We were lucky to catch up with Drew Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Drew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How has Covid changed your business model?

Covid is directly responsible for the business model of Cullen Studios in that the company was conceived of during quarantine. I was part of the so-called “Big Resignation.” I realized that I was either destined or seemingly doomed to work in toxic environments unless I made big steps to try and change that trajectory. You have to pull yourself out, and it isn’t easy. Sometimes it is necessary though.

This is in no way a dismissal or simple wave of the hand regarding covid, as it has affected life as we know it from here on out and many lost life as they knew it. However, if there was one silver lining to the endless wave of problems covid dumped on us all, it’s that it forced a great number of people to stop and think. The abject terror that covid presented made many of us question reality and reevaluate what is important in life. We really rearrange that hierarchy of wants and needs. At the top of that list sits family, physical health, mental health, food, shelter, and finances.

Work directly affects all of those factors. Many of us didn’t want to be stuck working for something that held no meaning to us and/or actively made life miserable. And when you’re miserable, you bring those around you down too. A friend of mine put it simply and best, “If the job didn’t bring you joy then what’s the point.” He also said, “We’re all miserable anyway, so you might as well do what you like.” Depending on your flavor, take or leave either one or both of those statements.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hey there, my name is Drew Cullen Miller and I own and operate Cullen Studios. We offer various services including photography, video work, video editing, and audio services. Our main focus is commercial and travel photography and videography. With over a decade of experience in all of the above categories, we work with clients and brands to bring their unique visions and turn them into distinctive creations.
In the photo and video world, there are trends that become almost all-encompassing. This is not to say that these trends are good or that they are bad. Trends become trends for endless reasons. As we all know, trends get played out very easily. Copies become simulacrums and eventually caricatures of their own selves, on repeat. We grow used to a certain style and come to expect it. This ongoing cycle can both heighten and lowers the bar of standards. Classics notwithstanding, in the end, the subject being focused on becomes boring, and boring becomes cliche and we all wait to stare at our phones for the next best thing in fashion and culture.

Here’s an example in a broad sense. In 2010, David Fincher’s movie “Social Network” came out. The trailer for this movie has a cover of Radiohead’s song “Creep,” sung by Scala and Kolacny Brothers, a little-known Belgian women’s choir. At the time, this was as revolutionary as the way Fincher directs. This trailer led to a million copycats over the last 12 years. Since that time, almost every single popular song in existence has been covered, re-orchestrated, amped up to a million, and put into a movie trailer. The formula is old and stale. It’s what we expect. It’s done to a point where it has become cringe-inducing.

At Cullen Studios, we feel that the same happens with the various ways stylization is used within the video and photography world. Of course, we all want to be different and unique but can’t help but lean into trends whether we know it or not. The wheel is already perfect, so there is no need to reinvent it. However, at the bare minimum Cullen Studios strives to point out these trends to ourselves before working on a project in order to properly navigate the field. Our ultimate goal is to work alongside clients to create something new and different to view and experience. It doesn’t have to be extreme, but it should feel different.

This isn’t to say that we won’t engage with current trends, because at times we absolutely do and will, but we don’t want that to become our ethos. We also are aware that what we do may not be for everyone. What we do is directly informed by our cinematic influences. So, this makes for a different kind of photo or method of attack if left to our own devices. However, we want everyone to have this different stylistic option. We want our products to stay both relevant for the now and to be timeless in the future. It sounds like a lofty goal, but it is defiantly achievable.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Cullen Studios was born out of a side hustle. Although it is our main hustle now, it took many years to get to a launching point. The fact that I am sitting here talking about my photography career is wild to me. I never thought that I would be in this position.

You can hear my story in a million other photographers’ stories for sure. However, I feel like it is important to share these accounts because these are the blueprints that I would actively search for, read, and listen to when I was just starting. They helped immensely.

Growing up there was always a camera around at the house. I was fortunate enough to be familiar with them from an early age. It took years for me to realize the difference between snapshots and photography. I have been taking snapshots my entire life. No framing, no composition, just a literal snap. This is different from photos, which are composed in some capacity. I didn’t know how to take those until high school when I studied photography for the first time. Two interests running concurrent to photography were movie making and recording audio. I would record band practices and other projects during the day on weekends and then would spend those evenings watching movies with all the different commentaries on. Film and Cinema became one of my majors in college.

Even though I studied these subjects independently and academically, I never got a degree in any of them. Instead, I changed my major 5 more times all the while working odd jobs such as construction, retail, paralegal, food and beverage, student affairs at a local college, and bartending at a resort. Despite changing my majors as often as I had to change jobs, photography stayed constant.

During this era, I did enough photography to stay interested, but I never thought that it could become something more. The summer after graduating college I went backpacking throughout Ireland. This trip changed the game completely. I grew to become obsessed with taking pictures of anything and everything. The magic of being somewhere foreign spurred such an interest that it stuck when I got home stateside. I wanted everyone to see what I saw. As pretentious as it sounds, once you open up that camera eye it is really hard to shut it.

One night after my trip I was working at an event hosted by a major corporation. There was a young lady with a camera. I asked her how she got hired by them and she told me that she was actually a freelancer. I have never really met one in the wild before so I picked her brain for a few hours. A key takeaway from the conversation was that I would have to make a leap of faith and go all in one day if that’s what I wanted to do. It all started to click over a few weeks, and I decided to start shooting anything and everything that I possibly could.

Fast forward to quarantine. Ruminating during the pandemic made me realize that while I had been taking pictures of friends for a small fee, I had never received compensation for the pictures I took at any place of work. I had been doing myself dirty for years. Upper management would find out I took pictures, get me to do a project, get it done, submit it, then get a pat on the back. I assumed that this would help me keep in good graces with my employer. It did, but at what cost? I got nothing out of it and they got promotional material. I also did gig exposure gigs. If exposure paid the bills I would have been in a good place. That was not the way.

I eventually came face to face with a major crossroads. I was so burnt out on my job and lifestyle that I had to make a decision. Was I going to figuratively shovel dirt for a company that had no room for growth, a company where I was replaceable all while continuing to be depressed about the situation, or quit and start my own business?

With the support of my family and wife, I slowly started creating a business model from the ground up during off hours. Then the tipping point came. I was getting busy enough with my photography and video work that I did not have time for my other jobs. It was terrifying. I decided to be OK with being bad at something for some time. These choices have been some of the best ones that I have made in my life.

In 2021 I decided to formally create a business. Now in 2022, photography has become my main source of income.

So if anyone out there happens to be reading this and is on the fence about making that leap, trust that you have to jump at some point. The task is daunting and will create unease. But that passes, like all unwelcome and weird feelings and situations life hurdles at us. It all becomes exciting and fulfilling. If I can do it, then so can you. The only person that can do it for you, is you. Have some faith in yourself. It’s worth it.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

It is my belief that you have to take care of your people. Sometimes someone you love will come asking for assistance. Sometimes you have to know when to help someone when they won’t ask for it. While you extend help to family and friends, it shouldn’t end there. Since your business is an extension of you, you need to treat clients with the same amount of gratitude.

Clients are coming to businesses like ours with specific needs and wants. Anticipating these needs and wants of a client during projects is a surefire way to gain brand loyalty. Get to know them and you can figure it out with patience and practice.

Another method is to be kind. It is so simple. I have worked with some nightmare videographers and photographers, and it makes for a negative and unwanted situation. I would view the work and be put off, no matter how good the quality was. The times that I have worked with people that made for a warm and inviting environment are the ones that I still stay in touch with. The same applies to the people using the services of your business.

You have to remember that what you are creating is something that they potentially will view for the rest of their lives. Sometimes they look at these pictures daily. The idea of that is pretty heavy. If they had a bad experience with you then that’s what they will remember. Plain and simple. This adds a whole dimension of negativity and that is not cool.

The thing of the utmost importance to me is being honest with clients. You can’t get anywhere without it. You have to be open about your limits. I’ve had to decline certain requests because they were outside of my abilities. Instead, I give them something else to work with and it usually is just fine. I have had to turn down gigs in the past because I didn’t feel like it was a good fit. Sometimes it’s a simple matter of scheduling, sometimes it’s because the subject matter is something that I am not good at working with yet. Each and every time I would directly refer them to another photographer or business. It didn’t matter that I was out a few bucks, I was able to build a relationship of trust. Trust is what builds relationships. Telling a client no without a potential solution for them is the same as shutting them down. Nobody likes to be shut down.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cullenstudios.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cullenstudios
• Facebook: facebook.com/cullenstudiosmedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cullenstudios/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/cullenstudios

Image Credits
All images were taken and are owned by Drew Cullen Miller and Cullen Studios.