We recently connected with Brian Ellithorpe and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

I work in different industries, vastly different to be honest, but the common denominator is that the short form videos are in high demand and pushed by all major social media platforms. In the waterfowl industry, the amount of videographers is not as high as other industries, but the need for reaching potential customers is in demand which creates the opportunity for creatives to get a lot of work. When I decided to start focusing on Reels, I noticed the inquiries jump quickly, and has allowed me to book work with industry professionals for this upcoming fall/winter for clients to use for marketing on social media.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Brian Ellithorpe, owner and freelance photographer/videographer with Brian Ellithorpe Media, LLC. My two main focuses are in the waterfowl hunting industry and weddings, both for photo and video work. The passion started with purchasing a cheap DSLR camera to capture ducks in my pond, and then the bug bite me and I went into the YouTube rabbit hole learning everything I could about the exposure triangle, editing in Lightroom, different lenses, etc. and then it transitioned into video learning about the 180 degree rule, applying the same photo fundamentals to video and tackling editing in DaVinci Resolve.

Then had the opportunity to film my first wedding and the business skyrocketed from there, doing 15-20 weddings a year with other commercial and portrait work. I focus on this most of the year until waterfowl hunting season and then continuing my work with Tanglefree Waterfowl, RNT-V and more brands and local guides producing content for marketing as well as my own content for the Too Many Hobbies YouTube channel.

I think what sets me apart from most creators and freelancers is the ability to change and cover so many different genres of industry, a jack of all trades sort of approach and it’s done well for me. I can take the skills I’ve learned in the chaos of weddings and apply it to filming an RNT-V hunting episode when things get crazy, but be able to capture everything needed and remain calm. I’m proud of the fact that I deliver high quality photos and video to clients, no matter the ask, and retain clients year after year as well as broaden my horizons with even more opportunities in different industries.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

There’s a lot of people who buy a camera assuming it is going to produce the incredible photos they see on Instagram and magazines, while that is technically true, there’s a lot more to a photo than what you see on the back of the camera. The learning curve of proper exposure and editing tools is what eventually breaks people from continuing their creative journey, but once you learn the ropes it becomes second nature, so keep learning and watching tutorials.

When I first bought my camera, everything was dark/bland/overexposed and I couldn’t understand how the photos I see in magazines weren’t what I was seeing on my camera. Then I learned about Lightroom, and how to apply each slider to get a certain adjustment in my photo, how to properly expose in camera, how the angles I shoot my photos from affects the end product, and lastly, but most expensively, how lenses affect the photo with f stop, compression, etc.

As a creative you never stop learning, because you learn what doesn’t work in certain situations or what you could have done differently. But the main thing is to have fun while you’re doing it, if you’re having fun you’re willing to take more creative risks, and that’s when your work truly excels.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media audience grows as my skills improve, most recently I’ve seen it in the short form video side more specifically in filming waterfowl. I took the time to understand the right camera settings to ultimately edit vertical videos as high quality as I wanted before I would post anything short form. As I’ve refined the skill, it’s reflected in my short form content on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook with hundreds of thousands of views every month, even into the millions when the algorithm is in my favor. I have made the effort to capture content for short form videos and kept my posting consistent which has been a huge factor in the growth I’ve seen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brianellithorpemedia.com
• Instagram: @brianellithorpemedia
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/brianellithorpemedia
• Youtube: youtube.com/toomanyhobbies
• Other: TikTok: @brianellithorpe

Image Credits
All photos are by me