Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Byrd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Mark thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I’ve always wanted to make youtube videos growing up. I started at around 10. It was just a fun hobby and I grew out of it. Fast forward to my senior year in high school. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after, but I had a few ideas in mind. Photography and videography were very far fetched at the time. That was until on a random night hanging with friends I pulled my phone out and took a picture. In that moment everything felt surreal as if nothing else in the world mattered. It was something I never felt until that day. I looked for photo editing apps and stumbled upon Lightroom. The process of editing the picture gave me goosebumps and it was a such a thrill. I felt the joy I had making goofy youtube videos as a kid again. I immediately knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Mark Byrd a photographer and videographer based in Metro Detroit. I go by “Midasvswrld” for all of my art related work. I offer a variety of photography services from product shots, nature, portraits, and more. I have deep passion for film making and portraits specifically. I try to capture really candid and raw moments. I try to make my pictures feel “cinematic”. I try to do really high quality videos with various cinematic sequences. I have done look books, music videos, engagement photo’s, and many other paid gigs. This all came from me taking a risk in high school and skipping college to become an artist.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being in visual arts is that I get to document not only my own growth, but the growth of my peers as well. Taking a picture or video is one of the only ways to capture a moment forever and I get to provide to my clients and the world as well. I can relive all these moments I’ve documented for as long as I live.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Early into my journey I was making my first photography book. I was also making a documentary on the process of it coming together. Throughout the road I experienced may hardships. But the biggest one of all was the pandemic. It immediately halted all work I had on the project and although it wasn’t my fault. I felt like a complete failure and like I let everyone down. Going through that and not knowing if things would ever return led me to a long hiatus lasting even after the pandemic. I doubted myself and felt like giving up on photography and videography as a whole. I started to force myself to take my camera everywhere I went. As I started to take pictures again the ball started to roll. I was slowly falling in love with it once more. After my 2 year hiatus I had my most profitable year to date upon returning to my craft full time again.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Midasvswrld
• Facebook: Mark Byrd
• Twitter: Midasvswrld
• Youtube: Midasmeetswrld