14 Jan December Was A Doozy!
Organized chaos was the theme of December. The business is going gangbusters (both on the personal and commercial side of photography), Alice and I just tied the knot in Hawaii and are quickly approaching our January local reception. Oh, you didn’t think I was done, did you? Yep, as if that’s not enough on the plate, we are in the middle of closing on our first home purchase. What is usually perceived to be the trifecta of stress – running a biz, getting married (and all that goes with it), and buying a house – has actually been a joy. I mean it, it really isn’t as stressful as it should be, at least from what I hear on all fronts (biz, marriage, and home buying). Sure, it’s inescapable to have a little hiccup here and there, but when you consider tossing all these things into a blender at the same time and coming out the other side feeling like everything is business as usual… well, it kinda freaks me out (in a very good way). I can credit much of this to Alice, she’s always there to help and does more than she should. One other person I need to mention is a feller that I’ve subtly hinted at for the last month or so, and you may have even noticed a new name headlining in the staff section of the website – Scott.
Scott walked into the studio, and ultimately my life, last Spring. He was a man on a multi-part mission – to inquire about family photos, but also had questions about the photography field. So, we talked about his possible family photos and then we geeked-out on photography lighting, I answered some questions and demonstrated with some gear and he was on his way. Until a couple days later, Scott walked into the studio with more questions about family photos and photography. And the week after. Soon it was one of those things that felt odd if Scott didn’t stop by within the span of a week. We put together a fun shoot for his family photos and had a great time making those. But with the family shots out of the way, Scott just wouldn’t go away (I say that playfully). Even with a couple years of shooting experience, he was hungry for photo knowledge and improving, plus he liked hanging out in the studio (I enjoyed his company and convos as well). We’d talk for hours, and as I got to know Scott better, both as a person and a photographer, I started thinking. Last Summer, I hosted a couple local meetups for the Tacoma area photographers to take part in, strictly just for fun events. Guess who was there, every time? Scott impressed me, both as a person and with some of the work he created with a camera during those events.
Cute kids enjoying cute photos of their cute faces.
Matty Photography’s momentum in gaining new commercial and portrait clients has been increasing steadily. From month-to-month you could see it. I knew before long I’d have to bring another shooter on to keep that snowball a’growin’. Spending 10 years growing a business makes it a very personal thing. It’s my baby. A lot goes with that and all of the brand and business image (literally, being a photo biz). I knew I had to think about bringing in someone new but I didn’t want to. How do you trust everything you’ve spent so long building in someone else’s hands, the business that has your name stamped on it? The answer walked himself into my studio week after week, with the sole desire to make better photos that day than the day before. His shoot style very in-line with my own and always trying to make dynamic work. Well, at this point, Scott and I had dozens of hours clocked just from our chats at the studio. A business relationship had formed and neither one of us knew it. It was so natural it was freaky. Alice felt the same way about Scott as I did. So, one day Scott walks in for a chat and walks out as a Matty shooter. End of story, and I couldn’t feel better about the decision.
Gettin’ our GoPro-on shooting Hawaiian sunset portraits.
All the stars aligned just perfect for Scott and myself to make the transition and timing work. A few months of getting up to speed assisting on shoots, and all of the other gazillion tasks we do running the studio, Scott was running his own shoots. Oh, and that wedding Alice and I had, Scott shot it all. We had a couple pretty funny moments interacting with clients leading up to the wedding. They’d often go, “Matt, man I hate to be the guy who has to shoot your wedding!” Scott would be standing right there and he say something like, “Yeah, I know, that’d suck.” In fact, I think Scott made the same comment before he got the news, and I replied with, “you’re shooting my wedding.” I’d be surprised if Scott didn’t walk out that day with his pants full of enough bricks to build a house. Poor guy.
The wedding events were amazing, Scott was there to capture them all, and we are excited to share the photos at our local reception with family and friends. I’m sure a few Hawaiian photos and stories will make their way to the blog soon.
Ooo, I know, you want to see the photos SO bad!
2014 has come and gone, with 2015 marching sprinting right along. Craziness. January and February are already full of fantastic shooting adventures booked, some taking us on planes to warm places. I can’t wait to share them with you. Speaking of sharing, you’d think I was practically out of business judging by the sparse number of blog posts from the 2014 year. I assure you it’s quite the opposite, not having the time to write nor update the portfolios. It’s on the laundry list. I’ll see you guys next time we come up for air!
New Sheriff in town.