We recently connected with Haley Hunt Davis and have shared our conversation below.

Haley Hunt, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

Commercial photography and videography started with two very specific paths: print media and television commercials. Since social media’s overtake of our culture, the shift of what is considered advertising and what type of advertising works has changed tremendously. Whereas photographers used to be able to exclude themselves from motion advertising, the advent of Tiktok has changed that and now most commercial photographers must be multifaceted and delve into motion as well.

I have personally experienced the asks of companies going from glitzy 3 minute brand videos to 15-30 second “gritty or influencer feeling” videos but shot with nice cameras. So it’s not just that video is more pervasive, it’s also the type of video that’s evolving and quickly too!

Social media has also changed the speed with which companies need to churn out new content (both photo and video). So they’re often quickly launching new campaigns with seemingly less budget to allocate to each, but the same or greater asks.

The uptick in market embrace of AI is also quickly changing our industry in ways that are difficult to even describe as they are happening. It feels as if there are fewer jobs with more competition as some companies turn to AI for photography and forego the expense of a human touch.

We are definitely in a moment of big creative change in the commercial photography and video industry. I see it as an exciting time for personal innovation and as a way to challenge yourself, but I do think it is and will be trying for many. Honestly, this past year was incredibly slow and trying for me. Amongst all of these changes and I had many moments where I questioned if this was my correct path, but ultimately I can’t imagine myself loving anything as much as I love my career. I feel so deeply fulfilled when I am on set and seeing a creative vision come to life, and if I get to do that for the rest of my life I’ll be truly lucky. So at the end of the day, I’m on this roller coaster for the long haul.

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 Haley Hunt Davis a commercial food, beverage, and product photographer, videographer and creative director. My love for visuals started early in life when I became a photographer’s assistant in middle school and did my science fair project on shutter speed and lens aperture.

However, for most of my young life I was convinced I wanted to be a film and television actor, so I moved to California and studied Screen Acting in college, but by the time I graduated with that degree I was burned out on acting all together.

Thankfully at that time the rise of blogging was taking over, so I combined my love of food with my love of visuals and made a food blog. To my own surprise that blog became my career pretty quickly and I developed my skills shooting food behind the camera over the years. By the time blogging became “influencing” I knew that path wasn’t for me anymore, however I now had the visual skills now to dive into the commercial photography world and that’s exactly what I did.

So my path hasn’t been a traditional one for a photographer. I never formally studied photography in school. I’ve have taken plenty of one-off courses and learned by trial and error. I’ve developed my voice by endless exploration and been guided by an inner drive to creatively bloom. And in many ways I think this lack of formality is a superpower, it allows me to approach things open endedly as opposed to the “right way” or the way I was taught.

These days I work closely with brands and agencies of all sizes to develop and execute creative visions for advertising and marketing purposes. I find each day of my job an exciting challenge, and love that there’s always something new to learn and explore in my field. I think my visual eye and perspective is unique because I love to approach things in a new way and am always searching for the most exciting visual approach. I love the intersection of colorful, quirky and moody and like to describe my work that way.

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

As artists, or athletes, or really anyone, the idea of a flow state is highly sought after. The feeling of being exactly in the moment and perfectly aligned with your purpose. For me, I feel that when I am working on creative direction for a client that I’m excited about or on set with a great crew and collaborating closely with brand’s I’m excited about or even in the editing process. While I deeply love watching the final product go out into the world, for me the most rewarding moments of being an artist are the moments of pure flow state that happen in the process. I am lucky to have a job that provide me with those often.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran revolutionized how I think about time and time management and it’s a book I go back to often when I feel overwhelmed by life and my schedule. And Mind Magic by James R. Dorty taught me about the limiting beliefs of my mind and how to overcome them to manifest the life I want. I’d highly recommend both for any entrepreneur.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://haleyhuntdavis.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleyhuntdavis/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haley-hunt-davis/

Image Credits

Haley Hunt Davis