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

Gregory, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I really got into photography in high school. It was an after school elective class in the late night program. I sold my first photo that spring at the berkley art show. Prior to the class I actually bought my first camera from the pawn shop because of a 35mm film shoot I seen in a book.

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 actually got my start in photography in college. I started working for my college newspaper at Wayne State University as a freelance photographer taking photos of events on campus.

For me the most important thing was always staying true to my craft. I always felt like it was easy to stay disciplined because I truly did just want to create the best quality art that I could. Every photo I take and put into the world is a representation of me. With that being said my number one point of discipline was always just making sure I was producing work that was respectable because respect is so important in art.

I feel like a lot of things separate me from other photographers. For starters i really appreciate the art of photography. A lot of photographers today only take pictures to make money. They don’t learn the art, they don’t put in the work to actually be an artist they just take pictures. I love lighting and colors and putting them together for a beautiful image. The process of freezing that perfect moment in time is really hard and precise when you do it right. And a lot of photographers just don’t know how to do it

The thing I’m the most proud of honestly is my team. I feel like alot of the things I do would never be possible without them. I understand I am the primary photographer but really Chris, Kei, Eli and even Kyle sometimes are what truly brings everything together. Without them there wouldn’t be high quality shooters representing the Camera Gods.

Vogue would have to be my biggest accomplishment in photography. I feel like no one really gets to be broadcasted in that way as photographers unless they truly are great.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Honestly, I think it was my relationships within the city. Most photographers are great but they lack the connections they need to succeed. Luckily for me I had people like J Neely and Joey Zasa behind me so I was shooting all the top their people that were coming to Detroit. It got to a point where whenever it was a celebrity coming to Detroit I was the first call. After that I was just out every single weekend working. People always want to sleep on the work aspect of everything when really that’s all it was. I outworked every photographer around me and provided the best quality until it just made sense to book with me.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

This may sound crazy at first but MONEY IS MORALE! When you are managing a team you have to realize that you have a. bunch of personalities and egos and mindsets. But they all have one thing in common, they want money. Nobody comes to work for free in this industry so if you can provide the work then your team won’t be as motivated. You can’t count on anybody when they are struggling. So as the owner or manager you have to see what you really can do to bring more money to the table even if that’s giving up a higher percentage of your own revenue to compensate your team more.

Contact Info:

• Website: detroitcameragods.com
• Instagram: @That_Onehooper

Image Credits
1.) Neisha Neshae 2.) Kaiya “Dj K Dirty” Montague 3.) Doughboy Kid HBK 4.) Kem 5.) Kairo Samir Hopkins 6.) Cuban Link 7.) Shayla Woodard 8.) Boosie