We were lucky to catch up with Max Dugan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Max, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?
The best thing that has impacted my business is serving. You will always continue to serve and give away your talents for free to other creatives or people learning to grow in their craft. It helps to keep you humble and teaches you the value of helping another person rather than building an empire for yourself. In return, I can count all my opportunities and major job’s back to a relationship I created by serving another person.
By volunteering and serving a local music artist, I was able to may a connection with someone they knew in the music industry and quickly began taking photos for music artists and their album covers. Something I had always dreamed of doing since I was young.
When you build your business simply to serve yourself, you won’t make very many friends. And without friends, it is almost impossible to see our dreams come to pass.
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 got into my craft when I was about 12 years old. I picked up my first camera when I was very young and just fell in love with the beauty that I could create with it. Overtime my passions evolved from family portraits, to senior photos, to fashion and editorial, until I found what I my true calling was, music.
I love photographing music artists. Throughout the years my craft evolved into creative direction and branding and I am now overseeing many creative roles. From design to film to photography. Basically when an artist approaches me with new music they are releasing I help provide them with visuals for anything they may need to help their release be debuted in excellence.
I find most music artists don’t have time to focus on the visuals of their music and rightfully so as they are artists of sound. So it is my job to come in and give them the best brand and visual storytelling I can in order to assist their music releases and carry them to the next level. My style is all about simplicity and natural light. If I can teach another how to partner with the world around them, to create beauty from nature then I have served my purpose.
Simplicity and be unexplainably beautiful and I try to capture that in everything I do.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Many people do not know how important wisdom is in the creative process. I want to teach struggling artists how to slow down and trust the process of patience. That is what drives me to keep moving forward. Helping those who may be overwhelmed in anxiety and comparison to see themselves as valuable.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
The Creative Act: A Way of Being By: Rick Rubin
Beauty will Save the World: Brian Zahnd
Dune: Frank Herbert
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maxduganphoto.com
- Instagram: @maxduganphoto
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwell-dugan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maxduganphoto
