We recently connected with Jeffrey Byrnes and have shared our conversation below.
Jeffrey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Over the last few years I have seen content creators on YouTube doing the humble brag about going full time as a content creator. That has always made me reflect back on my journey. But Yes, I have made a full time living from creative work. I have always been entrepreneurially driven. It took a few years during and after college to really figure out that being creative will pay dividends if I focused and put in the effort and work. The very definition of being an entrepreneur is “problem solver.” That is something that took a few years to learn. In the academic environment, creativity and business aren’t usually mixed together. While I did take some business classes, I didn’t focus on using that so much as I did creating and putting that out there for people to see. I relied on my work to get from one step to the next at a slower pace, albeit a very successful, but still slower pace. What I could have done differently is marketed myself more in the areas I am in and want to be in, something I am doing now. With the experience I have now, after helping some small brands grow with the creative work we have done, something that would have pushed me further faster would have been putting myself out there more, not just in the sense of marketing, but my personality.
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 have always been artistic, which has allowed me to design a life based around creativity. As a teenager graffiti was an outlet for me, which lead to photography. I was in high school when it discovered me and it has been a life long obsession ever since. At the time I started snapping photos of graffiti I found while working on my own painting. Being a photographer was the first thing I wanted to do in life. I wanted to be known for something, not just be some accountant pushing a pencil across paper chasing numbers, irony, being successful in business requires a bit of accounting. Becoming a photographer, not just by occupation, business, but the passion side of it, that was something I wore on my sleeves and people saw it and very quickly I achieved that first goal in life, be known for doing something. As a graffiti artist, coming up with a name was my first attempt at creating a brand and gave me an identity. There are people in my life, albeit only a few who know me by that moniker. As a photographer my brand and identity is centered around me being a professional creative.
At this stage in my career I am focusing on people, fashion and portraits. I also have a skillset for photographing interiors which has allowed me to be multi-disciplinary. In my creative tool box I have some skills that allow me to put people into almost any environment and create something compelling. I love environmental portraits that incorporate a little bit of action, posed, unposed, and marrying people and place together. That goes with the fashion photography I love to shoot. I thrive diving into a new location and saying YES, this will work, let’s shoot here. There is something magical about the right team and a location that make for some beautiful work. I have found at times locations speak to me. When I open my eyes, I read, study, feel what is being offered and run with it. I love aviation and rely on drones to create images of places, sometimes imbedding people into the scene.
Every shoot is problem solving. There are the w’s including the important H.. HOW. Who, what, where, when, why, and HOW are all things that need to be thought of, considered, and put into a context that everyone can understand and work with. The goal of problem solving isn’t to just fix or solve the problem, but come up with a creative solution or strategy the whole team can work cohesively on and towards. With that comes one of my strongest qualities and attributes as a professional creative/photographer, and that is directing in the moment and creatively strategizing on the go. There are and will be times an idea or a task you’re working on quickly presents itself with roadblocks and you have no choice but to move that roadblock. That is where the W’s and H come into play. I rely on experience, skills, a creative toolbox, analytic and decisive thinking to solve problems. Composition, content, story telling, those are also some of my strongest skills. I love making images that evoke thought, provoke viewers to ask questions, and give an experience. I have also theorized something that works great for me while working on the go, something I call spacial logic and reasoning, a skillset that allows me to work in many spaces creatively. Spacial logic and reasoning also allows me to get into a space and decided how we will work, what is going to happen, and when something needs to change. The ability to analyze instantly and create, pivot, or implement a change is what enables to me to be successful.
As a photographer I communicate through creating images, videos and films. I approach all shoots as a task that requires proper communication, concise implementation of creative strategies, and focus on understanding what the immediate needs are while thinking down the road, if we do this, you’ll get this now, fulfilling your immediate needs, but if do this as well, we might solve a future problem before it becomes a problem or we will create something else you’ll need in the immediate future. It comes down to being pragmatic and efficient at the same time. Knowing what you clients want, need, and helping to create something before they even realize they have a tertiary need helps me stand out.
Quality, consistency, and deliverability are my 3 biggest core values. It is important that all of these align when working on a project or with a clients needs. Never rush the process is something I am a big believer in. Ive learned work created in haste is usually sloppy. Learning to become efficient demonstrates you can think creatively and analytically on the go, which is something I bring with me to shoots. I thrive when working on-the-go and in-the-moment. I am also a big believer in “f*ck around and find out.” That to me is creative play and there are times you can do that on creative projects, working with clients, and is a great way to test ideas in the real world. Some of the best results are from creative play, the f*ck around and find out moments.
I am incredibly proud of my ability to connect with people immediately and establish a level of trust and comfort. Being a great director allows me to be an effective communicator. This helps differentiate me from others. It is something I’ve spent years developing and will continue to. Not everyone has this ability as a photographer or processional creative. Few take the time to really hone that skill or realize that it really is a talent. I am equally proud of setting goals and succeeding at them. Being a highly creative professional is a life long journey and responsibility to one’s self. It is like living a life of completing one marathon and jogging to the next.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
This story touches on two key points that make up a part of my business history, creating a resiliency that allowed me to pivot my business over night and implement a rebrand.
For a brief period of time I partnered my business with another business. Before agreeing to this venture I weighed the options and ultimately decided this would be a good fit for my goals. It felt like a good business decision. 80% of my work came from this one business and that meant I was 100% focused on providing my services and talents to them. I was hopeful this partnership would afford me some flexibility and time to focus and direct some of my creative energy towards my passion work. As the partnership began to flourish it became very clear that the time I was hoping to for was quickly getting sucked up. Within a year there was no free time.
The work that was funneled to my business consuming all of my time. It was great. I was making connections, creating some great images, trying new things and developing a reputation. Within a year I demonstrated the ability to take on an unhealthy amount of work and complete it efficiently. I was learning, testing, implementing, developing, and repeating. It was during this time period I discovered I could reach my limits, go past them, and come back. Every time I did this I was becoming more resilient. During this time I was laying the foundation of my core values. I was on a high. Things were growing daily and monthly. By all appearances things were great. All to familiar, the buzz began to wear off and the cracks started to form. Things were deviating from the intended direction and it was creating tension and fostering something incredibly negative.
For several reasons not associated with my business operations, my quality, consistency, or really anything to do with how my business was running, the agreement was canceled with 6 months left. I was neither surprised nor blindsided.
I trust my intuition when it comes to understanding people and how they think. I take the time to listen which allows me to quickly process and pivot as I need to. It was very obvious to me the partnership was being compromised by extrinsic motivation. Within 30 days of the termination of my agreement I launched a full rebrand of my business. I took a negative, failing partnership that nearly compromised and threatened my business and turned it into an opportunity to rebrand and refocus. I did not waste any time trying to figure the next move, I already had that in place.
Being able to pivot in business will allow you to refocus, change your goals, and seek new opportunities. If you can’t find the opportunity you need to create it. How quickly you pivot can determine how quickly you’ll rebound from a negative situation. It will also determine if you’ll be successful or fail. Pivoting doesn’t have to be seen as a negative action if you’re efficient with implementing changes. For me, turning a failing partnership into an opportunity to pivot and rebrand my business enabled me to find greater success.
It is very important to create resilience in your business. That skill will allow you to make educated and informed decisions and keep emotions from making the wrong decisions.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that the work I create is both my own and enables me to have the life I desire. I am not designed to do someone else’s job, I am not managing someone else’s business or products, I use my creative tool box to create, design, and distribute my work or work I create on behalf of the clients that hire me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jeffreybyrnesstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffreybphotography/
Image Credits
All photos are my own.