We recently connected with Brandon Fox and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.

Without question, the best boss I’ve ever had has to be my first one. Her name is Barbara, and my first job was being a sales associate at RadioShack. I was fresh out of high school, going to school part time, and was eager to begin my career. As someone new to the work force, and being an individual on the spectrum, some days were definitely challenging for me. Instead of being abrasive or dismissive to said challenges, she took the time to learn my quirks, and even found some solutions to problems I’d have in the store. Mind you, her background, like mine, was in computers, so we naturally clicked from the moment she interviewed me. But having a boss to give me the time of day, despite not being the easiest to initially train, was the best career launch I could’ve asked for.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In 2011, I inherited my aunt’s DSLR after she had suddenly passed away. Having a background in computers and loving drawing from a young age, photography was a way I felt I could combine the two. Fast forward to 2022, I made the plunge and purchased my Nikon Z7 II and a starter lens. In terms of my style, I would say one thing that sets it apart is how sharp, vibrant, and colorful my portraits are. To me, it helps them stand out in a digital age where we see countless images a day on our screens. Although, as of this writing, I primarily specialize in event photography, in which I focus more on my delivery times. Even for weddings, my turnaround time is often around the 24 hour mark, which is unheard of for most of my competitors. We’ve all heard stories from family or friends about wedding albums that took weeks, if not months to deliver. I’ve tried to become the one to bend the status quo on saying that they don’t always have to take that long. As a result, my slogan has officially become “capture it today, relive it tomorrow.”

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

With any business venture, 99% of the time, the sentiment is that it’s going to get harder before it gets easier. I don’t come from money, so every dime I’ve spent so far on my business has come out of my own pocket. At the risk of sounding like I’m glorifying the grind, having a full-time day job on top of doing photography has made it common for me to go weeks without taking a day off. It can and will get easier after a while if you hustle, but you have to put in the work. There are no shortcuts. But in terms of resilience, the catch is that every business and situation is unique, so there is no concrete answer of when you’ll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In all of self-employment, the highs and lows can be sporadic and at times, unforgiving. I have days where I book large events that give me sighs of relief on getting ahead with expenses. Conversely, I recently had a day where I had two cancellations in the span of an hour. Ultimately, It helps to look back and remind yourself of how much you’ve progressed in a given time on rough days. You can tell yourself “hey, you’re better off than you were a year ago, so just picture how it’ll be in another year from now. Keep going!”

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Never underestimate the power of networking. Last December, I joined a local networking group in my community. Like a lot of business expenses, it’s an investment in itself: it does require a chunk of change to sign up, you have to speak in front of people, and it meets once a week. Statistically, many prospects won’t want to make the commitment as a result. But the old adage of “you have to spend money to make money” still rings true. Fast forward a few months to the present day, it has absolutely been worth the investment for both my professional and personal life. But I did have to stick with it; getting business from there didn’t start happening after my first visit. So the takeaway is, while networking is important, it’s even more important to remember that like anything else, it takes time and energy to nourish it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brandonfoxphotos.com
• Instagram: brandonfoxphotos

Image Credits

Personal headshot taken by Marcus Moreno. All photographs taken by Brandon Fox.