Hi! I'm Tamara Lackey, and on this episode
of reDefine show for AdoramaTV
we speak with Brian Matthias and he shares
how he saved his creative soul by leaving
corporate marketing, and some amazing
advice he has for image makers all over
the world who want to separate
themselves from the rest of the pack!
Check it out.
Hi Bryan! Hi Tamra. How are you? Great.
You're great, you're not sick in any way?
Not at all... I feel great!
Yeah, yeah. Being in a conference with the
thousand other people sure... what's could go wrong!
Not at all. Hey so, you and I met and I
remember this vividly, I'm not sure if
you do. You and I met when I was at
Google doing a talk to you! I remember I
thought I was going to like totally.. I was
thinking about it earlier! See due
diligence! With Laurie Ruben. Yep.
And you were working at Google. Is that
correct? What were you doing there.
I was the kind of global evangelist for the
photos products for Google photos. Okay.
So I got to, Google has these photos
products you know, that they started by
buying Nick software, and I was building
out the I guess the group of
photographers who are you know really
really exemplary. Kind of, like a kind of,
like an ambassador program, but not
really an ambassador program. So I got to
meet and work with some amazing people,
and spread the kind of Google photos
seed. How long were you doing that?
Two years.. two years! And all that
amazing free food! I gained so much
weight! I'm not joking, I gained about 55lbs!
Wow... two years... in the first year!
Because after the first year we
relocated to Portland, and I worked
remotely, now the first year
it helped a little bit, but then I know I
then, I lost rapidly! Yeah that 'cause it's good..
everywhere... and it's free! It's... and it's
really good! And they're like, at the
end of every hall there are like micro
kitchens, with snacks and stuff! So and
drinks and everything. It is, it's, it's a
Playland. When I left Google I actually
started working with Sony that's when I
started kind of branching out into not
working full-time for a company, but kind
of contracting and helping to create
content, and fashion a social media
strategy for photography. Specifically
with Sony Alpha, which is their digital
imaging line. Okay, and you're doing, you
do a lot of landscape work. Yeah, I mean
the landscape and kind of travel.
Well I mean living in Pacific Northwest, it's
not hard! Yeah, yeah you literally just put
your camera down, hit the button.
Well not exactly, yeah, I mean you know!
But it is, it's 30 minutes from where I
lived. I was at these waterfalls that
were like magical, so yeah. It was very
very fun. When you say was... are you
not doing as much shooting anymore?
You went to Nebraska? Yeah moved to
Nebraska because I, you know, I wanted to
go back to completely working for myself
as a kind of like an educator/content
creator, and in Portland you know, it's
getting more and more expensive. So to
cut our cost of living down we decided
to, my wife and I, decided to.. Nicolesy!
Who was also on this show! To move to
Nebraska which is where she's from. So
we got to be closer to her family while
also dramatically reducing our cost of
living, which if you're you know a solo
kind of business, in this case we're
both we have our own individual
businesses, but you have to kind of
consider that stuff. Yeah when we both
decided to do our own things, so I'd come
out of management consulting, we both
did in different ways, and long story
short, we kind of looked at what it would
take to be able to start our businesses
from scratch, and totally different
businesses, and see how long we could
make it! Worst case scenario and in San
Francisco at the time, given what we'd
saved to date, we're like we could go for
three years.. that's pretty interesting!
Yeah! Then we pulled out a map and looked
at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where we
moved to and live now today. We're like
we can go nine years there! It's amazing,
It changed the whole kind of like it's
the same money, but when you
actually put it in a term like that, like
I could spend nine years trying to nail
down the career I want there, versus here
and quite like where I am there too, just
it's a different thing. I still love San Francisco!
Absolutely West Coast, but yeah it is, it
is really striking as an entrepreneur
looking at it from that perspective! Yeah.
I think that because I'm from New York
City, and I do think that, for there is a
certain time of a period in a, I guess a
young adults life, where it's a you know
living in the city.
Really on a shoestring budget, in a 150
square foot apartment hustling is... that
that works, but there is a you know, I
also believe that there's a certain
point where, unless you kind of make a,
this quantum leap of success, eventually
you have to start swallowing some really,
you know reality pills! So there are, there
those are when you put on, like you know,
your big boy, big girl pants!
Oh yeah, you need to make decisions and
that was like with us with Portland,
where we loved it there, it was such an
awesome vibe, great food, great
photography, a lot of great people. But if
I really wanted to do what I need to do,
to put the time in to continue to grow
my business, yeah we were going to relocate!
So you know never in my entire life did
I ever think I'd have a Nebraska
driver's license, but I do, and it's, it's
great! I have the time that I
need to start building my business back
up, because I did, I had my business and
then I went back to working for, in this
case, Walcom, which is you know they make
pen tablets, because there is this allure
to the safety of a full time! I was still
working in the industry, but I had a 401k
I had benefits, I had a salary but at the
same time the flipside because there is
no, you know perfect solution, is my
creativity was completely stifled.
Whenever you work for a company and
you're at the whim of a marketing
department. Yeah. Or you know some VP who
knows nothing about the industry but
that their, it's their decision you have
to execute, and so creatively I decided
to, it was time for me, if I need, if I
wanted to not have my soul die in a
ditch. I needed to make something! Yeah
And so I it was, I left and so far it's
been it really kind of, it's been very
enriching. Yeah and it's a bit because I
made, we made, the kind of harder upfront
decision of relocating. I'm able to add a
really nice pace, regrow the business.
Yeah that's awesome, so, so being in the business,
being surrounded by so many
photographers, and networking you have a
huge network in the photography industry!
What would you say are the things that
you see overall, like if someone's coming
into this right now. Like you know what
skip this. Do this! Like what would be
some of those pieces of advice you'd give
to people? For me so I believe that with
social media, it's, it's of course a
blessing, and a curse. Like most, you know
It's a blurst... I like that! trademark it Blurst TM.
You get a nickel. The think with
social media, you get this, this, it really
democratizes your ability to share. You
don't need to work with a publisher to
get your work in a magazine. You you're
your own publisher, but at the same time
you have that like signal-to-noise ratio.
Where you have just so many people, so I
I wrote about this recently on my blog,
where I'm getting like, I'm bored of
Instagram, not because there are a lot of
bad photos. The complete opposite, there
are so many amazing photos! You know same,
you know, Milky Way shots seem beautiful, same
beautiful like fox in them.. dewy mist morning.
I'll show you, there are plenty! Lots
of foxes.. there I'll send you some!
That's amazing. But I get desensitized to
it's. Like okay... great, another beautiful
Sun, so sorry, so my recommendation and this is what
I've always fashioned my own kind of
content strategy on. Is what I call
experiential photography, and for me it's
not just about you know getting to the
place and knowing how to take the photo.
It's very important that I am able to
share the experience behind it. Why I
took the photo. Just the the mental or
creative blocks that went wit it. A lot of
your photographs are behind the,
literally behind the camera you have set
up on a tripod! Yeah I like, because
there's this, I think, with hobbyist
photographers, who see more established
photographers. They I think, they
romanticize us, as like oh you know just
um amazing... you go out, and just like I've
done, perfect, magic done! Give me my check!
Yeah exactly pay me! It's not, it's the
complete opposite! I mean the amount of
failed shots, failed shoots failed
everything... the intense lack of glamour!
Oh man! It is, there's a misperception out
there about that! Absolutely, and so what
I would tell people is... of course at the
same time especially if you're starting,
There's very little these days that
would separate a really skilled
photographer, from a new one, in terms of
getting the simpler shot! Most cases if
you're at the right place, at the right
time, and now this is not to diminish
that. But you could, most it's a lot
easier for more people to create amazing
photos, which is great. So how do you
differentiate yourself? Because
differentiation is success, and so it's
true! I mean you and I could take the
same exact photo great, so who, who wins?
Well whoever can kind of, people are
vying for attention. Like you know I want
you to remember my name. How do I, do that
it's not just a photo, because you have
the same photo. All right, so let me tell
you the story. Let me tell you what went
into it, and I'm not talking about it
necessarily, well you know, it's this
camera and this lens! It's it's... the
mindset! The, the hurdles, and so that's
what I would recommend for anyone. Any
new novice, or pro, to build your, I hate
even calling it a brand. But one thing I
believe. That identity, identity, identity
is how who are you as the photographer! I
would much rather, I remember you know,
with with Matt Koslowski,
where he was saying in his case. To
paraphrase he was saying, he would much
rather have someone compliment him on
learning something new versus being a
good photographer! You know, on his
ability to educate, and for me, I would
rather, much rather, someone remember me
by the story that I have to share, than
the photo! That's to me is where the, the
legacy is made. Yeah, yeah that's amazing,
so when you're saying your.. wait ...you're
going ti give me a thing that
people skip, so you're going to say what to
do. Tell the stories. Lock down your
identity. Separate yourself. What do you
see a lot of people doing that you're
like, just skip that. Oh I just, I think
everyone's just trying to, this idea of
first mover advantage, of try and just
get stuff out there, as quickly as
possible.
Can't just like put out all this content
without really, there's no cohesion in
the, in the kind of like, their stories or
the body of works. Just like a bunch of
different things! If I, if I go to
someone's say Instagram profile, or their
blog, and I, and it looks like 15
different photographers contributed 15
different types of, I don't know, who this
person is. So rather than, I would say, you
kind of, really skip the, this, this mania
of just over sharing, because you're
going to get lost in the static! Focus on
really refining you know, then I'm
approaching this less. I mean I guess
partly creative, creatively, but more
professionally. If that's what people are
interested in, but in order to define or
grow. Spend more time on figuring out
what it is you want to contribute,
because the whole..Do it more
consistently! You don't have to do it..
Consistency doesn't necessarily mean
very often, it just you can do it once a
week, or once a month, as long as it's
consistent. But make sure that there is
some sort of a thread, a common thread
that goes from one share to another. I
mean the whole the whole kind of point,
the lifecycle of a photo, of creation, is
to share I don't know anyone who creates
to kind of keep it to themselves, and so
if you're going to do that,
put some intent to it, you know, make sure
that there's some sort of intent. Well
let me understand what, why you created
it! I'm just like
here's another pretty sunset. That, it
just, it, there are too many, just kind of
beautiful, I call them like empty calorie
shots. Just like sugar free, and, and it's
just that's what it is like, great, that's
a great photo! Beautiful, but why should I
care, yeah! And so you have to be able
to, you have to be able to provide
that answer, or at least allow the viewer
to figure that answer out! Awesome! all
right, where can people go to find out
more about you? Just my my website is
Matiash.com. So that's spell that! Yeah ok
yeah actually, it's funny cuz again
with Matt, Matts show where he has MattK.com
I went and tried to get BrianM.com
so I well, I put a bid in! Ok! But it's
Matias.. M A T I A S H.com.
I'm trying! A thousand bucks I bid!
OK! good luck.
Thanks!
Thank you so much Brian for that
very well worded explanation, of why you
want to separate yourself out from other
image-makers.
Check us out here next time
on AdoramaTV and do not forget
you can subscribe and also see
everything else
that AdoramaTV has to offer