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

Adam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Memphis has given me incredible opportunities but going out of town, regardless of where, never fails to produce some of my favorite photos. I love that I get to bring my business with me anywhere in the world. There’s Kodak moments everywhere and getting a fresh perspective on a new destination usually sparks a wave of creativity in me. I feel like a fly on the wall going out alone and exploring a new city with my camera capturing moments that otherwise would pass. Being in one place all the time, you tend to get used to the surroundings and don’t think much of them over time. Visiting a new city, your senses are heightened; there’s new smells, different noises, but most importantly, different views. Whether it’s staying in Memphis and hitting Beale for some street photography or taking landscape photos in the snow capped mountains in Utah, the convenience of getting to bring my business with me anywhere never gets old.

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 a Palestinian-American living in Memphis with a love for capturing everyday moments! I like to think this career field fell in my hands. I never had any plans to work anywhere near cameras, in fact. In middle school, I went on my first flight in a small plane and fell in love. I worked up enough hours to get my license but my vision got worse and worse to the point my medical was revoked and flying was out of the picture for me. I enlisted in the Air National Guard at the end of high school and it took me all over the world. I set out to get my degree from the University of Memphis while enlisted and slowly fell in love with cameras. I got a job as a football film assistant in college for the university’s football team where I absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I networked with the players and began working with some after they graduated. Slowly building my portfolio which was mainly sports at this time. Through my travels with the Air Force, I developed a love for street photography. This was around 2017. Since then, I’m eternally grateful to have been able to branch out more and work with businesses, models, real estate agencies, professional athletes, international and local news agencies, and even city governments to capture compelling photos and tell their stories through my lens. Currently, I work as a photojournalist at a local station in Memphis capturing the daily news the city spits out daily. It’s shown parts of Memphis I never thought I would get to experience. It has taught me the power an image holds in history. My ultimate aspiration is to one day work for National Geographic or an international news agency like BBC or Al Jazeera. What I’m most proud of is my desire to stick to building my brand. A few years ago I started a website and purged my social media accounts to mainly showcase my work. I was afraid I would get burnt out. Quite the opposite. It has disciplined me to never be stagnant in my work. Constantly keeping up and exploring new ideas. One thing I want clients to understand about me is my work is my style and my style is my work. I love collaborating with clients to bring their vision to life. My photos and videos I showcase have my name and brand attached to it and I love that within this field, your business card is embedded in the work you put out there, something that I truly cherish!

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

Working on military cargo planes was my profession for over 7 years. Photography was always a hobby of mine up until towards the end of college. I began charging for my work and building my clientele. After graduating with a degree in communication, I accepted a job as a photographer at a local news station which is where I am today. I love working with cameras and capturing moments that most wouldn’t get the opportunity to. A personal milestone was seeing my footage on national news for the first time and recently seeing my photos displayed by the Associated Press. I’m hoping I can continue to build on this momentum as I navigate my career.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I’ve learned the best way to attract new clients is to constantly show my versatility in bringing any story to picture. Through my website, Facebook, Twitter, and mainly Instagram it’s important for me to put out all my work and be transparent with my work. My name and brand is attached to everything I put out there so it’s important to me to make sure it accurately depicts the type of work I do so clients get a better idea of what they’re getting. Not working solely with sports but also showing portrait shoots, large landscape prints, real estate, etc. If you can attract just one client in that niche field who wants work done, it’s a success. Seeing a photo or video float around social media that you shot for a client is like none other. A whole new audience is exposed to your work and exponentially over time you’re working with a whole new set of clientele while retaining the existing clients. Slowly charging more and more over time as your work gets more exposure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://meyati.squarespace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meyati_901
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/adam-itayem
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamitayem172