Meet Daniel Meadows | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Meadows and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I think like many of us in creative careers, the thought process arrived second, after the gut feeling. It starts as a compulsion that I know many of your readers will recognize, a need to set your own parameters for your productivity, a realization that there is a pathway not only to making a living but to exceeding the living you could make in contracted employment when you have marketable skills and a strong desire to use them.

Then comes the necessary strategy, the business plan, the networking and marketing. If you have people around you who’ll support you through the start you need to be able to show them that the investment is worth it and that you’re making good decisions to support the best chance of good outcomes. Your family and friends can often be your first business network, so hear their feedback and remember that even if they don’t understand your work intimately they do understand what it means to be a consumer, so their feedback can be enlightening.

Business management can be difficult for a lot of creatives, it’s certainly not something I love like I do the art of photography, but remember that if you make good decisions now and are well-organized you’ll eventually be able to hire someone to carry the tasks you’d rather hand off to focus on delivering your core service. Until then, remember that the pathway to success as a creative is underpinned by good self-management. Being ‘your own boss’ should never mean that you give yourself a bad boss. Give yourself a boss who drives your business forward and gives you the framework you need to sell your services and build the career you deserve.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I work as a full-time photographer in Houston, producing creative lifestyle & editorial content for businesses and a limited number of weddings per year. There’s really never been a better time to be a content producer, as our lives are increasingly affected by the internet and social sharing platforms, most businesses have a need to constantly create artful visual media to engage effectively with potential and existing customers, and many of us just want to wow our friends with that Pinterest-worthy portrait.

As the technical and financial bar for entry for photography has lowered, the market has become a saturated one, but I would want anybody looking to create a legitimate photography business to understand that the market for the reliable, insured and properly-licensed professional is healthy and sustainable. Your ideal client, the one with the budget, doesn’t want to risk their project on anything less than an honest and trustworthy partner.

Networking can help you more than any paid ad so get yourself to meetings and events and shows and demonstrate value to your industry peers, show business owners with markets adjacent to yours that you can add value to their customers’ experience. Small business is all about helping each other out, community over competition, we refer each other to grow together. Don’t get too caught up in the computer screen portion of your business-building to step out and go get coffee with other business owners and stay connected to what’s happening in Houston.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ok so I think I definitely need to answer this with my photographer hat on and imagine my visiting friend as my model, because the locations, venues and scenery in Houston are exceptional! The Gerald D. Hines Water Wall is a stunning location for portrait and engagement shoots, and Hermann Park has many great areas for beautiful shots. Sabine St. Bridge has an excellent view of Houston’s skyline so that would go on the itinerary, and a personal favorite backdrop, especially for lovers’ portraits would have to be The Astorian’s absolutely iconic 12 foot clock.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
With gratitude to my endlessly supportive wife Chelsea, who tolerates my perpetually weird work/life schedule.

Website: https://www.danielmeadowsweddings.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielmeadowsweddings/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmeadowsphotography/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanielMeadowsWeddings

Image Credits
Daniel Meadows’ headshot by Heather Cahoon.