319 Speaker 5: the back end so you can keep pushing your vision forward. 753 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 5: This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank. 754 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,080 Speaker 5: A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring, 755 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:16,160 Speaker 5: and sure they definitely can be, but understanding a professionals 756 00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:19,480 Speaker 5: routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little, 757 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 5: day after day. It's like banking with P and C Bank. 758 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,800 Speaker 5: It might seem boring to save, plan and make calculated 759 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:29,920 Speaker 5: decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is 760 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:33,279 Speaker 5: what helps you live a more happily fulfilled life. P 761 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:38,239 Speaker 5: and C Bank Brilliantly Boring since eighteen sixty five. Brilliantly 762 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,920 Speaker 5: Boring since eighteen sixty five is a service mark of 763 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 5: the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc. P and C Bank 764 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:46,800 Speaker 5: National Association Member FDIC. 765 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,240 Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 766 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,080 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from El Salvador 767 00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,480 Speaker 1: accused of murdering a Texas man. A Venezuelan charged with 768 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:04,400 Speaker 1: filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 769 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:08,280 Speaker 1: some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 770 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,839 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States 771 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:16,680 Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border 772 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:20,279 Speaker 1: crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 773 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,560 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 774 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:27,480 Speaker 1: are here illegally, your next you will be fine. Nearly 775 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,600 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars a day. Imprisoned and deported, you will 776 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,279 Speaker 1: never return. But if you register using our CBP home 777 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. 778 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:39,879 Speaker 1: Do what's right. 779 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:41,280 Speaker 5: Leave now. 780 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:46,400 Speaker 1: Under President Trump America's laws, border and families will be protected. 781 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,680 Speaker 2: Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 782 00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:52,879 Speaker 4: Fresh a right outfit. Give me creative control and let 783 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,040 Speaker 4: me do my thing and show that I can be creative. 784 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:56,200 Speaker 4: And I was like, well, if I go to them 785 00:38:56,239 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 4: and say I'm gonna put you on a billboard, especially 786 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,759 Speaker 4: at this time it's before Spotify billboards, for Apple billboards, 787 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 4: YouTube billboards, I knew that they would geek and go 788 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:08,520 Speaker 4: crazy about that. So at that time I was like, man, 789 00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:10,439 Speaker 4: if I can do this, then I can one put 790 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,719 Speaker 4: my work on the big scale like these corporate brands 791 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:14,359 Speaker 4: I used to see in their work to show that 792 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,759 Speaker 4: I can do something billboard ready. But then also I'm 793 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,799 Speaker 4: gonna get the respect of the artists and make them 794 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:22,440 Speaker 4: be like, how the hell did you do that? Like 795 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:26,400 Speaker 4: we never been on the billboard. So I started that exhibit. 796 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:29,160 Speaker 4: I put eight artists on billboards. First artist I put 797 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,160 Speaker 4: on the billboards Lil YACHTI when he first started out, 798 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,719 Speaker 4: and he's the first artist that really gave me like 799 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,600 Speaker 4: creative control to say, do a photo shoot for me? 800 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,360 Speaker 4: Where do I show up? What kind of colors you 801 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:43,520 Speaker 4: want me to wear? What's the concept? And I'm trust you. 802 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 4: That photo became it's probably one of my most iconic 803 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,959 Speaker 4: photos to the date. And that photo changed my life. 804 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 4: But then when I put him on the billboard, all 805 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:54,960 Speaker 4: of the artists I used to work with back in 806 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,160 Speaker 4: the day came running, Like I remember I ran into 807 00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:00,800 Speaker 4: Offset and Aaron Richard the KI in the mall and 808 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:03,160 Speaker 4: they were pressing me out, like, bro, you know me 809 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:04,880 Speaker 4: for so long, bro, while you never put me on 810 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,400 Speaker 4: a billboard. And I was like, okay, I got y'all. 811 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:11,000 Speaker 4: The leverage changed. The leverage changed. Now y'all asking me 812 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,040 Speaker 4: for the billboard? All right, bet we'll show up here, 813 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:15,560 Speaker 4: do this and this and this. I'm put you on 814 00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,080 Speaker 4: a billboard. And then it started to work like that, 815 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,320 Speaker 4: and then now became the go to for bigger photo shoots, 816 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:26,560 Speaker 4: which then attracted Nike, Adidas, Airbnb, Sprite to be like, 817 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:30,040 Speaker 4: he's the guy that shoots the artists in this scale. 818 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,279 Speaker 3: No, that's a good idea, So but how did they 819 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:34,239 Speaker 3: know that you was the one that was putting on 820 00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:34,800 Speaker 3: the billboard. 821 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,799 Speaker 4: I'll put my name on the billboard. With my name, 822 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:41,279 Speaker 4: I did vlog of me going to the billboard. I 823 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:43,480 Speaker 4: took the picture with the artists at the billboard. Whoever 824 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 4: I put on a billboard like documented the process. And 825 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:51,320 Speaker 4: I had strong media connections at that time. Where now 826 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,040 Speaker 4: double xcel and then we're posting about it, but they 827 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,560 Speaker 4: were posting about camp Kirk puts up a billboard, YACHTI. 828 00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,080 Speaker 5: And X y Z who was the plug on the 829 00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:02,120 Speaker 5: billboard itself? Right, you didn't own it, but you have 830 00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:05,200 Speaker 5: to get rent rented. I'm saying you could rent it, 831 00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:07,560 Speaker 5: but then after you do it for a certain amount 832 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:09,440 Speaker 5: of times, it's like, all right, well you might have 833 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 5: to change the price on how I'm doing this because 834 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,000 Speaker 5: the impact or did it not go that way. 835 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:16,600 Speaker 4: At that time? Again, you gotta think in Atlanta. You know, 836 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:19,279 Speaker 4: y'all got so many billboards in New York. That's a 837 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,640 Speaker 4: normal thing in Atlanta. A lot of people don't know. 838 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:25,120 Speaker 4: It's as simple as the phone number that's on the 839 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,920 Speaker 4: bottom of the billboard, Like anybody could do it. It 840 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:33,280 Speaker 4: was like such a far fetched idea to the artists, 841 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:35,759 Speaker 4: like these artists oppressed me about billboards. I'm paying seven 842 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:38,799 Speaker 4: fifty four, seven hundred and fifty dollars for like they like, 843 00:41:39,239 --> 00:41:41,560 Speaker 4: get one. I'm like, you just call the number. That's 844 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:42,000 Speaker 4: what I did. 845 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,480 Speaker 5: I'll show you tell you. 846 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:46,440 Speaker 4: Just pull up, do a photo shoot with me. I'm 847 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:48,400 Speaker 4: gonna get you on the billboard. And that's how I 848 00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:51,040 Speaker 4: was flipping it, so they didn't even think to look 849 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,240 Speaker 4: into it that much. Then when I started doing seven 850 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:56,920 Speaker 4: or eight of them, it became more of a normal 851 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:58,680 Speaker 4: thing in the music industry. I'm not gonna say I 852 00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:01,720 Speaker 4: started it or brought it back in the music industry. 853 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,479 Speaker 4: I'm not going to say that, but I feel as 854 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:09,279 Speaker 4: though prior to that, Spotify and Apple were not buying billboards. 855 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,680 Speaker 4: Then it became like a thing because Spotify and Apple 856 00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:14,960 Speaker 4: used the same formulas to this day, they getting an 857 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 4: artist to promote Spotify and Apple over a cheap billboard 858 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:18,600 Speaker 4: that they put up on top square. 859 00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:22,600 Speaker 3: So you you essentially put yourself in a different stratus 860 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:24,680 Speaker 3: fy than any other photographer because you weren't just looking 861 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:25,760 Speaker 3: at it like I'm just taking pictures. 862 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:26,319 Speaker 4: You're looking at it now. 863 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:29,680 Speaker 3: I'm actually a media person that's putting an artist on 864 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:33,640 Speaker 3: a billboard, and that not only made more artists want 865 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,040 Speaker 3: to work with you, but now corporate was like, Okay, 866 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:40,879 Speaker 3: this guy is a media mobile in Atlanta. That's really 867 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:44,399 Speaker 3: controlling culture about, you know, putting these iconic people and 868 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:48,359 Speaker 3: photos on billboards. So that was your way of kind 869 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,080 Speaker 3: of them reaching out to you as opposed to be 870 00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:51,719 Speaker 3: reaching out to them. 871 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:54,200 Speaker 4: Super That was the way that everybody came reaching out. 872 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:57,120 Speaker 4: I remember when I shot Gotti for the first time. Yo, 873 00:42:57,160 --> 00:42:59,960 Speaker 4: Gotti put up on me and he referenced the billboar. 874 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:04,399 Speaker 4: I want to get a billboard in Memphis. All right, 875 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,200 Speaker 4: I'm like, you know, it's like, all right, let's do 876 00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:06,759 Speaker 4: you like that? 877 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:07,080 Speaker 5: You like? 878 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:11,319 Speaker 4: The gatekeeper for the billboards seem like yeah, I'm like, 879 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:13,319 Speaker 4: I got you. We're gonna do that. That's easy. 880 00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:15,480 Speaker 5: So we drive to Memphis, find it's three hundred dollars, 881 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:17,000 Speaker 5: two hundred dollars, and we throw it up. 882 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,600 Speaker 4: How much was it the court rent those billboards? The 883 00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:21,960 Speaker 4: cheapest billboard I got was seven hundred and fifty dollars 884 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 4: off a month or until somebody buys it. And at 885 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 4: that time, people weren't buying billboards. They wasn't thinking about it, so. 886 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:30,160 Speaker 5: They think they got to call you. 887 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:33,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, I've had billboards there for six months for Barbara, 888 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:35,799 Speaker 4: Barbara Cork and she we just interviewed her from Shark 889 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:37,719 Speaker 4: Tank and she was like back in back in the 890 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,319 Speaker 4: days in New York, like not now, but like years ago, 891 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,480 Speaker 4: like there was a lot of empty space billboards stuff 892 00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:44,680 Speaker 4: like that. 893 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:46,799 Speaker 3: She used to just get billboards and nobody wanted like 894 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,319 Speaker 3: nine times square, but like from random place and they 895 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:51,359 Speaker 3: would just be up until somebody else would take it, 896 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:53,360 Speaker 3: and nobody ever took it, and like sometimes they can 897 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:54,319 Speaker 3: be like two years, like. 898 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,600 Speaker 4: You just have a billboard up liter super And it 899 00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:00,000 Speaker 4: was for me, it was leveraging and building a relationship. 900 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,040 Speaker 4: I built it. I put an imprint on certain artists' careers, 901 00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:04,839 Speaker 4: like a lot of people I put on billboards as 902 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:08,520 Speaker 4: the first ever billboard. And I thought about that long term, 903 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:10,799 Speaker 4: like if this guy becomes a superstar, he writes a 904 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,600 Speaker 4: book or does anything, he's going to have to reference 905 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,239 Speaker 4: that moment how he felt when his first time he 906 00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:18,760 Speaker 4: saw himself on the billboard. I thought, like that deep 907 00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:20,879 Speaker 4: with the imprint of the work that I was doing, 908 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:23,480 Speaker 4: that photoshoot's going to mean a lot to him. It's 909 00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,600 Speaker 4: not just gonna be a regular photo. That's the photoshoot 910 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:26,960 Speaker 4: that and putting me on his billboard. 911 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:29,480 Speaker 5: So this is the first Now you're making money. No, 912 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:33,200 Speaker 5: still not making money, said seven fifty. You're still doing 913 00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:35,040 Speaker 5: it for free, the photo shoots to put him on 914 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:35,480 Speaker 5: the billboard. 915 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,200 Speaker 4: I'm doing I'm making local money, right, so I'm working 916 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:41,440 Speaker 4: with now at that point, the local artists know me. 917 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:44,000 Speaker 4: And now that I can charge in five hundred, I 918 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,160 Speaker 4: can charge him a thousand, you know what I mean. 919 00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:48,640 Speaker 4: But I'm not making no real money until the brand 920 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:49,359 Speaker 4: started to come. 921 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:50,640 Speaker 5: Who's the first one that bites? 922 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:57,040 Speaker 4: First brand? Yeah, first brand that really bid was probably Nike. 923 00:44:57,800 --> 00:44:59,440 Speaker 4: And again this isn't even that long ago, this is 924 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:03,040 Speaker 4: twenty seven. That's the first brand that like opened my 925 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:06,440 Speaker 4: perspective to like, oh okay, there's some money in this 926 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,839 Speaker 4: and I'll never forget. I got a phone call from 927 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:12,520 Speaker 4: a photographer his name Jesse Lerola. He don't even know 928 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:15,120 Speaker 4: the story. He called me when I was in Atlanta 929 00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:18,839 Speaker 4: and he's a dope photographer of Chicago. But he called 930 00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:22,160 Speaker 4: me the vent about the industry. So he's seeing me 931 00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:24,600 Speaker 4: from afar, like man you're killing it in Atlanta. You're 932 00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,000 Speaker 4: like me, like, we're doing this And he called me 933 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:30,360 Speaker 4: and he was like, man, these young photographers are just 934 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,520 Speaker 4: messing the game up cam. They're charging two hundred to 935 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:36,360 Speaker 4: photo shoot, five hundred to photo shoot, and you know, 936 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,680 Speaker 4: we could be out here getting twenty thousand day race, 937 00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:41,320 Speaker 4: thirty thousand dollars day race. They don't know about usage 938 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:44,359 Speaker 4: and all that. He's literally talking to me and I'm 939 00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:46,719 Speaker 4: literally heading upstairs to go do a photo shoot for 940 00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:49,400 Speaker 4: five hundred dollars, and I remember at that moment it 941 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:52,839 Speaker 4: was like what am I I'm bugging, like what don't 942 00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,120 Speaker 4: I know? Like I don't know, Like I didn't know 943 00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:57,840 Speaker 4: that was a thing. And he kind of changed my 944 00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:00,880 Speaker 4: thinking quickly. So then the first couple next couple of 945 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:03,800 Speaker 4: times on my rate, it's just tripling, like just to 946 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:05,680 Speaker 4: see what happened. And then when they started to go through, 947 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:09,279 Speaker 4: you're like, oh, you start to learn and photographer, you 948 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:13,120 Speaker 4: get paid based off of day rates. So a photographer, 949 00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:14,920 Speaker 4: you can't just wake up and say I want to 950 00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:17,719 Speaker 4: huntre racks or fifty racks. They charge you by the 951 00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:19,440 Speaker 4: day rate, the amount of days it takes you to 952 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:21,600 Speaker 4: do the job. And then you get to charge on 953 00:46:22,239 --> 00:46:25,479 Speaker 4: usage rates. It's the licensing or the agreement you're willing 954 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,319 Speaker 4: to let somebody use the photos for. That's a whole 955 00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:31,480 Speaker 4: nother payment. Then you can charge on the equipment. Then 956 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:34,160 Speaker 4: you can charge on post production to retouching, editing. You 957 00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:36,480 Speaker 4: have to like learn how to break down your number 958 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:39,680 Speaker 4: so you can justify higher rates. And that's what I 959 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:42,360 Speaker 4: had to learn. And then once he unlocked that for me, 960 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:44,719 Speaker 4: and I did the shoot with Nike, and Nike is 961 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:47,640 Speaker 4: talking to me in these terms. Okay, what's your day rate? Okay? 962 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:50,960 Speaker 4: What's the price for a buyout or licensing? Okay, what's 963 00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:53,480 Speaker 4: the price for your equipment? Okay? Do you need a 964 00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:56,240 Speaker 4: photo assistant on set? Okay? Do you need a Digitech? 965 00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:58,279 Speaker 4: Like they're coming at me with so many things I've 966 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:01,399 Speaker 4: never thought about in my work, and then I start 967 00:47:01,400 --> 00:47:03,839 Speaker 4: to see that number go from you know what I mean, 968 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:06,560 Speaker 4: five hundred to twenty thousand dollars for the shoot and 969 00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:09,600 Speaker 4: now you're like, oh, okay, I didn't know the charge 970 00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:11,160 Speaker 4: for all of that, and that's kind of how it 971 00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:13,320 Speaker 4: all changed. And from there, that's when the money started 972 00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:15,000 Speaker 4: to like kind of come in. 973 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:18,200 Speaker 5: It's a deeper game. How long is a term? Two? License? 974 00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:22,960 Speaker 4: Does it all what you negotiate? You know what I'll 975 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:24,840 Speaker 4: tell a lot of photographers just look out for that 976 00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:28,480 Speaker 4: word work for higher. Work for higher means literally you 977 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:31,080 Speaker 4: don't own anything that you took. So if you sign 978 00:47:31,080 --> 00:47:33,440 Speaker 4: any contract and say work for hiring, you're a photographer 979 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:36,080 Speaker 4: that they own that photo. They can do whatever they 980 00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:40,640 Speaker 4: want with it, t shirts, product, sell it, flip it, 981 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:42,520 Speaker 4: whatever they want to do with it. You don't own 982 00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:45,239 Speaker 4: it anymore. So you look out for those terms. But 983 00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:48,680 Speaker 4: then when you went to contracts, most of the Nike 984 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:52,239 Speaker 4: and Nadidas, unless it's something like major, they don't really 985 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:54,160 Speaker 4: need it longer than like a year or two when 986 00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:57,239 Speaker 4: they'll buy like global rights to use it what they 987 00:47:57,280 --> 00:47:59,640 Speaker 4: call above the line or below the line, above the line, 988 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:03,520 Speaker 4: and they can use it like for anything in terms 989 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:07,160 Speaker 4: of like on a product or on a billboard or 990 00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:08,640 Speaker 4: a lot of stuff that some of the below the 991 00:48:08,719 --> 00:48:12,560 Speaker 4: lawn might be social media or Instagram things like it 992 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:14,600 Speaker 4: may have different tiers to what they can use it for, 993 00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:17,319 Speaker 4: but that's where the money is at because that's when 994 00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:19,560 Speaker 4: you own your content. Then you can start to charge 995 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:22,240 Speaker 4: for like licensing and rights and things of that nature. 996 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:27,840 Speaker 3: So right, well, Cam, But then speaking of Nike, the 997 00:48:28,040 --> 00:48:31,080 Speaker 3: iconic situation with Jordan's, remember this situation few years ago 998 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:34,040 Speaker 3: with the photo of him like when you think his 999 00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:38,520 Speaker 3: rookie season, and the photographer sued Nike. It was like 1000 00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:42,759 Speaker 3: a twenty year lawsuit and I think he actually ended 1001 00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:46,800 Speaker 3: up losing, but it was a very public situation where 1002 00:48:47,239 --> 00:48:51,040 Speaker 3: he the iconic the thing the Jordan's actually that I'm 1003 00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:53,200 Speaker 3: thinking about it as the Jumpman, the Jumpman symbol. The 1004 00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:56,799 Speaker 3: photographer that took the photo of the Jumpman symbol was 1005 00:48:56,800 --> 00:48:59,480 Speaker 3: trying to sue Nike because he was saying that it 1006 00:48:59,520 --> 00:49:02,000 Speaker 3: was his intellectual. 1007 00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:04,480 Speaker 4: Property that made them choose the logo exactly. 1008 00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:07,280 Speaker 3: And like I said, I don't think that he actually 1009 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:09,080 Speaker 3: won that lawsuit, but it was like a twenty year 1010 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:11,719 Speaker 3: extensive fighty millions of dollars and da da dah. 1011 00:49:11,719 --> 00:49:12,960 Speaker 4: But here's my thing. 1012 00:49:13,760 --> 00:49:17,520 Speaker 3: I respect the photographer, but if I'm paying somebody to 1013 00:49:17,560 --> 00:49:21,399 Speaker 3: take a photo, then I don't. 1014 00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:24,959 Speaker 4: I just don't understand. Why is it not my photo? Right? 1015 00:49:25,719 --> 00:49:28,160 Speaker 4: That's fair. I'm not saying that it's right, it's just 1016 00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:30,600 Speaker 4: the way the laws are written that if you don't 1017 00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:34,000 Speaker 4: make me sign a paperwork to grant you those rights 1018 00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:34,920 Speaker 4: just the way the laws are. 1019 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:38,680 Speaker 3: So technically, anybody that takes a photo. If you take 1020 00:49:38,680 --> 00:49:42,320 Speaker 3: a photo of me, right, and I use that photo 1021 00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:47,360 Speaker 3: for set album cover, and that album sells ten million records, right, 1022 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:50,200 Speaker 3: and then you come back five years later and say, Okay, 1023 00:49:50,239 --> 00:49:54,000 Speaker 3: I want twenty percent of these record sales. You can't 1024 00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:56,919 Speaker 3: do that, though, but what can you do? You can't 1025 00:49:56,960 --> 00:50:00,480 Speaker 3: do that per se. So in a situation that if 1026 00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:02,600 Speaker 3: I take a photo of either one of you all 1027 00:50:03,120 --> 00:50:05,840 Speaker 3: and we didn't do no paperwork, and then you exploited 1028 00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:11,240 Speaker 3: the photo and work, I could be subject to certain rights. 1029 00:50:11,320 --> 00:50:13,480 Speaker 4: Right. So the first thing that's gonna happen. My best 1030 00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:15,360 Speaker 4: friend's a lawyer, so he don't already gain me his 1031 00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:18,319 Speaker 4: game because I thought the same way, like a million dollars, 1032 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:20,480 Speaker 4: somebody play with me. Well, the first thing that's the 1033 00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:23,160 Speaker 4: first thing that happens is really like that they're going 1034 00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:26,400 Speaker 4: to say, what are your true damages? Right? So, like 1035 00:50:26,480 --> 00:50:30,680 Speaker 4: how did this did you doing that impact my ability 1036 00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:33,600 Speaker 4: to monetize that photograph? So then they're going to go 1037 00:50:33,719 --> 00:50:36,080 Speaker 4: into my records and say, well, right now, if you 1038 00:50:36,120 --> 00:50:37,920 Speaker 4: take a dope photo, how much money do you make 1039 00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:40,759 Speaker 4: off that photo? So if I have no proof of like, well, 1040 00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:43,239 Speaker 4: every time I take a photo, I'm making a million dollars. 1041 00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:45,239 Speaker 4: If I don't have that, if it's like, well, you've 1042 00:50:45,280 --> 00:50:48,200 Speaker 4: never sold your work and art, you've never put out 1043 00:50:48,239 --> 00:50:50,680 Speaker 4: an album cover of yourself that went and made money 1044 00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:53,080 Speaker 4: off of, then they'll go to the president of what 1045 00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:55,520 Speaker 4: you have and then they'll say, all right, you might 1046 00:50:55,560 --> 00:51:01,279 Speaker 4: be old standard rights for photo album cover that whatever, 1047 00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:04,399 Speaker 4: they're gonna go down to what my damages are. And 1048 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:07,239 Speaker 4: now I can prove that by you doing that, you 1049 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:10,040 Speaker 4: stopped my ability and I had a clean ability to 1050 00:51:10,120 --> 00:51:13,040 Speaker 4: make money off that image, and you exploited that and 1051 00:51:13,080 --> 00:51:15,200 Speaker 4: stole that from me. I would have to kind of 1052 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:17,840 Speaker 4: prove how that impacted me in terms of what my 1053 00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:21,680 Speaker 4: numbers would be. But there's nobody in the history, as 1054 00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:23,800 Speaker 4: far as I know, a music industry that's ever gotten 1055 00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:28,560 Speaker 4: percentage of an album sell for an album cover. And 1056 00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:31,400 Speaker 4: then I got to prove that those sales were all 1057 00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:35,000 Speaker 4: based off of my photo, not that you're a dope 1058 00:51:35,080 --> 00:51:37,320 Speaker 4: rapper and you did thirty other things. Let's use a 1059 00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:38,000 Speaker 4: better example. 1060 00:51:38,080 --> 00:51:41,240 Speaker 3: Let's use a photo that's put on merch that happens 1061 00:51:41,239 --> 00:51:43,960 Speaker 3: a lot. You see iconic photos of like Supreme with 1062 00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:48,280 Speaker 3: yep dip set right, or you see Mike Tyson, somebody 1063 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:52,920 Speaker 3: that's used a lot in photos for merch, did Biggie Yep, 1064 00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:55,759 Speaker 3: did the Biggie image. That's a lot on photos. So 1065 00:51:55,920 --> 00:51:58,000 Speaker 3: a lot of a lot, a lot of merch has 1066 00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:03,480 Speaker 3: been sold with for iconic photos that were photo shoots 1067 00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:06,560 Speaker 3: that got turned into actual merch. How does that work? 1068 00:52:06,920 --> 00:52:08,960 Speaker 4: So you you have a better chance of winning that 1069 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:12,319 Speaker 4: one because the person bought that photo based off the 1070 00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:14,439 Speaker 4: visual I mean, brought that T shirt or merch based 1071 00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:17,560 Speaker 4: off the visual of what's on it. So it's harder 1072 00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:20,399 Speaker 4: for a brand or somebody to say they didn't buy 1073 00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:23,399 Speaker 4: it because of this photo. It's like this on the dam, 1074 00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:24,759 Speaker 4: you know what I mean, it's there. It's not like 1075 00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:27,319 Speaker 4: music where I bought it to hear the song. I 1076 00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:29,760 Speaker 4: bought it for that. So you have a better chance 1077 00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:32,680 Speaker 4: of winning those like people have sue like Urban Outfitters 1078 00:52:32,719 --> 00:52:35,000 Speaker 4: and I want to say, H and M so to 1079 00:52:35,040 --> 00:52:36,719 Speaker 4: have gotten suedo for that. I know it's a big 1080 00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:38,960 Speaker 4: tupac case where it's on his photos in the Urban 1081 00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:41,799 Speaker 4: Outfitters shirt and they sued and he won hundreds of 1082 00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:44,200 Speaker 4: thousands of dollars. Photographer, photographer did. 1083 00:52:44,120 --> 00:52:49,120 Speaker 5: The photographer who took Cam's iconic pink pink cell phone, 1084 00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:50,600 Speaker 5: he put that on a T shirt. 1085 00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:51,000 Speaker 4: Yeah. 1086 00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:54,319 Speaker 5: The dude who actually took the picture sue yep, and 1087 00:52:54,360 --> 00:52:54,719 Speaker 5: he won. 1088 00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:55,719 Speaker 4: Yeah he will win. 1089 00:52:55,880 --> 00:52:57,960 Speaker 5: Yeah, he had to. So Cam actually well I don't 1090 00:52:57,960 --> 00:52:59,640 Speaker 5: know if he's paid. Yeah, but he deal was actually 1091 00:52:59,680 --> 00:53:01,920 Speaker 5: a judge where he has to pay the photographer using 1092 00:53:01,960 --> 00:53:04,560 Speaker 5: a picture of himself. That's crazy, which is like when 1093 00:53:04,560 --> 00:53:05,480 Speaker 5: you think about it, it's like. 1094 00:53:05,880 --> 00:53:07,680 Speaker 4: It's wild, but it's an art form. See, that's the 1095 00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:09,719 Speaker 4: part that people have to respect. It's like if I 1096 00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:11,719 Speaker 4: painted you or if I did like I literally had 1097 00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:14,400 Speaker 4: to do something to make that image. It is a 1098 00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:17,360 Speaker 4: true I think it's a true collaboration. In my opinion, 1099 00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:19,720 Speaker 4: I think it should be fifty to fifty my opinion, 1100 00:53:19,760 --> 00:53:22,440 Speaker 4: that's how I think it should work, because that photo 1101 00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:25,040 Speaker 4: of Cam is nothing. If that was Joe Blow on 1102 00:53:25,080 --> 00:53:27,960 Speaker 4: the street in the same outfit with the same phone 1103 00:53:28,040 --> 00:53:31,600 Speaker 4: to his ear. Cam Ron made that photo what it is. 1104 00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:34,480 Speaker 4: So I definitely think that there has to be some 1105 00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:38,520 Speaker 4: type of synergy between a respect between both sides. But 1106 00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:41,279 Speaker 4: it has to be both sides because some artists take 1107 00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:43,040 Speaker 4: advantage of it on this side and they take a 1108 00:53:43,080 --> 00:53:44,719 Speaker 4: photo and they just do whatever they want with it, 1109 00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:46,799 Speaker 4: don't even talk to you about it. It's like, it's 1110 00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:49,279 Speaker 4: got to go both ways. I know Jonathan Mayne was 1111 00:53:49,280 --> 00:53:52,319 Speaker 4: in a big suit against jay Z over that, and 1112 00:53:52,360 --> 00:53:55,240 Speaker 4: they had a really big lawsuit where jay was suing 1113 00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:58,680 Speaker 4: Jonathan because he kept selling his artwork, like selling photos 1114 00:53:58,680 --> 00:54:03,360 Speaker 4: of jay Z for ten thousands of dollars. But Jonathan's like, 1115 00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:06,279 Speaker 4: I own it to who own it? I want to 1116 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:08,120 Speaker 4: say they settled out of court. I'm not sure who 1117 00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:10,640 Speaker 4: won or what they what the resolution. But you're talking 1118 00:54:10,680 --> 00:54:14,879 Speaker 4: about Jonathan Mayon, who's whole career he shot every single 1119 00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:18,320 Speaker 4: jay Z album. Girl Like there their connection is crazy. 1120 00:54:18,680 --> 00:54:21,560 Speaker 4: To ever see them have to go to litigation just 1121 00:54:21,600 --> 00:54:24,600 Speaker 4: proves that there's something wrong with the waiter. The law 1122 00:54:24,680 --> 00:54:27,439 Speaker 4: is set up honestly for both parties, like something needs 1123 00:54:27,480 --> 00:54:31,239 Speaker 4: to be done with it. But in fairness to like 1124 00:54:31,360 --> 00:54:33,960 Speaker 4: the subject matter, subjects that's being shot, you don't own 1125 00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,640 Speaker 4: it until you it works. 1126 00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:39,200 Speaker 3: So what's this thing I've been seen on social media 1127 00:54:39,280 --> 00:54:43,840 Speaker 3: about people that shoot videos that like, let's say like 1128 00:54:43,920 --> 00:54:47,960 Speaker 3: this video that we're shooting out right, we don't own 1129 00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:51,680 Speaker 3: the video. I've seen like this thing like similar to that. 1130 00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:54,080 Speaker 4: You don't own it. That guy that turned that camera 1131 00:54:54,160 --> 00:54:57,560 Speaker 4: owns it. Yeah, what's that about that? It's the same concept. 1132 00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:00,719 Speaker 4: Explain that. So it's the same. 1133 00:55:01,120 --> 00:55:06,800 Speaker 5: So it's like I pressed the bone, I left the 1134 00:55:06,840 --> 00:55:08,600 Speaker 5: cameras on, I turned it on. 1135 00:55:09,080 --> 00:55:09,560 Speaker 4: Don't do that. 1136 00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:14,120 Speaker 3: And d like that like it's that so yeah, So 1137 00:55:14,239 --> 00:55:18,319 Speaker 3: explain that because for content creators to understand, nobody ever 1138 00:55:18,400 --> 00:55:20,719 Speaker 3: thinks about that, right, Like you're shooting a podcast, you're 1139 00:55:20,719 --> 00:55:23,759 Speaker 3: shooting an episode, you're shooting even a rap video, right 1140 00:55:23,800 --> 00:55:25,759 Speaker 3: and you know you got a videographer. You're gonna pay 1141 00:55:25,760 --> 00:55:28,239 Speaker 3: the videographer. So I'm paying you for your services. You 1142 00:55:28,239 --> 00:55:30,840 Speaker 3: set the camera up, but I'm the one that's actually 1143 00:55:30,880 --> 00:55:31,239 Speaker 3: doing it. 1144 00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:31,880 Speaker 4: That's the work. 1145 00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:32,399 Speaker 5: Yep. 1146 00:55:33,440 --> 00:55:35,799 Speaker 4: It's the same way with photography. Whoever is behind that 1147 00:55:35,880 --> 00:55:39,840 Speaker 4: camera that pushed the button and that composition the photo 1148 00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:43,160 Speaker 4: and created the layout and the set, that person technically 1149 00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:46,360 Speaker 4: owns it. Now, I do think it gets a little tricky. 1150 00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:48,040 Speaker 4: I'm not a lawyer by any means, but I do 1151 00:55:48,080 --> 00:55:49,839 Speaker 4: think it gets a little tricky. If you guys own 1152 00:55:50,040 --> 00:55:53,200 Speaker 4: the camera that they're using. So these cameras come with 1153 00:55:53,280 --> 00:55:56,319 Speaker 4: copyright information built into the camera. So when I buy 1154 00:55:56,440 --> 00:55:58,560 Speaker 4: my camera, the first thing I do out of my cameras, 1155 00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:02,120 Speaker 4: I set my copyright information within the camera that automatically 1156 00:56:02,239 --> 00:56:05,520 Speaker 4: is imprinted on anything captured with this camera. How you 1157 00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:08,040 Speaker 4: do that, It's a setting for your camera. You going 1158 00:56:08,120 --> 00:56:10,919 Speaker 4: there and you just put your name copyright this. So 1159 00:56:11,040 --> 00:56:13,520 Speaker 4: that is one way. So now if it's y'all's cameras 1160 00:56:13,560 --> 00:56:15,160 Speaker 4: and I just hand you my cameras to take a 1161 00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:17,840 Speaker 4: photo of me, it gets it can get kind of 1162 00:56:17,880 --> 00:56:20,399 Speaker 4: tricky to say that. Now I gotta say you did 1163 00:56:20,440 --> 00:56:22,520 Speaker 4: that it's because I bought it. Now, if I'm bringing 1164 00:56:22,600 --> 00:56:26,440 Speaker 4: my own camera, my own lighting, my own to y'all's 1165 00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:30,880 Speaker 4: thing and I shoot it, and if that payment doesn't 1166 00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:33,040 Speaker 4: spell out that this is a work for hire or 1167 00:56:33,080 --> 00:56:37,959 Speaker 4: this is in exchange for that, I technically could say 1168 00:56:37,960 --> 00:56:40,719 Speaker 4: I own it? Now will I win in long like? 1169 00:56:40,760 --> 00:56:43,759 Speaker 4: Because some things are still going to be about like 1170 00:56:43,800 --> 00:56:45,919 Speaker 4: what you know, like did you know that or were 1171 00:56:45,920 --> 00:56:47,880 Speaker 4: you whether you up front that you owned it, and 1172 00:56:47,920 --> 00:56:49,880 Speaker 4: did you do certain things on your end to ensure 1173 00:56:49,920 --> 00:56:52,440 Speaker 4: that there's clarity there? Because if I go along with 1174 00:56:52,520 --> 00:56:54,359 Speaker 4: the idea of letting you all do what y'all want 1175 00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:56,640 Speaker 4: to do with it. I don't believe I can just 1176 00:56:56,760 --> 00:56:59,759 Speaker 4: like undercut you later like, oh, they don't know that 1177 00:56:59,760 --> 00:57:01,880 Speaker 4: they they didn't sign a paper. I'm gonna wait till 1178 00:57:01,880 --> 00:57:03,640 Speaker 4: this blow up. But I don't think you can do 1179 00:57:03,680 --> 00:57:06,719 Speaker 4: that and good faith and still be doing business and 1180 00:57:06,760 --> 00:57:09,239 Speaker 4: then I'm gonna catch them ten years later. I don't. 1181 00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:10,920 Speaker 4: I don't think you can do that. And I think 1182 00:57:10,960 --> 00:57:12,960 Speaker 4: you're gonna have a harder time winning that one if 1183 00:57:13,239 --> 00:57:15,160 Speaker 4: in good faith you let them, You led them to 1184 00:57:15,200 --> 00:57:18,360 Speaker 4: believe they owned it and could do whatever they want 1185 00:57:18,440 --> 00:57:21,320 Speaker 4: with it. But it's it's a real thing, and it's 1186 00:57:21,360 --> 00:57:26,080 Speaker 4: it's becoming more real now with more content being created 1187 00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:28,560 Speaker 4: and these these things coming out, like you gotta know 1188 00:57:28,640 --> 00:57:29,200 Speaker 4: what it is. 1189 00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:32,280 Speaker 5: Yeah, And the more that people hear about it, the 1190 00:57:32,280 --> 00:57:35,680 Speaker 5: more they become more aware to it. And wait, I'm 1191 00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:36,560 Speaker 5: gonna try that. 1192 00:57:36,920 --> 00:57:39,360 Speaker 4: Super I mean, I think you should always fight for 1193 00:57:39,400 --> 00:57:42,040 Speaker 4: your your right. It's the same things happened in music industry, right. 1194 00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:44,480 Speaker 4: People don't understand the masters and dah da da da, 1195 00:57:45,160 --> 00:57:48,360 Speaker 4: same concept, like whether you're the photographer or the one 1196 00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:51,960 Speaker 4: getting photographs taken of it. You should think about your 1197 00:57:52,040 --> 00:57:54,120 Speaker 4: rights and what you can do with it long time. 1198 00:57:54,200 --> 00:57:55,600 Speaker 3: So when you start working with a corporate you was 1199 00:57:55,640 --> 00:57:57,680 Speaker 3: doing just photo shoot, so it was like direct then 1200 00:57:58,640 --> 00:58:00,040 Speaker 3: the whole kind. 1201 00:58:00,520 --> 00:58:02,720 Speaker 4: Both a little bit of both. So I did like 1202 00:58:02,800 --> 00:58:07,760 Speaker 4: Noisy Atlanta, that big series Advice did. I've directed some 1203 00:58:07,800 --> 00:58:10,920 Speaker 4: pieces for Bleacher Report, did a documentary on Cole Anthony 1204 00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:15,400 Speaker 4: when he was at UNC, So I do. I do 1205 00:58:15,440 --> 00:58:18,560 Speaker 4: a little bit of directing as well as photography. But 1206 00:58:18,560 --> 00:58:21,880 Speaker 4: photography was really like I kind of made that pivot 1207 00:58:21,920 --> 00:58:24,880 Speaker 4: to like be photographer first when I just thought about 1208 00:58:24,920 --> 00:58:28,640 Speaker 4: the longevity of a photograph and how a photograph can 1209 00:58:28,760 --> 00:58:32,120 Speaker 4: last a lifetime. But you're not just necessarily going back 1210 00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:35,200 Speaker 4: playing music videos over and over again. Some may but 1211 00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:38,320 Speaker 4: a few, don't you know. But that photograph can be 1212 00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:40,920 Speaker 4: printed on your wall, on a T shirt, on a 1213 00:58:40,960 --> 00:58:43,720 Speaker 4: book cover, on all these different things. So when I 1214 00:58:43,760 --> 00:58:46,800 Speaker 4: realized that, I thought a photograph had a more like 1215 00:58:46,920 --> 00:58:49,320 Speaker 4: lasting power, so I started to want to be more 1216 00:58:49,400 --> 00:58:54,200 Speaker 4: known for photography than videography. So I kind of pivoted. 1217 00:58:54,240 --> 00:58:56,600 Speaker 4: So on most most of my work as photography based, 1218 00:58:57,040 --> 00:58:58,640 Speaker 4: but it can be directing. 1219 00:58:59,480 --> 00:59:02,240 Speaker 5: Yeah, So me music obviously plays a huge imprint. I mean, 1220 00:59:02,520 --> 00:59:04,560 Speaker 5: that's where it starts for you. Yeah, so talk about 1221 00:59:04,640 --> 00:59:08,160 Speaker 5: collective agency because the way I'm reading about it feels 1222 00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:10,440 Speaker 5: like it's a label in a sense. Right, Yeah, So 1223 00:59:11,040 --> 00:59:13,280 Speaker 5: how did how did you come up? How did you 1224 00:59:13,280 --> 00:59:15,520 Speaker 5: surmise the planet? Sary? Well? Music such a I'm going 1225 00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:17,320 Speaker 5: to tie this into photography now. 1226 00:59:17,720 --> 00:59:21,480 Speaker 4: Again, it's the same formula. I'm a photographer with the 1227 00:59:21,480 --> 00:59:25,360 Speaker 4: formula of a music artist. So again I watch metro Star, Butminadi, 1228 00:59:25,400 --> 00:59:27,480 Speaker 4: I watch Future Star, free bands. I watch all the 1229 00:59:27,520 --> 00:59:30,120 Speaker 4: people start labels, and I always thought that that's the 1230 00:59:30,160 --> 00:59:33,520 Speaker 4: next step. When you get a certain level of following 1231 00:59:33,560 --> 00:59:36,000 Speaker 4: on your own brand or your own art form, now 1232 00:59:36,040 --> 00:59:38,440 Speaker 4: you have to turn that into an empire. So my 1233 00:59:38,480 --> 00:59:41,120 Speaker 4: first step was turned into cam Kirk Studios, a physical 1234 00:59:41,160 --> 00:59:44,160 Speaker 4: space that you can go visit from cam Krek Studios. 1235 00:59:44,200 --> 00:59:47,440 Speaker 4: I'm like, all right, that serves Atlanta local community. We're 1236 00:59:47,440 --> 00:59:49,760 Speaker 4: going to open up more locations around the world. But 1237 00:59:49,800 --> 00:59:53,040 Speaker 4: that's that. Now, what's the way that I can make 1238 00:59:53,240 --> 00:59:55,920 Speaker 4: money or grow with the next generation of people that 1239 00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:58,040 Speaker 4: want to be me, you know, that want to look 1240 00:59:58,120 --> 01:00:00,560 Speaker 4: up to me. I always think that's more ways you 1241 01:00:00,560 --> 01:00:03,280 Speaker 4: can monetize a following. A lot of times people only 1242 01:00:03,320 --> 01:00:06,800 Speaker 4: monetize in the way of their fans. They don't always 1243 01:00:06,800 --> 01:00:08,680 Speaker 4: think of ways to monetize in a way of people 1244 01:00:08,720 --> 01:00:10,560 Speaker 4: that believe in you and will pay to be you. 1245 01:00:11,320 --> 01:00:13,720 Speaker 4: And I think that that's a formula that a lot 1246 01:00:13,760 --> 01:00:16,520 Speaker 4: of music artists just miss out on, because so many 1247 01:00:16,600 --> 01:00:19,040 Speaker 4: music artists could be having their own recording studio that 1248 01:00:19,080 --> 01:00:22,040 Speaker 4: people record, that people would pay to record that future 1249 01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:24,760 Speaker 4: studio if it was open to the public studio, if 1250 01:00:24,760 --> 01:00:26,640 Speaker 4: they go in there and see his plaques on the wall, 1251 01:00:26,800 --> 01:00:29,080 Speaker 4: they think they wouldn't be, like I want to record 1252 01:00:29,080 --> 01:00:31,560 Speaker 4: with future records. He could make millions all over the 1253 01:00:31,600 --> 01:00:35,120 Speaker 4: world with a studio franchise, you know what I mean, 1254 01:00:35,120 --> 01:00:36,840 Speaker 4: Like I think Floyd is doing it now with his 1255 01:00:36,960 --> 01:00:40,240 Speaker 4: boxing gyms. It's like you create something that people can do. 1256 01:00:40,320 --> 01:00:42,840 Speaker 4: So for me, my studio was part of that because 1257 01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:45,120 Speaker 4: now people can shoot in the same place that I shoot. 1258 01:00:45,440 --> 01:00:48,240 Speaker 4: So where I shot GED's book cover, you can shoot 1259 01:00:48,320 --> 01:00:50,920 Speaker 4: right there, the same place, same equipment. That was one 1260 01:00:50,960 --> 01:00:54,840 Speaker 4: and the next part was my label, Collective Gallery. So 1261 01:00:55,160 --> 01:00:59,000 Speaker 4: that came from marketing propaganda type of thing. That's just 1262 01:00:59,040 --> 01:01:01,560 Speaker 4: truthfully what it is. Propaganda. I could have called it 1263 01:01:01,560 --> 01:01:03,800 Speaker 4: a photography agency, but that's boring. You already heard of 1264 01:01:03,840 --> 01:01:07,200 Speaker 4: that that exists. It's not a photography agency. We're label with, 1265 01:01:07,440 --> 01:01:09,880 Speaker 4: just like you see we just like death Row with, 1266 01:01:10,040 --> 01:01:12,800 Speaker 4: just like tde with, Just like everything else, we're label 1267 01:01:13,120 --> 01:01:18,160 Speaker 4: And I'm gonna take photographers I believe in sign them, financially, 1268 01:01:18,200 --> 01:01:21,320 Speaker 4: invest in them, and help them become the biggest artists 1269 01:01:21,360 --> 01:01:23,919 Speaker 4: that they can be the same way someone has done 1270 01:01:23,920 --> 01:01:25,959 Speaker 4: that for us, or someone has done that for Big Sean, 1271 01:01:26,040 --> 01:01:28,760 Speaker 4: someone has done that for every of your favorite rappers. 1272 01:01:28,960 --> 01:01:32,000 Speaker 4: And it also was a jab at the industry because 1273 01:01:32,040 --> 01:01:34,120 Speaker 4: when I was coming up and I needed a team 1274 01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:37,600 Speaker 4: of support, I did unconventionally reach out to certain labels, like, 1275 01:01:38,640 --> 01:01:41,520 Speaker 4: why don't y'all sign me? Like I don't make music, 1276 01:01:41,600 --> 01:01:46,000 Speaker 4: but I'm creating content and value around music industry, Why 1277 01:01:46,000 --> 01:01:48,280 Speaker 4: don't y'all just sign me Like I'm doing brand deals 1278 01:01:48,320 --> 01:01:50,480 Speaker 4: with Nike, I'm doing brand deals with everybody else. Y'all 1279 01:01:50,480 --> 01:01:52,720 Speaker 4: can monetize me the same way if I had an engine, 1280 01:01:53,080 --> 01:01:55,720 Speaker 4: And it was too too far of a concept for 1281 01:01:55,760 --> 01:01:58,360 Speaker 4: a lot of labels to understand. So then I was like, 1282 01:01:58,360 --> 01:02:00,400 Speaker 4: I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna 1283 01:02:00,400 --> 01:02:03,640 Speaker 4: show you. So in that first year, we signed seven artists, 1284 01:02:03,680 --> 01:02:07,640 Speaker 4: seven photographers. I gave every photographer twenty thousand dollars cash 1285 01:02:07,920 --> 01:02:09,800 Speaker 4: to invest in their career, and then we guide them 1286 01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:12,320 Speaker 4: when they got a team. We're gonna point you in 1287 01:02:12,320 --> 01:02:14,920 Speaker 4: the right direction. We're gonna set you up for brand deals. 1288 01:02:15,120 --> 01:02:18,800 Speaker 4: We're gonna expand your your capabilities. So, like one of 1289 01:02:18,840 --> 01:02:22,240 Speaker 4: my photographers, name is Screl Davis, he was doing mostly photography. 1290 01:02:22,600 --> 01:02:24,240 Speaker 4: I was like, yeah, you should expand it to video. 1291 01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:27,000 Speaker 4: First project I gave him under the labels Cardi B. 1292 01:02:27,200 --> 01:02:29,640 Speaker 4: Did the documentary with Cardi B for Up Music Video. 1293 01:02:30,080 --> 01:02:32,880 Speaker 4: So it's like, now you're think of yourself as a director, 1294 01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:35,600 Speaker 4: not just a photographer. So now that opened up a 1295 01:02:35,600 --> 01:02:38,200 Speaker 4: whole nother revenue stream for him. And then when you're 1296 01:02:38,240 --> 01:02:40,240 Speaker 4: on set, we're gonna give you the same formula. Somebody's 1297 01:02:40,240 --> 01:02:41,800 Speaker 4: gonna be there to take a photo of you on 1298 01:02:41,960 --> 01:02:44,280 Speaker 4: set so you can post this and show the world 1299 01:02:44,280 --> 01:02:47,160 Speaker 4: that you're here. That led to him getting brand deals. 1300 01:02:47,200 --> 01:02:51,000 Speaker 4: He done brand deals with Baccarty where he's in front 1301 01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:53,800 Speaker 4: of the camera holding a bottle. Baccarty like things like that. 1302 01:02:53,880 --> 01:02:55,960 Speaker 4: It's like, that's how we gearing it up. Because you 1303 01:02:55,960 --> 01:02:59,160 Speaker 4: don't want to just make money off photography. You actually 1304 01:02:59,200 --> 01:03:01,320 Speaker 4: can in my paying this day and age, just make 1305 01:03:01,400 --> 01:03:04,080 Speaker 4: money off one way. You got to monetize the whole brand. 1306 01:03:04,160 --> 01:03:06,479 Speaker 4: So that's what we do. And it's a little jab 1307 01:03:06,520 --> 01:03:09,080 Speaker 4: at the industry because I think the New Age label 1308 01:03:09,120 --> 01:03:12,880 Speaker 4: should include all forms of creativity and not just music. 1309 01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:16,320 Speaker 5: Does the twenty thousand come with a start get as 1310 01:03:16,320 --> 01:03:17,120 Speaker 5: far as equipment. 1311 01:03:18,160 --> 01:03:20,040 Speaker 4: You probably wouldn't get signed to my label if you 1312 01:03:20,040 --> 01:03:21,680 Speaker 4: don't have equipment already. 1313 01:03:21,760 --> 01:03:23,600 Speaker 5: Like this stuff that you put you look at and 1314 01:03:23,680 --> 01:03:26,360 Speaker 5: say like, all right, that's cool, but this is actually 1315 01:03:26,400 --> 01:03:26,800 Speaker 5: what you should. 1316 01:03:26,960 --> 01:03:29,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, we guide them on what the money can be 1317 01:03:29,360 --> 01:03:31,440 Speaker 4: used for. So the first ten thousand is put in 1318 01:03:31,480 --> 01:03:35,280 Speaker 4: your pocket. Just get out of the need to be 1319 01:03:35,360 --> 01:03:37,400 Speaker 4: in service. So a lot of photographer right now just 1320 01:03:37,440 --> 01:03:40,480 Speaker 4: service providers. That's what pays their bills. They don't know 1321 01:03:40,520 --> 01:03:43,000 Speaker 4: how to make enough money to turn down the job 1322 01:03:43,120 --> 01:03:45,280 Speaker 4: or the guide their career in a certain direction. Which 1323 01:03:45,320 --> 01:03:47,400 Speaker 4: is real. It just is what it is. So this 1324 01:03:47,440 --> 01:03:49,640 Speaker 4: is a little cushion money first put in your pocket. 1325 01:03:49,920 --> 01:03:52,400 Speaker 4: So now you can start to think more clearly about 1326 01:03:52,720 --> 01:03:54,880 Speaker 4: the decision or the job you're gonna take next, and 1327 01:03:54,920 --> 01:03:57,520 Speaker 4: how does that actually help you tell the story you 1328 01:03:57,560 --> 01:03:59,800 Speaker 4: want to tell for your career, which is like a 1329 01:04:00,040 --> 01:04:02,240 Speaker 4: luxury that I feel like I have now, Like I 1330 01:04:02,280 --> 01:04:04,439 Speaker 4: pick up the camera maybe five ten times a year 1331 01:04:04,480 --> 01:04:06,720 Speaker 4: now and it's all like, oh, I want to do that. 1332 01:04:06,720 --> 01:04:09,240 Speaker 4: That's dope, that's gonna look good. If I don't want 1333 01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:11,280 Speaker 4: to do it, I don't do it. So the first 1334 01:04:11,280 --> 01:04:13,320 Speaker 4: part of money is just to give them a little cushion. 1335 01:04:13,320 --> 01:04:16,560 Speaker 4: The other tenants for marketing investing into a maybe an 1336 01:04:16,600 --> 01:04:19,360 Speaker 4: art show, gallery, a product if they want to sell, 1337 01:04:19,440 --> 01:04:23,400 Speaker 4: merge a book or like whatever prints. It's like it 1338 01:04:23,400 --> 01:04:25,240 Speaker 4: guides you in that way, and then we also go 1339 01:04:25,280 --> 01:04:27,480 Speaker 4: and help you get jobs or connect you with brands 1340 01:04:27,520 --> 01:04:29,760 Speaker 4: and say you're going to do this, negotiate on your behalf, 1341 01:04:30,200 --> 01:04:32,680 Speaker 4: give you I legal to make sure you're buttoned up 1342 01:04:32,680 --> 01:04:35,080 Speaker 4: and stuff like that, and then you get a percentage 1343 01:04:35,120 --> 01:04:37,080 Speaker 4: of deal. YEA yeah, I get a percentage, just like 1344 01:04:37,080 --> 01:04:38,200 Speaker 4: a label. 1345 01:04:38,720 --> 01:04:42,520 Speaker 5: Are there any brands from a technical technical stent point 1346 01:04:42,840 --> 01:04:45,840 Speaker 5: that are looking at you. I'm just assuming Panasonic Road 1347 01:04:46,360 --> 01:04:48,480 Speaker 5: some of these brands that you're obviously using. Have you 1348 01:04:48,680 --> 01:04:50,000 Speaker 5: had partnerships in that sense. 1349 01:04:51,200 --> 01:04:53,200 Speaker 4: Man, I think I was just talking to somebody about this, 1350 01:04:53,240 --> 01:04:55,120 Speaker 4: and I think it's because I kind of snuck in 1351 01:04:55,120 --> 01:04:57,400 Speaker 4: through the back door when it comes to photography, Like 1352 01:04:57,440 --> 01:05:01,280 Speaker 4: I didn't go through the traditional steps that throughout my 1353 01:05:01,440 --> 01:05:03,600 Speaker 4: entire career. If you look up most of my accolades, 1354 01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:07,960 Speaker 4: they're all like music or cultural focused, They're not like, 1355 01:05:08,480 --> 01:05:11,600 Speaker 4: I've not been getting stamps from Cannon. All my photos 1356 01:05:11,640 --> 01:05:14,600 Speaker 4: have been with Cannon. I've never had a Cannon deal, right, Like, 1357 01:05:14,880 --> 01:05:18,320 Speaker 4: I've had one little quick brand partnership deal with Nikon, 1358 01:05:18,960 --> 01:05:22,080 Speaker 4: But besides that, that's the only camera company that's ever 1359 01:05:22,280 --> 01:05:24,680 Speaker 4: like reached out and was like, Yo, we want to 1360 01:05:24,680 --> 01:05:26,720 Speaker 4: be a part of your journey. I've only been featured 1361 01:05:26,720 --> 01:05:29,760 Speaker 4: I think in like one or two photo magazines or 1362 01:05:29,760 --> 01:05:33,880 Speaker 4: photo media outlets through everything we're doing. And I think 1363 01:05:34,440 --> 01:05:37,320 Speaker 4: a little part of it was because I think photographing 1364 01:05:37,520 --> 01:05:42,280 Speaker 4: hip hop and rappers specifically wasn't cool or you know 1365 01:05:42,440 --> 01:05:45,320 Speaker 4: whatever until recently. Right so now you're starting to see 1366 01:05:45,840 --> 01:05:49,479 Speaker 4: art shows of photo specific things wrap photos like blow 1367 01:05:49,560 --> 01:05:52,200 Speaker 4: up in like certain galleries or the jay Z Museum. 1368 01:05:52,680 --> 01:05:56,280 Speaker 4: That's still very new of them respecting what we did 1369 01:05:56,360 --> 01:05:58,120 Speaker 4: now You can go to Barnes and Nobles and find 1370 01:05:58,840 --> 01:06:02,000 Speaker 4: photo books on the Beatles and rock and roll artists, 1371 01:06:02,040 --> 01:06:04,720 Speaker 4: but you don't really find a photo book on hip 1372 01:06:04,720 --> 01:06:07,240 Speaker 4: hop as often. It's starting to happen now, there's a 1373 01:06:07,240 --> 01:06:09,800 Speaker 4: few of them coming out now, but it wasn't like 1374 01:06:09,840 --> 01:06:14,040 Speaker 4: a big thing. So photo agencies didn't rock with me. 1375 01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:17,960 Speaker 4: Photo companies haven't rock with me. So we haven't really 1376 01:06:17,960 --> 01:06:19,920 Speaker 4: gotten that type of support. But that's why I'm starting 1377 01:06:20,040 --> 01:06:23,200 Speaker 4: own my own company. So how's the art gallery? 1378 01:06:23,200 --> 01:06:26,800 Speaker 3: I mean, how's the gallery the studio doing as far 1379 01:06:26,840 --> 01:06:28,680 Speaker 3: as like how does that work? 1380 01:06:28,720 --> 01:06:32,040 Speaker 4: With some model behind that? So the photo studio is 1381 01:06:32,120 --> 01:06:35,520 Speaker 4: just like a model for recording studios, similar concept, right, 1382 01:06:35,600 --> 01:06:37,959 Speaker 4: So if you're a photographer and you need a place 1383 01:06:38,000 --> 01:06:42,120 Speaker 4: to create with white backdrop, whatever colors you need, and 1384 01:06:42,160 --> 01:06:44,880 Speaker 4: the equipment, I build a studio that you can just 1385 01:06:44,960 --> 01:06:47,320 Speaker 4: show up and create out of. So at our studio, 1386 01:06:47,440 --> 01:06:50,440 Speaker 4: we kind of consider it like a boutique studio, and 1387 01:06:50,480 --> 01:06:52,680 Speaker 4: we kind of consider it also like a coworking studio. 1388 01:06:53,080 --> 01:06:56,400 Speaker 4: So inside of our space, we're able to do three 1389 01:06:56,400 --> 01:06:58,960 Speaker 4: photo shoots per hour inside of our space. The way 1390 01:06:59,000 --> 01:07:01,880 Speaker 4: it's set up, so in our space also what I 1391 01:07:01,880 --> 01:07:04,560 Speaker 4: did build into it was I knew a lot of photographers, 1392 01:07:04,560 --> 01:07:07,720 Speaker 4: like myself, are not technically trained photographers. They're coming in 1393 01:07:07,760 --> 01:07:10,160 Speaker 4: through the back door like me. They get into a 1394 01:07:10,160 --> 01:07:13,920 Speaker 4: photo studio and they get they get overwhelmed, and they 1395 01:07:13,920 --> 01:07:17,080 Speaker 4: get intimidated through the idea of a blank canvas and 1396 01:07:17,120 --> 01:07:20,640 Speaker 4: you got to bring your lights, backdrop, an assistant all that. Like, 1397 01:07:20,680 --> 01:07:22,040 Speaker 4: you may not be able to afford that. You might 1398 01:07:22,040 --> 01:07:24,800 Speaker 4: be doing a two hundred dollars photoshoot, you can't afford 1399 01:07:24,800 --> 01:07:27,360 Speaker 4: your own set of lights, your own equipment. So our 1400 01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:30,760 Speaker 4: studio actually within the booking, comes with everything you need. 1401 01:07:31,760 --> 01:07:34,480 Speaker 4: It also comes with a photo assistant that literally helps 1402 01:07:34,520 --> 01:07:38,160 Speaker 4: you bring your life, your idea to life. So all 1403 01:07:38,160 --> 01:07:40,480 Speaker 4: you got to do is bring your camera, which is 1404 01:07:40,600 --> 01:07:43,440 Speaker 4: very untraditional when it comes to a photo studio. That 1405 01:07:43,800 --> 01:07:46,919 Speaker 4: really doesn't exist. Most photo studios are big white wall 1406 01:07:46,960 --> 01:07:48,880 Speaker 4: spaces and they'd be like, all right, we'll check on 1407 01:07:48,920 --> 01:07:51,160 Speaker 4: you after your appointment in two hours or three hours, 1408 01:07:51,440 --> 01:07:53,200 Speaker 4: and it's up to you to figure it out. We 1409 01:07:53,280 --> 01:07:56,120 Speaker 4: build more of like a community focused studio that holds 1410 01:07:56,120 --> 01:07:58,480 Speaker 4: your hand through the process and trains you on how 1411 01:07:58,480 --> 01:08:00,680 Speaker 4: to use the equipment and get the best out of 1412 01:08:00,720 --> 01:08:03,920 Speaker 4: your work, so within that, that's how we have like 1413 01:08:04,000 --> 01:08:06,720 Speaker 4: such a large community we've done with thirty thousand appointments 1414 01:08:06,720 --> 01:08:08,960 Speaker 4: in seven years. We do about four hundred appointments a 1415 01:08:09,000 --> 01:08:11,640 Speaker 4: month in our space. And if you go to our space, 1416 01:08:11,680 --> 01:08:14,240 Speaker 4: it's on the fourth floor of a building across a 1417 01:08:14,280 --> 01:08:17,000 Speaker 4: Magic City and a Greyhound station. But we've been able 1418 01:08:17,040 --> 01:08:21,000 Speaker 4: to turn that into a gym in Atlanta that everything's 1419 01:08:21,040 --> 01:08:23,880 Speaker 4: been created there and we've had Showtime Day Susan Merrow 1420 01:08:23,960 --> 01:08:26,839 Speaker 4: filmed episode with Missy Elliott there. I've had Samuel Jackson 1421 01:08:27,280 --> 01:08:30,360 Speaker 4: shoot a fashion look book there. I've had a lot 1422 01:08:30,360 --> 01:08:32,400 Speaker 4: of her whole being of her career came up there 1423 01:08:32,400 --> 01:08:36,559 Speaker 4: and shot music video in there, jack Hawlow, Little Baby Gun, 1424 01:08:36,640 --> 01:08:38,679 Speaker 4: a lot of that first ever stuff was done there. 1425 01:08:39,400 --> 01:08:41,479 Speaker 4: It's just been a lot of magic that's created out 1426 01:08:41,520 --> 01:08:43,719 Speaker 4: of that space. But it's really like a community hub 1427 01:08:43,760 --> 01:08:46,040 Speaker 4: and a center for a lot of people to really 1428 01:08:46,080 --> 01:08:49,320 Speaker 4: expand and show their work and photography and content creation. 1429 01:08:50,439 --> 01:08:52,680 Speaker 5: You said that you are selective, right, you pick up 1430 01:08:52,680 --> 01:08:55,360 Speaker 5: the kim and maybe five six times a year. What's 1431 01:08:55,400 --> 01:08:57,639 Speaker 5: the type of job at this point in your career 1432 01:08:57,760 --> 01:08:59,599 Speaker 5: that will move you? Is it inside of hip hop 1433 01:08:59,680 --> 01:09:02,720 Speaker 5: or is then outside the realm that excites you, like 1434 01:09:02,920 --> 01:09:03,640 Speaker 5: what would move you? 1435 01:09:04,760 --> 01:09:07,360 Speaker 4: Hip hop always moves me, right, So if it's the 1436 01:09:07,439 --> 01:09:11,439 Speaker 4: right artist, is the right look, the right piece of history. 1437 01:09:11,520 --> 01:09:13,320 Speaker 4: Like I don't want to just do any photo shoot 1438 01:09:13,320 --> 01:09:15,120 Speaker 4: with a rapper, but if it's the right one, if 1439 01:09:15,120 --> 01:09:17,760 Speaker 4: it means something that kind of moves me. So Like 1440 01:09:17,880 --> 01:09:20,320 Speaker 4: last year, I had two accolades that really like, we're 1441 01:09:20,360 --> 01:09:23,880 Speaker 4: exciting to me. I shot Young Jeezy's book cover for 1442 01:09:23,920 --> 01:09:27,880 Speaker 4: his Adversity for Sale, knowing that my career started ten 1443 01:09:27,920 --> 01:09:31,280 Speaker 4: plus years, you know, traveling this quick little stint with Jeezi. 1444 01:09:31,400 --> 01:09:33,840 Speaker 4: That meant a lot to me to come back and 1445 01:09:33,880 --> 01:09:39,120 Speaker 4: be able to shoot probably his most iconic photo today 1446 01:09:39,160 --> 01:09:41,960 Speaker 4: because of what it represents his autobiography. It's gonna last 1447 01:09:41,960 --> 01:09:45,120 Speaker 4: with his career forever. It wasn't about the money. When 1448 01:09:45,120 --> 01:09:47,519 Speaker 4: he hit me about that, that was like, okay, we 1449 01:09:47,640 --> 01:09:50,680 Speaker 4: need to do that. That's necessary. And now it's a 1450 01:09:50,680 --> 01:09:52,720 Speaker 4: New York Times bestseller. That means a lot to me. 1451 01:09:52,800 --> 01:09:55,280 Speaker 4: That's dope, and it's an avenue that I haven't done yet. 1452 01:09:55,320 --> 01:09:58,160 Speaker 4: I haven't done a lot of book covers. Last year 1453 01:09:58,160 --> 01:10:01,719 Speaker 4: I also got to do Vibe magazine thirtieth anniversary issue 1454 01:10:02,840 --> 01:10:06,320 Speaker 4: with Jermaine Duprix. It was also Jermaine Duprice's first ever 1455 01:10:06,400 --> 01:10:10,840 Speaker 4: Vibe magazine cover. That's a story like that's like something 1456 01:10:10,880 --> 01:10:13,040 Speaker 4: that you're like, he's never been on the R and 1457 01:10:13,120 --> 01:10:15,360 Speaker 4: B magazine, Like how has Jamain dupre never been on that? 1458 01:10:16,240 --> 01:10:19,200 Speaker 4: Whatever the case may be, that's the story now that 1459 01:10:19,240 --> 01:10:21,320 Speaker 4: gets me up out of bed. I want to do that, 1460 01:10:21,680 --> 01:10:24,920 Speaker 4: Like that's special right there. So it's those are and 1461 01:10:24,960 --> 01:10:27,400 Speaker 4: those are not the money looks. Those are like cultural 1462 01:10:27,439 --> 01:10:29,519 Speaker 4: looks that I think are relevant for me to stay 1463 01:10:30,240 --> 01:10:32,160 Speaker 4: camp Kirk, you know what I mean, to stay who 1464 01:10:32,200 --> 01:10:35,280 Speaker 4: I am to the corporate people that want to always 1465 01:10:35,320 --> 01:10:37,760 Speaker 4: connect themselves with cool. So I still have to do 1466 01:10:37,800 --> 01:10:40,240 Speaker 4: certain looks like that with up and coming artists or 1467 01:10:40,280 --> 01:10:43,720 Speaker 4: certain people to still show like that's me, you know 1468 01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:45,400 Speaker 4: what I mean. But then it allows me to go 1469 01:10:45,439 --> 01:10:47,240 Speaker 4: do these corporate jobs and then be like, oh, that's 1470 01:10:47,280 --> 01:10:50,639 Speaker 4: the guy that shoots all the cool kids. So those 1471 01:10:50,680 --> 01:10:53,400 Speaker 4: are the ones that moved me even even the year 1472 01:10:53,439 --> 01:10:56,680 Speaker 4: before that, I shot Big Boy at the Dungeon for Airbnb, 1473 01:10:57,280 --> 01:10:59,880 Speaker 4: Like those connections are like wow, like to see that 1474 01:11:00,080 --> 01:11:03,240 Speaker 4: the house that he grew up in, that they made 1475 01:11:03,240 --> 01:11:05,639 Speaker 4: these crazy albums and that he just renovated. 1476 01:11:05,720 --> 01:11:06,680 Speaker 5: But they bought Future too. 1477 01:11:06,840 --> 01:11:10,320 Speaker 4: They bought Future to all the history. We're here now 1478 01:11:10,520 --> 01:11:13,960 Speaker 4: years later with Airbnb and they're allowing people to rent 1479 01:11:14,000 --> 01:11:16,559 Speaker 4: it out and I get to photograph that moment, like 1480 01:11:16,560 --> 01:11:18,720 Speaker 4: where he's in front of it. Like those are the 1481 01:11:18,800 --> 01:11:21,880 Speaker 4: stories that moved me the most and make me like 1482 01:11:22,000 --> 01:11:24,080 Speaker 4: want to pick up the camera shot making the Stallion's 1483 01:11:24,120 --> 01:11:28,479 Speaker 4: graduation photos for Nike. That's a cultural moment. Everybody knows 1484 01:11:28,479 --> 01:11:32,679 Speaker 4: she was graduating. Nike's attached to it. That's special right there. 1485 01:11:33,120 --> 01:11:36,840 Speaker 5: I got one final thing in the space, like I 1486 01:11:37,000 --> 01:11:39,479 Speaker 5: enjoyed photography, so like I follow a few people on 1487 01:11:39,800 --> 01:11:42,799 Speaker 5: Radb's obviously incredible what she does with Dell and Beyonce. 1488 01:11:43,400 --> 01:11:44,400 Speaker 5: I think Lenny's incredible. 1489 01:11:44,920 --> 01:11:45,719 Speaker 4: Yeah, he's dope. 1490 01:11:46,080 --> 01:11:49,599 Speaker 5: Is that obviously you've created and you've documented history. At 1491 01:11:49,600 --> 01:11:52,519 Speaker 5: any point do you feel like you create your own 1492 01:11:52,560 --> 01:11:53,480 Speaker 5: book of photography? 1493 01:11:53,920 --> 01:11:57,599 Speaker 4: Super so? My book is coming twenty years. I'm at 1494 01:11:57,760 --> 01:12:02,000 Speaker 4: a year eleven right now, or really year twelve. I 1495 01:12:02,000 --> 01:12:03,719 Speaker 4: want to do. I want to do one book though, 1496 01:12:04,160 --> 01:12:07,680 Speaker 4: so some photographers do volumes or they do multiple I 1497 01:12:07,680 --> 01:12:11,600 Speaker 4: want one just like book, Like he did it, and 1498 01:12:11,760 --> 01:12:13,559 Speaker 4: everything's going to be in there. But I also think 1499 01:12:13,600 --> 01:12:16,400 Speaker 4: my book should come. I want my book to come 1500 01:12:16,439 --> 01:12:19,840 Speaker 4: with like my ideology or the blueprint of how I 1501 01:12:19,880 --> 01:12:23,800 Speaker 4: was able to do this in this world, Like we're 1502 01:12:23,840 --> 01:12:27,000 Speaker 4: fighting so many obstacles as a photographer right now. Again, 1503 01:12:27,080 --> 01:12:32,680 Speaker 4: we mentioned technology earlier, social media, the influx of just 1504 01:12:32,720 --> 01:12:35,400 Speaker 4: people that just want to do it, and to still 1505 01:12:35,439 --> 01:12:37,959 Speaker 4: be able to turn it into a business and empire. 1506 01:12:38,120 --> 01:12:40,800 Speaker 4: You know, I have fifteen plus employees that are all 1507 01:12:40,840 --> 01:12:43,280 Speaker 4: benefiting off of my lifestyle and what I'm able to 1508 01:12:43,320 --> 01:12:44,800 Speaker 4: do with a camera. Like to be able to do 1509 01:12:44,880 --> 01:12:47,880 Speaker 4: all of those things, it's really like exciting to me, 1510 01:12:47,920 --> 01:12:49,679 Speaker 4: and I want to be able to share that along 1511 01:12:49,720 --> 01:12:52,439 Speaker 4: with the work because the work is dope. I think 1512 01:12:52,439 --> 01:12:54,320 Speaker 4: my work is iconic, but I think when you hear 1513 01:12:54,360 --> 01:12:57,360 Speaker 4: the story behind it, it adds a whole other dimension. 1514 01:12:57,439 --> 01:12:59,720 Speaker 4: So I probably want to do something that's like a 1515 01:12:59,760 --> 01:13:02,720 Speaker 4: mixture of like a photo book or maybe it's a 1516 01:13:02,800 --> 01:13:05,439 Speaker 4: company by like a little you know, a book about 1517 01:13:05,520 --> 01:13:06,680 Speaker 4: just a process. 1518 01:13:07,240 --> 01:13:10,000 Speaker 3: Well, brother, I appreciate you tell people how they can 1519 01:13:10,040 --> 01:13:12,120 Speaker 3: follow you information on the studio and all that. 1520 01:13:12,400 --> 01:13:15,040 Speaker 4: No doubt you can follow me on Instagram It's the 1521 01:13:15,240 --> 01:13:19,880 Speaker 4: Campkirk at the Campkirk on my studio at Campkirk Studios, 1522 01:13:20,479 --> 01:13:23,720 Speaker 4: Campkirkstudios dot com. If you ever in Atlanta, you know, 1523 01:13:23,840 --> 01:13:26,200 Speaker 4: hit us up. We're open seven days a week, all 1524 01:13:26,320 --> 01:13:26,800 Speaker 4: day and night. 1525 01:13:27,439 --> 01:13:29,599 Speaker 5: I feel like Todd shaking his head about everything you're saying. 1526 01:13:29,920 --> 01:13:38,080 Speaker 5: Ta Tay, you got any questions? 1527 01:13:38,120 --> 01:13:42,479 Speaker 4: I know, Davis, Thank you guys. I appreciate that. Oh 1528 01:13:42,520 --> 01:13:44,000 Speaker 4: good man, Thank you guys. Rocking on to see you 1529 01:13:44,080 --> 01:13:44,439 Speaker 4: next week. 1530 01:13:44,439 --> 01:13:45,080 Speaker 5: Peace please. 1531 01:13:45,479 --> 01:13:49,080 Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 1532 01:13:49,160 --> 01:13:52,960 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from El Salvador 1533 01:13:53,200 --> 01:13:57,360 Speaker 1: accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with 1534 01:13:57,400 --> 01:14:01,320 Speaker 1: filming and selling child pornography, and miss These are just 1535 01:14:01,400 --> 01:14:05,160 Speaker 1: some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 1536 01:14:05,200 --> 01:14:08,799 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States 1537 01:14:08,800 --> 01:14:13,599 Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, Attempted illegal border 1538 01:14:13,640 --> 01:14:17,200 Speaker 1: crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 1539 01:14:17,240 --> 01:14:20,479 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 1540 01:14:20,520 --> 01:14:24,400 Speaker 1: are here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly 1541 01:14:24,479 --> 01:14:28,479 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars a day imprisoned and deported. You will 1542 01:14:28,520 --> 01:14:32,160 Speaker 1: never return. But if you register using our CBP home 1543 01:14:32,200 --> 01:14:35,599 Speaker 1: app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. 1544 01:14:35,960 --> 01:14:40,719 Speaker 1: Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump America's laws, 1545 01:14:40,880 --> 01:14:43,320 Speaker 1: border and families will be protected. 1546 01:14:43,400 --> 01:14:45,559 Speaker 2: Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,