Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Matt, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I think hard work and consistency is what makes a person successful. Especially in the field of photography that I am in, social media presence is huge. Always having to find new ways to make your work stand out is key. Keeping an eye on what is trending as well as keeping an open mind helps a lot. Hard work and consistency that you put in will always come to light.
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?
When I started photography, I was not known at all in the field, I started completely from scratch. I am a self taught photographer and started off taking pictures at my brother’s high school basketball games. From then I made an Instagram, networked and traveled all around New York to take pictures for my page to build my brand. Step by step, I started to make a name for my self and introduced my own style of photography by giving my own perspective of games through my lens. Through the game of basketball I have met so many great people such as NBA Trainer Jerry Powell, Brian Cao from T3 Performance and many more. I have been given so many opportunities just this year alone. I have had the opportunity to work with top basketball high schools in the nation, professional athletes, covered the McDonald’s All American Game and NBA summer league. From basketball I have also started to branch out to other sports and lifestyle photography. What I think sets me apart from others is the love and seriousness that I have for photography. What I mean by that is always wanting to make sure that my work is best as possible at all times. It is important to capture the moments that everyone would love to have in a frame because there is so much meaning behind it. I want my followers to know that I am very appreciative of each and everyone of them because I would not be where I am at without you. The support that I have had since I have started this journey is unbelievable and I am so grateful for it. I feel like my purpose is to show that anything is possible as long as you set your mind to it. There will be bumps in the road but do not let that distract you from what you want to do or be in life. My main goal still is to become a sports photographer for a professional sports team.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I have built my audience through networking . In business and life in general networking is so important. I have gone everywhere in New York and have been to so many events to get my name out there and meet people. Also, being consistent with posting. Social media is a place where everyone is paying attention to now a days. Being consistent with posting high quality work is eye catching to the viewer. When your work is being displayed consistently every week, your name and work tend to be known and people follow your page because they want to follow the journey that you are on.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I started photography because it was something that I could do to capture memories and it is something that has kept me next to the game that I love which is basketball. I am a self taught photographer that loves what he does. I am a graduate student currently getting my master’s in Sports and Exercise Science. If the opportunity presents itself, I would love to pursue sports photography full time in the future.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Matt Benavides
MattyIce Photography