Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brett Bartlett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Brett thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I have had a variety of projects throughout my career, and the ones that bring the most reward and meaning for me are passion projects. These types of projects allow me to act as the artistic director which I truly enjoy. The project that stood out to me the most was my self portrait series. I began this project during the covid glory days, and it forced me to rethink how I viewed images in my photography business as well as how I viewed myself. We all vividly remember how covid forced us into restricted interactions with family, friends, and even strangers. That disconnect was particularly heavy for me since I value human connection so highly. I looked for an opportunity on the internet to stay connected and began a photo project that involved me submitting one photo per week for the duration of 2020. My intent was to plan every shoot around a self portrait idea. It pushed me into self-reflection and ended up being meaningful for me on a personal level because it reflected artistically how I was feeling during a pivotal time in everyone’s life. In the end I realized where i needed growth spiritually, and from a photography stand point my creativity was reignited.

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?

I have had an interesting journey in photography. Like most photographers, it began as a hobby in my early days and then other interests took over. Fast forward many years, I offered to help out my CrossFit gym during an event because they didn’t know how to work their camera. Well, everyone was so impressed with the results that they asked for video as well. At this point I brought in a friend to help, and I learned video editing as we started working together combining our experiences to shoot for area CrossFit gyms and then as contractors for the company. Upon completion of our contract, I was burned out on photography. It no longer excited me. I took a few years off to focus on family. The itch came back, but I needed a new challenge. This where I picked up the camera and asked myself how can I make a picture tell a story, while simultaneously capturing the energy of a person. From that point I started focusing my photography on portraits, families, couples, lifestyles and fashion. Now I work with each client to create an experience. I found that it’s not easy to just take a photo. The work is in capturing or creating energy. My goal is to create energy, make people laugh, or even pose for the client. What I am most proud of when it comes to my work is how it lights up my day when I am taking pictures. Friends and family will tell me how my demeanor changes for the better when I begin working on a session with my clients.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As I started back into photography, I sought out other experienced photographers for mentoring opportunities. I found one photographer whose work I really enjoyed and he was offering to mentor. As I was learning, he mentioned about how to evoke emotions in your clients. He told me to ask the client to remember a significant time in their life and it seemed to work. That mentorship did not last long, so I continued to look for growth opportunities where I found another photographer who I began to work with. During one of our shoots, I started to use that technique I learned and after he saw me use it he asked me about it. Upon talking further he pointed out that the minute I asked them to remember a time, or think about a time I was losing my client in thought and missing the moment. He expressed that its more versatile to ask for an expression, a look, strike causal conversation and learn about your client. Draw from that conversation to evoke the emotion. I found this newer technique to be priceless and more beneficial so instead of asking someone to reflect on time where they felt like a lion and now act that out, I just say to them, ok your’e a lion, roar!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I have found a handful of new clients through social media, but most of my clients come from connections I have fostered with previous and ongoing clients. Word of mouth is big for me along with networking. So, I take all those opportunities to put myself out there and continue to connect with people. Social media for me is the platform for my clients to see my ongoing projects and shared news and allow potential clients to learn a little more about me on a personal level.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bretthowephoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bretth_bphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bretthowephotography/

Image Credits
All images shot by myself