We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamie Rogers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamie below.

Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

If I had it all to do over again, I would have definitely started my business sooner. I just officially started my photography business last year in June when I quit my previous career in software sales. I was finally burnt out and needed a change. I had been doing photography as a hobby for a few years and I thought it was finally time to make a change and try it as a career full time. I wished I had made the decision sooner as I’m certainly happier being my own boss but I also wished I had started sooner as getting your business ramped up takes time.

Starting sooner may not have changed anything other than that I would have been doing this longer which would have led to learning more and being further along in the process. I won’t sugarcoat it as running your own business successfully is no easy task. I think once you get over the initial hurdles of not knowing anything and you get a few clients under your belt, you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and that helps you push on.

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 am a freelance photographer these days and this was spawned by picking up a camera about 6 or so years ago. I started capturing all of my experiences in the great outdoors to document the world’s beauty through my eyes. Then COVID hit and limited the places we could go so that led me to the empty streets of downtown Denver where I started to learn about street photography. I also picked up a drone at that time and that seems to be where my photos’ popularity on social media began to rise.

Once my social media presence grew, I started getting recognized around the Denver community as one of the better drone photographers. This, in turn, has led to a lot of my work with clients like 9 News and Visit Denver as they were both impressed with my aerial photography/videography.

I continue to work on my brand and grow my client base by showcasing my creativity. I take many elements from different types of photography and blend them into my own style. I think this is what makes my work unique. I also use everything I’ve learned in my previous life of a salesman to deliver the best customer service to my clients. I communicate well and deliver projects in a timely fashion so this is another differentiator when working with me.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Just like everyone else, I started with no followers on social media about 3 years ago. I have since grown my Instagram base to around 15.4K followers and my Facebook followers to over 28K. This was no easy task as it takes a lot of commitment to do it right.

There are many trends that come and go or simply change over time so you must pay attention to those. I did a lot of research online all the while just watching for patterns that followed my posts. It takes regular engagement and quality content to grow your followers at a minimum. Nowadays platforms like Instagram are moving towards a more “pay to play” model so it looks like we will all have to follow suit if we want eyes on our content.

No matter what happens with all of this you have to stay committed in the beginning. It gets discouraging when you don’t get the likes or comments you think you deserve but you have to push on. I honestly would have never thought I would be good enough to turn photography into a career but I pushed on and here I am. Just like anything else, keep pushing forward and stay committed in whatever it is you’re chasing!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

This one is very simple. EVERYTHING about being a creative is rewarding. Being a creative is amazing as you literally have no limitations except yourself! Whatever you can think of can be done…you just have to figure out how. I love seeing what other photographers have done and expanding upon it with my own splash or just completely ripping it apart and doing something completely different. That’s the beauty of being creative as you can create anything that your imagination can come up with!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.captaincolo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captaincoloradophotography/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/captaincoloradophotography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejamierogers/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@captaincoloradophoto

Image Credits
Jamie Rogers, Captain Colorado Photography