Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jaxon Dansie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jaxon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

A lot of people who try to get into photography are the same way. They want to go right into Formula One or into Supercross or NASCAR when they have no prior experience. You need to start small, and with many places getting media credential is not that difficult if it’s local. If you want to get into Formula One, start with karting. If you want to get into car photography, go to car meets. If you want to get into motocross, go to local races. And it could take years before you even make any sort of good solid money. This is where most people quit. They get into this industry with high expectations but don’t have the work ethic to practice your craft and learn.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into photography when I was 14 years old in March, 2021. With no experience at all and very little knowledge about cameras in general. I started in karting at Utah Motorsports Campus. Gradually throughout that year I made my way to superbikes and car racing at the same track. But I knew that I wanted to make something that would set me apart. I wasn’t gaining the traction that I wanted at the track and I also just wanted to be different. I took a risk and in June of 2021 I launched my photography brand Drive-By Shootings Photography. The name itself is clever using the mix of cameras and motorsports, but of course there was the concern of “what will people think of it?” I just decided to roll with it. And apart from the occasional middle aged soccer mom telling me how offended I make them feel, the name has been well received. It gained a lot of attention quickly with different people I’ve met throughout these past years. It’s allowed me to be apart of prestigious motorsport series like Nitro Rallycross and Formula Drift in less then 2 years. I’ve been able to shoot a lot of people that I look up to like Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, Fredric Aasbo, Justin Pawlak, Ken Block, and Ken’s three kids who all race karts at the track. All this has opened doors and allowed me to pursue something I never thought I would enjoy. I still have so much to learn and developing the brand to the best of my ability, but I’m gonna keep doing it as long as I can.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of the hardest things for me in the short time frame I’ve been involved in this world of cameras, has been my age. I’ve been through many people, organizations, clients, race teams and more where I simply couldn’t cover an event because of my age. There’s not many high ranking series in motorsports that allow someone as young as myself be involved. Not only that but the travel that is traditionally involved as well. Trying to prove myself despite my age has been extremely difficult. And I don’t blame people for it. I think on paper when you compare me to someone older and with more experience, the choice is clear. But I think throughout time my portfolio will build and get to a point where I’ll be offered more opportunities.

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

As soon as I got involved I already had some good people I was working with at the kart track. But it was the whole Drive-By Shootings Photography that completely set me apart from other people. The name is eye-catching and I found myself being offered even more work just because people thought the name was clever. And as to be expected the name didn’t come without some backlash but I stuck to my heart because I knew that this was what I wanted to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drivebyshootings.smugmug.com/My-Work/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/driveby.shootings?igshid=NDRkN2NkYzU=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaxon.niemann

Image Credits
Brad Millet Jonathan Chen – Chen Media