We recently connected with Matthew Payne and have shared our conversation below.

Matthew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? We’d love to hear the backstory the illustrates how you grew your brand.

My first camera was given to me as a Christmas gift. I had no idea at all about photography. I started taking pictures around DC and of my friends. A good friend of mine Reggie who is a promoter in DC one day asked me to take pictures at a party of his. That then became a weekly thing that led to more and more.

At that point I was learning more and more and was networking while in the clubs and parties. That led to me working with more parties and eventually all of the biggest clubs in DC.

I wanted to branch out of clubs and start doing portraits and one on one photoshoots. I asked a lot of people around the DC area if they’d let me do a photoshoot with them. Even said I’d do it for free just to get some experience. After so many no’s I got a couple of yes. I believe my 4th or so photoshoot was of a friend Dayon Greene. That photoshoot ended up in The Washington Post and was credited to me.

Once I moved to LA right after it was all about networking. Moving to the opposite side of the country with no business connections all I wanted to do was get my foot in the right doors. Once I got that, it was just proving myself and doing what I do best.

Matthew, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I fell into the photography career because it’s something I actually enjoy and love doing. From my friends posting my photos, from big brands having my photos on their social medias and websites, to celebrities posting my photos of them to millions of people around the world.

I enjoy the life that comes with it. Traveling to places I never thought I would all because people want me to capture moments for them.

One of my proudest moments was probably having my photo in The Washington Post or taking photos for Lebron James company Uninterrupted Film Festival and ESPYS party last year.

I think what sets my photos apart from other photographers is that I am genuinely an outgoing people person who can easily adapt to any crowd. I have fun with what I do and people around me can feel that. All of my photos I edit differently because every photo is not the same.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is honestly heavy networking. I talk to people I don’t know all of the time. I also work at a fine dining restaurant that I meet a lot of great clientele at. I always tell people you never know who is standing next to you when in a room. It’s Los Angeles. Everybody is somebody out here and if they’re not then they know somebody!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I think my social media has a lot of things that people either love or don’t care for. I’m very authentic and myself when it comes to posting. Yeah I post my photography but on my stories I love to show them my life outside of the work. My mom gives me a lot of backlash for it. Some friends too. I’ve honestly got a lot of clients from me being so raw and my stories looking so interesting. People love personality and I show it a lot on my social media. It can be work work work but I enjoy having fun when I’m working and when I’m not.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MyCameraReady.com
• Instagram: MyCameraReady