We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Demian Gordon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Demian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Photography learning comes in may forms. Practice, classes, learning from others, practical use and even more practice. For me it was going out and just shooting everything. From fallen leaves to architecture to people. Everyday is still a learning process. I read up on the advancement of photography, I mimic other creatives to learn new techniques and I go out and shoot to develop and hone my own skills.
Knowing what I know now of my craft, earlier on I would definitely reached out to other creatives to ask for advise, seek understanding of shooting styles and get best practices. Some people learn best from reading and putting it into use. Others need to discover it on their own. I need a splash of it all. Reading, practical use and getting it hands on. I now know that there is nothing that can stop you from your passion but you. Never stop learning and you’ll never stop growing.
There are many skills that are essential in photography and it depends on the type of photography that you shoot as well. But the most important is attention to details. No matter what you are shooting, you have to tell a story. Wither it is product shoot, you’ll need to sell the product in an intriguing way. Or portraits that need to paint the emotion of the eyes and capture the spirit of your model.
There were a few obstacles that stood in the way of me learning early on with photography. Some were self-inflicted others educational. When I was younger I was very introverted (still am but not as bad lol), so that limited me to only shooting nature and inanimate objects. I was terrified to shoot people and never knew how to pose them. But it was also a gift because it made me pay attention to details in my surroundings. Secondly was access to a camera. I was limited to using the high schools old film camera. And it was only when classes were in session. Digital cameras where only available to me when I went to a retail store and played with them for hours.
Demian, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello I am Demian Gordon from Demian Gordon photography. I got into photography because I love that you can capture an image and it still tells a story even thou it is a snippet of time. My father as well as my big brother are both accomplished photographers so it came nature that I was comfortable behind the camera.
I shoot a broad range of photography. From Head shots, portraits, boudoir and weddings to nature, sports and architecture. Being in front of the camera can be very stressful and uncomfortable. I make that process easy by bring the fun to our shoot and leaving the stress at home.
When you chose a photographer, you are trusting someone to capture the essence of your project. I take all my clients needs seriously and insure I capture moments for them. I believe that is the only way to do things. Giving them something to remember for years to come.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There are many good books and videos out there that can help you as photographer and business owner. The two resources that have been the most helpful to me are Creative Live website and the book Photography Business by James Carren.
Creative live has tutorials on photography, photo editing software to entrepreneurship. Beginner to very experienced videos created by industry leaders.
Photography Business by James Carren is a great book to help you figure out the inner side to creating photography business. It is short and to the point but full of knowledge.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
One of my 5 years goals it to become one of the premier wedding photographers in the Tampa Bay Area. It will take a lot of dedication, time, learning and advertising.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.demiangordonphotography.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/demgorphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/demiangordonphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demiangordon/
Image Credits
Olivia B – 5394 Priscilla Ramos – fashion Illia Mariah – 6288-46 Ashley Marie Tower – 0712 Dom Jones – 4562 Tarah – 3508 Dria Alexander – 5534 Kelli Vonshay – 9782