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

Alright, Itraeu thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

Early on in my career, i went to MCTC, a local community college for photography. While I was there, one of the classes required us to seek out a possible internship with either a studio or under a local accomplished photographer. I managed to land an internship at a local gear rental/photo studio called Shelter Studios. This was possibly the best way to start my career in my opinion. I was able to learn a ton more about the gear while also putting it to the test (had to test each item before it went out). Coming into the industry I knew very little about lighting equipment, diffusers, different light mods there were, so being around this daily was a shock, due to the amount of stuff they had. During my summer there i had the opportunity to tag along on multiple sets, learning, watching, seeing how other photographers worked and with what kind of equipment they used. I also met a ton of local photographers who were on certain jobs where I would have to bring them gear but would also stop and pick their brains a little bit on their career and how they got to where they are now.

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

I started photography while I was in high school. My girlfriend at the time (now my wife and mother of our two amazing daughters) needed someone to take images of her wearing various clothing items and showcasing various products that brands would send to her. Having spent so much time with her, she asked if I could use her mother’s camera to take the pictures. Having absolutely no knowlegde of how the camera worked, i threw it in auto and let the camera figure out how to make it look nice. It wasn’t long after doing those first few shoots with here where I began to wonder what else there was to photography. So I then asked if I could borrow the camera for a few days and that’s where It all began. Taking random pictures of my animals, us on our random teenage outings and anything I found interesting really. I then started to wonder how far I could take this. Could I one day shoot for a larger brand? Could I open up my own studio? Can this be something I pass down to my future kids? who knows!?

At this point in my life I was working a full-time job while dabbling with photography here and there. While I was working I enrolled at a local community college called MCTC for their Photography and Digital imaging courses to really learn more about photography in a whole. There I landed an internship that opened up a ton of doors for me and eventually led me into a job that I had at studio where I met some individuals that truly felt like a family away from my family. In this industry, I’ve heard “it’s not about what you know but who you know” which has honestly been the tale of my whole career. Sure im still learning, as we all are, but the people I’ve met and learned from over the past 10 years have really shaped my life and career in a way that I can’t thank them enough.

Living in Minnesota (Minneapolis to be exact) it seems to be a product driven industry, however for me, I find more enjoyment in working with talent over product. Product photography has its own challenges and I’ve learned from being on plenty of sets as an assistant that they can be just as fun and as exciting as a shoot with talent. This all stems from my goals as for what and where I want to be with my career. I love seeing ad’s and various clothing drops from brands like Adidas, Nike, Gap, Ralph Lauren etc, and I always imaging myself working with a team like that and how it will be. What will it feel like being on that set as the photographer, knowing my work will be in one of their magazines, stores, billboard!? I get so caught up in the thought that ill day dream constantly thinking about it and hoping that one day it won’t be just a dream but a reality.

When I work with any team, it’s critical to me that everyone feels welcomed and heard. I try my best to create a safe space while also getting the job done. When the team is happy, the client is happy. Although I’m more of a talker, we still get the shots needed and everyone has fun. When it comes to anything that needs solving by the client, I do my very best to make sure they are satisfied because a the end of the day, they came to me for my talent and expertise so they get the final say so.

Im most proud of the fact that I haven’t given up on myself. My career hasn’t been the worst but any business owner knows that there can be those times that you want to quit because times are tough, you aren’t seeing the growth that you wish or plenty of other reasons. For me, I’ve ran into some big life changes that had me questioning just about everything regarding my career choice. At the end of the personal questioning I do, I come back to the idea that I won’t quit on this because times are rough, there’s always going to be good and bad times but I’ve learned to find peace in the chaos and take it all one day at a time.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In the last few years my life has changed dramatically. Just getting into a steady pace of work, my wife and I found out we were having a child. Although I was extremely happy to become a father, it sparked a bit of shock and deep thought into how will I be able to do this as well as be the father I imagined I could be. At the time before the 1st kid, I was working at a studio called BlueOx as a studio assistant. Being around individuals in the industry daily, learning, chatting while also taking it all in was honestly the best job I’ve had to this day but once we found out we were pregnant, this had both of us in a bit of a spiral. I made the choice to go back to freelance in order to spend those pivotal moments I would not want to miss with our little one. To be even more honest, anyone who is a parent in today’s day knows that childcare isn’t necessarily affordable so this was also a major concern of ours and which ultimately led me to this decision.

A year goes by and then boom! surprise baby two haha. We figured while we are young and can keep up, let’s give our baby girl a baby sister. Now having two babies, under two (wouldn’t reccomend, although it is a beautiful sight) still kind of in a scramble but I know I won’t give up and will one day teach our girls that you can’t always give up when times are tough and that when you bet on yourself and your happiness, nothing can replace that.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The start of my career I started with a very basic camera, (Canon Rebel t5i). With that I did a large amount of family photoshoots, newborn and maternity shoots, Graduation ceremonies, birthday parties, anything that one would need a photographer for, I was there. I knew that I would need a better camera, better lenses and definitely better lighting equipment in order to continue with this. After a bit of saving, my girlfriend then (wife now) we both split the cost of getting a canon MKIV. At this point, we would both separately seek wedding clients and whichever one of us had the response from said client, they would take the MKIV and the other would take the Rebel as the “second shooter”. It was our little inside joke but we still were able to get the desired shots. Although this wasn’t the best setup for weddings, we were still pretty amateur in our careers and made sure we didn’t over promise and underdeliver.

Still using this MKIV I’ve used it on multiple fashion shoots and shows, corporate headshots and some weddings, I’ve managed to acquire a good amount of gear. Enough to have at least two sets rolling and one set for product.

Although the gain was a slow gain, it all works out in the long run. It all comes down to how you budget and set personal financial goals for yourself and your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ic-photos.com
• Instagram: @ic.photos.mn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itraeu-compton-96236b268

Image Credits

Sofie Barnes
Leyla Aden
London Knight
Juor
Gare Ewefada
Kathryn Nguyễn
Ae Southammavong