We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Chang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Matthew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school

Going into my freshman year of college at Texas A&M, I went to a camp for incoming freshman called Fish Camp. At the end of the camp, I remember one of the leaders left us with a piece of advice that has stuck with me for the past 4 years. “Never eat a meal alone.” Meals are special to the human race. Everyone has to eat at some point, and a shared meal allows you to get to know someone on a deeper level.

*Never* eating alone might be a stretch, but I took my leader’s advice and made an effort to eat and schedule meals with people even when I could have eaten alone. I caught up with old friends and got closer to my family and roommates. When I didn’t have someone to eat with, I would go to one of the on-campus dining halls and meet someone who was sitting by themselves. At first, this was very out of my comfort zone, but I will never regret the community I found through these meals.

A&M is one of the biggest colleges in the nation, with over 70,000 current students, and it can be easy to feel like a number. However, to me, A&M felt like family. Eating together is so much more than sharing a meal. You are sharing life with each other. At the root of it, it’s about community and reminding others that they are seen and loved.

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.

I am currently a computer science student at Texas A&M, and my business is landscape and portrait photography.

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a passion for the outdoors. I grew up in Cypress, a suburb of Houston, Texas, which is not especially known for its scenery. However, I fondly remember many moments riding my bike around town with my friends, bushwhacking through the forest to our “secret hideout,” or playing in the creeks and bayous serving Houston’s sewage and drainage system. It wasn’t the Swiss Alps or Niagara Falls, but I didn’t care. I saw beauty in the little things, which would help me to appreciate the bigger things later in life. In the 3rd grade, I visited Yosemite National Park and fell in love with our public lands. I made it a point to travel as much as possible and explore the world around me.

I first started photography with my dad’s Canon DSLR, which is as old as I am (20 y/o). It did the job, but it lagged decades behind the quickly advancing camera industry. Nevertheless, it had the manual capabilities required for me to learn and master the art of shooting landscapes. Then, in the 10th grade, I was given a brand-new Nikon D3400 DSLR. I started road tripping around Texas and much of the Southern US in high school and college with my friends. I deeply researched and explored locations that fell below the average traveler’s radar and brought back images that amazed my friends and the Instagram community. I think that my favorite compliment to hear is, “Wow, I didn’t know Texas was so beautiful.”

My landscape pictures form a large part of my brand, and I do offer my landscape pictures for purchase. However, the bulk of my business comes my portrait photography. In college, I have been doing portrait sessions for graduating clients as well as for several organizations at Texas A&M. Portraits bring out someone’s personality and tell a story, and it is my joy to help tell someone’s college stories through photographs.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think that one of things that has taken me furthest in my market is just simply being kind to others. People don’t come to me because I take the best pictures on the market. They know me as a person first, and then as a photographer. Working well with people, being flexible, and treating others with respect has helped me get customers through word-of-mouth. My clients come to me knowing that they will have a good experience and that I will do my best to meet their needs.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media is tough. The algorithms are weird. I’ve had countless unexpected successes and failures, which has led me to believe that there’s a bit of luck involved. However, not all hope is lost. The first piece of advice that comes to mind is to know your super power. Everybody has something beautiful to offer to the world. Know what people are looking for that you can offer better than anyone else and portray it on social media. Be so interesting that you spark discussions about your business. Get bigger names like CanvasRebel talking about your business. For me, my breakthrough was in landscape photography. People see the same scenes on social media from Yosemite or Washington State and it’s hard to differentiate. But what if I went to these same places and came back with something fresh? Or better yet, what if I showed that my home state of Texas is just as beautiful in its own way? I showcased Texas in a different way than it has been portrayed before, drawing in Texans and wannabe-Texans alike. What sets me apart from other influencers is my adventurous spirit combined with my knack for photography, and that is reflected in my social media presence.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moun10man/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewchang23/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRqstxd2bv_pi3gIz8ESifA

Image Credits
Matthew Chang