We recently connected with Justin Morris and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I am a self-taught photographer who has learned by trial and error and researching online. There are so many online resources these days and it is great to be able to solve a problem quickly. I would have reached out to other photographers earlier to speed up the learning process. Everyone has so much information and experience and its nice to have an open book to help you grow.

The biggest skills is really to never settle and always try to better your craft. Keep learning and pushing forward. Photography, like many creative industries, are always moving forward. Theres always new gear, new programs, new ways to shoot. It helps to try and stay on top of that. The biggest obsticles are just being complacent and thinking you know everything. The learning never ends.

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 photographer who is always chasing the best light. I specialize in shooting in and around the water and try to capture the beauty around me. I make money in a handful of ways with my camera and within the industry but my favorite is creating images that people want to be printed and placed on their walls. I got into this industry by just being consistent and trying to stand out from the local competition. Nothing has come quickly. Keep creating and pushing forward and keep sharing your best work.

I am most proud when people see some of my work and say I didn’t know you shoot “blank” too! A lot of people know me for ocean photography and it’s always rewarding to hear people compliment some of my other types of work. I have shot stuff for outdoor brands, real estate, family photos, and large non-profit events. I take pride in being able to keep clients happy no matter what the specific job is.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have been on Instagram/Facebook for a long time and the biggest thing has just been staying consistent and interacting with other accounts. These can be people who have commented or messaged you, other local creatives, or whatever. Just interact and show people you are human. This leads to more people who want to follow your journey and watch you succeed. I’d also try to tell people to try and get others to share your work. These can be people sharing a post on their story or other similar interest pages sharing your work. It always helps to get new eyes on your work and increase your social media reach.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is seeing people enjoy your work. For me, this is anything from people coming up to you at an art show and complimenting you all the way to getting a nice message congratulating you on landing a cover of a magazine. It feels nice to be rewarded for your work. I often go out and shoot in conditions that I think may produce excellent images. It’s kind of a thankless task at the time so it is nice for people to recognize these moments.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.follyhood.com
• Instagram: @follyhood
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/follyhood
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-morris-60029b80/

Image Credits
Profile: Bryant Thomas All other images shot by me.