We were lucky to catch up with Matt Montalvo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Matt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Most of my longtime friends in the industry who are as busy as I am have tended to outsource as much of their workflow as possible. From contracts and calendars to editing and website branding. It is probably due to my frugality and wanting total responsibility for all aspects of my business, but I still handle every aspect myself. Printing is the only part of my business I let someone else handle. I still keep paper contracts on hand!

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?

Back 17 years ago when I was in college a friend of mine booked a wedding with no experience or knowledge of photography and signed me up to be the second shooter. I didn’t even own a real camera at the time so he gave me the deposit and told me to buy a camera and we had 6 months to prepare. I learned what I could but the best training was on the job, figuring it out as I went along. I guess you can say I was a fast learner. I ended up booking a few weddings from that one wedding after my photos made it to facebook via the bride. I never thought it could be a career at first but here I am 17 years later with over 1000 weddings shot.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have always tried to not lose focus on what I am there for. People in the industry have a tendency over time to get more creative and sometime the lose sight of the subject in pursuit of a interesting photo. I stay focused on the emotion and energy of the day. I shoot my strange creative work when I am on vacation!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Speed, professionalism, and efficiency. I have streamlined everything I do on the wedding day so I am always done before the time is up. It gives everyone more room to breath and makes the day more relaxed. Some coordinators already want to recommend me and work with me again before they have even seen the photos.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MattMontalvo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattmontalvophoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattMontalvoPhoto/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattmontalvoatx

Image Credits
Matt Montalvo Photography