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

Hi Darren, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

One of the things the things the bothers me with Corporate America is constant push for what’s next. Don’t get me wrong I think expanding and learning and looking for what’s next is extremely important and needed but the attention span and drive to not let consumer or average person dive into learn and see what’s good for them is a big issue. Being bombarded with quick hits and flashy lights before moving onto something new before one can even grasp what they were just given is not a good thing. I think the public would and needs more substance over show.

Darren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Darren Hauck and I am a freelance photographer who mainly works in portraiture, and visual storytelling for both personal work as well as for my commercial assignments. After graduating with a bfa in photography from the milwaukee institute of art and design, I spent the following years dedicating my life to documenting the human condition as well photographing the beauty and complexity of everyday life in a authentic and honest perspective. This journey took me all over the world allowing me to live with others and try and tell their story the best I could to try and bring some kind of insight or awareness to the subjects situation. Besides working for editorial and commercial clients I continue to photograph work for myself that is the main inspiration for my creativity and expression. I am continuously photographing themes that deal with time, place and memory that for me help me deal with aging and loss.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My career started out in the documentary and photojournalism world right out of school. For the first 10-15 years I worked tirelessly covering social issues in the United States for all the major publications as well as worked on long term stories covering the effects and damaged caused by corruption, drugs and violence in Central America. But as the years went on and the mental wear and tear took hold for what seemingly was an uphill battle for the general public to truly take notice and care, I needed a change. I spent so much time photographing people who trusted me with their stories and allowing me to witness some of their darkest moments hoping it could help and bring change I just could not do it anymore. So I started to take my true life authentic vision and move to more traditional portraiture and commercial work that could benefit from an authentic perspective. This was not easy at first but luckily I had friends who were willing to truly help and guide me to make this transition happen. While still working in the photojournalistic world I also started assisting in the commercial world to truly start over and learn from the ground up. It took a number of years but in the end the paid dues started to work. Its never easy to switch paths after 15 years of working hard to get to where I was but mentally I could not keep going where I was.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

One of the biggest things I think people need to know is not everything a creative person does is a “billable” hour or a sit down at a dest ay of problem solving. I think a lot of people think you have to be tied to a desk or a computer to be getting work done or problem solving. I spend a lot of time riding my bike and these hours on a bike or time by myself are where most of my ideas or answers come from, I can’t be strapped down to a location or spot and be able to probe solve. To me being outside experiencing life is far more productive then any office could be and people really need to understand that not even for creatives but most people need to be set free to truly understand and come up with a plan for what they are tasked with. Its good to be around and interact with others but as well one should feel free and not judged or rushed if they need to step away to think.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dhauckphoto.com
• Instagram: @dhauckphoto
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/darren-hauck-3b340720a