We recently connected with Maddy Parke and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Maddy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I came up with the idea of doing creative photoshoots and videoshoots for people when I found my true passion for photography and videography, and when I realized I would be doing it for the rest of my life. When I was in middle school, I was walking home in the rain with my Android phone and stumbled upon a four-leaf clover. I bent down and snapped a picture of it. As soon as I looked at it, I immediately fell in love. The contrast, the vibrancy, the rain droplets on the clover, it was everything and more to me, and I wanted to create more. I started taking more pictures on my Android until one day, my parents bought me a camera! This was my pride and joy, I treasured it. I wanted to capture anything and everything, and still do. I started making little YouTube videos with cinematic edits, just having fun with it. Years later, I upgraded my camera and started doing paid photoshoots for people, and it all started with my old friend Dante and Jack. Dante was an influencer, so I would take portraits of him, and Jack was in a band, so I took his band pictures. This gave me a lot of exposure to start doing different photos for different people, and over time, I became a professional. I did not start doing paid professional videoshoots until I met my old friend Jackson, who was a music artist whom I did a few music videos for. Over time, my career has flourished, I’ve met so many amazing and talented people and have gained a lot of knowledge and talent as well. I knew I could succeed because I was persistent and determined, this was my passion, and I wanted to turn it into something bigger.

Maddy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Maddy Parke, I am from Bergen County, New Jersey. I am a 20-year-old college student studying photography technology. I have a business called “MadsMagz”. I came up with that name because a nickname for me is “Mads”, and “Magz” stands for magazines. I want to create magazines in my lifetime, and I am currently working on my first. The types of services I provide are photoshoots for influencers, music video shoots, instagram reel shoots, and event photoshoots. I really love to dive into anything that is creative. I made some shirts, hats, crochet cameras, and prints of my best photographs to sell as merch at vendor events or craft fairs. One day I will open up my own online store for that. If a client does not like something, I will do anything in my power to fix that for them, and satisfy their needs. My creativity, kindness and caring, passion for photography, and my drive sets me apart from others. I am most proud of the progress I’ve made in my lifetime, the amount of support I’ve gotten, and the amazing photos I have created. It feels good during a photoshoot when you take a picture, look back on it, and think to yourself, “Oh this is the one!” What I would love for you to know about me is I am super flexible, very understanding, and always up for a challenge! I always want to put my creativity to its fullest potential and set my mind to what I want to capture.

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

Building an audience on social media can be very tough, I’ve learned it the hard way. Although it is tough, you should never give up, even if there are only ten or twenty people who viewed your work, imagine those people in a room. That is how I have always tried to look at it. It took me a little while to learn what the best algorithm was for my Instagram, I would post once a day, twice a day, some days nothing at all. It really all depends on your audience. I gained my audience from consistently posting once a day or every other day, at a specific time. The time varies from day to day, depending when people are scrolling on their phone or when they are busy at work. I also gained an audience from collaborating with others, such as my clients and friends. For example, if a client posted the pictures I took of them and their followers loved those pictures, they would go over to my page and follow me. I started to interact with these people and gained an even bigger audience and more clients. I also post on my Instagram story consistently, facts about photography, behind the scenes of my shoots, daily motivational quotes, and my services. The advice I would give to you about growing an audience on Instagram or any social media platform is to be 100% dedicated, do not get down on yourself if something does not work out. Get up and try again. Be very consistent with your work, and network with people! Go out to events and be social, talk with others, show them your work and exchange contact information or social media handles. It is also good to put trending songs on your posts, hashtags that are relevant, and tags.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist has definitely got to be the support and kind words. It feels amazing and so rewarding to hear nice things about your work, and even constructive criticism. If somebody does not like something about your work, there is only one thing to do: fix it and try something different. Whenever somebody reposts my work on their story, gives a comment, or even a like feels so pleasing. I have got to say, my biggest supporter is my Mom. Sometimes I come home and the first thing she says to me is how amazing my new post was and has such a shocked look on her face in the best way possible. She gives me so much motivation and support, I could not be more thankful. It also feels amazing hearing in person how much somebody enjoyed your work, I’ve been to multiple events where people have came up to me and told me that my new post was spectacular. However, it does not always matter what someone else thinks of your work, but what YOU think of your work. There have been photos or videos that I’ve looked back on and teared up because of how proud I am of what I’ve created, even when I just finish editing a photo and it turns out just exactly how I wanted it to, or even better, is very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://madelineparke6f4f.myportfolio.com/work
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madsmagz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mads.magz/