We were lucky to catch up with Brad Cato recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brad, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
Photography has always been a hobby of mine, and I decided when I got my first job I will buy my first professional camera and do a photography course. The industry that I worked in was closing the power station I worked at and I know I would be out of a job for a while, so I taught it would have been the perfect time to make my photography hobby a business because everyone needs a photographer for some special celebration of their life.
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
From a very young age I remembered my mom had a camera and she would always take our photos and capture the different chapters of my siblings lives. eg. Birthdays, First day of elementary school, first communion, etc. As photography was always a hobby for me I tried to capture a little of every type of photography which include: landscape, nature, wildlife, sport, motor sport, street, and lifestyle. As social media platforms like Instagram becoming more popular I decide that I can turn my hobby into a business and make money for this hobby I love. I decided to create more lifestyle and portraits because everyone is always sharing their images and special celebration on social media. I remember before I became comfortable creating images for clients I attended workshops to m=home me be more confident with my camera in my hand. I remember attending a workshops in New York with two of my fave photographers, and I have gotten clients because of the people I created images with. I found it so mind-blowing that someone wanted me to take their images because they loved the work I did with a model they liked.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I really like this question. I have a lot of goals for myself as a photographer, one of my goals is to become a brand ambassador for Nikon. I like to describe myself as a loyal individual and I feel the same way when it comes to my camera brand. I started with Nikon and as of no I refused to switch to another brand, to me Nikon make learning photography so easy for me. I also love that if you have old Nikon lenses they can also work with new Nikon camera because the mounts remained the same. Let me give you an example I have a Nikon D750 and last year I decided to start back shooting film, all my lenses for my Nikon D750 would perfect with m Nikon F100. So as I continue on my photography journey I would like to continue with the Nikon brand, I will stay humble and I’m certain that someone from Nikon will see the work I have been putting in with their brand.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I would definitely say being honest and staying true to myself. I always create a safe and comfortable space for my clients whether we are shooting in a studio, park, on the street, or even underground in the subways. Wherever the location my clients must always feel safe, at the end of the day all I have is my brand to protect, and I worked too hard to build my name and brand to loose it in the blink of the eye. As simple as it my look I still ask my clients for feedback at the end of photoshoots, I’m always working and trying to improve and I do take their feedback into consideration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bradcatophoto.wixsite.com/bcphoto
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/braddie22/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/braddie22
- Other: https://bradcatophoto.wixsite.com/bcphoto/blog