We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Barrington recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daniel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I first picked up a camera in early high school. It was a GoPro here 3 and my brother and I would run around making fun videos over the summer break. I soon realised just how much I loved editing and creating short videos that I tried to discover how I could make a living out of it. Drawing inspiration from content creators on social media, we strived to shoot content full-time. Some of the guys that I used to look up to, I now call my best mates and we work together in a content-creating group. It’s funny how life works.

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?

My name’s Daniel Barrington and I’m a lifestyle photographer and videographer from Perth, Western Australia. I was born and raised in the country and loved everything about it. The freedom to be creative in wide open spaces I think allowed me to open my mind to creativity.

I was given a GoPro for Christmas and my brother and I would make videos of what we would get up to over the summer school break. Whether it was mountain biking or swimming in the pool, we would film it all. I soon learnt that my best mate, Liam Fawell also enjoyed creating photo and video content and we haven’t looked back since. Learning from each other and diving into social media and trying to build a following and a career out of it. You’ve probably seen Liam’s videos more than mine, but it’s so cool looking back to where we started together in high school.

We really had an overwhelming passion for lifestyle, and travel content and that’s what we dived into. We always dreamed of being able to see the world and somehow make a living from it. On the side, I absolutely love shooting music and live events. There’s something about a music event that makes shooting so exciting. It’s not only having the opportunity to shoot some of the biggest artists in the world, but it’s the challenges that come with it. There are so many factors; artists’ movements, lights, and crowds. It’s just so epic when it all lines up perfectly for the shot.
I found a bit of a break when we discovered the potential of TikTok and Instagram reels and the mass audience you could potentially reach with the right video. It took so much time and trial and error to find the right recipe for the perfect video. But once we found it, we had an overwhelming response and we just tried to ride the wave while we could. Consistent posting and finding the right trending sound seemed to be the way to go. Not only has it presented epic brand opportunities, but we were able to meet so many people in our industry that we always looked up to. I think that’s the positive thing that social media presents. Possibly one of the most amazing opportunities that came up was an all-expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi. This was fresh after covid so we were a little nervous travelling but it was one of the most incredible experiences. It really opened our eyes to what opportunities could present themselves in the social media world.

To this day we’re still working alongside each other, travelling the world and having the best time. As well as four other best mates who used to be our inspirations in content creation. They’re still my inspirations to this day. We formed to make a group called the Calais Crew. With Liam, Jaxon Roberts, Zac White and Matthew Price, we saw a huge potential in coming together as one. All five of us have a social media audience so it makes it really attractive to brands. As well as specialising in different aspects of content creation. Short-form video, cinematic video and photography, we have it all. I think that’s why it works so well.
We somehow all accidentally moved into the same apartment complex on Calais Road on the coast of Perth. We have 4 out of the 16 apartments and we somehow turned the complex into a content-creating hub. It’s incredible to be surrounded by your best mates that are just as passionate as you. We can bounce ideas and thrive off each other’s enthusiasm, it’s a really beautiful setup. To be quite honest it’s kinda like the show Friends. We work on big campaigns together and we just released our first short film of our recent adventures in Hawaii. It’s something I’m by far the most proud of. We hosted an event to premiere our film and to see a live audience watching your film is possibly the most wonderful yet bizarre experience. Seeing their expressions while watching our movie is something I’ll never forget.

I’ve realised my passion sits with being able to work alongside my best mates which is where my direction in content creation is heading. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people is so crucial in this industry. It can feel a bit lonely when it’s not going so well and it’s important to be able to depend on your mates. It just helps when they happen to be in the same industry.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Hearing the impact we have on other people when we don’t realise it ourselves. The most beautiful thing is receiving messages of how someone decided to dive into content creation because they watched our videos really reminds us why we do it in the first place. Don’t get me wrong we absolutely love doing what we do, travelling and learning new experiences. But to know the impact we have on other people is really special. I think when you find a way to impact others, your work just becomes so much more rewarding. Sometimes we can forget the way we impact others and it’s nice to know that it can always be positive.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

SHORT-FORM CONTENT. The potential we have as creatives in this modern day is just insane. With the right persistence and skill, we can be reaching millions at the tip of our fingers. Find your style and post as much as you possibly can. Something that changed my perception of perfection vs consistency was realising that consistency creates more perfection. If you can make 10 videos in the time you make one, most likely the 10th video will be way better than the one you spent too much time editing. Don’t get me wrong you still want to be creating quality content. However, don’t get stuck on making the “perfect video”.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://danielbarrington.com/
• Instagram: @danielbarrrington
• TikTok: @danielbarrrington

Image Credits
Daniel Barrington