Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Miguel Frias. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Miguel , appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Since I can remember, photography for me was a hobby that always sparked my interest. There were times when I remember waking up early, often before class, at times during college to go capture a sunrise shoot. That’s how much photography excited me even if it meant getting up early. Soon after moving to Houston back in 2016, another passion of mine slowly started to develop which was travel. Over time, I slowly started to see there was an opportunity to merge both travel and photography into a creative business. I saw an opportunity to provide my services and creativity behind the lens to hotel and resort properties who either were new to the social media space or were looking to market their property through this form of online social media marketing which was relatively new at the time. You could say this is how I started as a Hotel & Resort photographer and overtime have been able to use those same skills to now also be able to provide Real Estate Photography work for clients both locally and globally. After a few years working as a project engineer, I felt it was time to take that leap of faith and pursue something I was always so passionate for. Leaving behind a “9-5” position to pursue something I always loved was not easy, but I always knew that if I was willing to give in my 110%, I would have everything to succeed. With social media growing, I quickly jumped into this space knowing the value I could bring to the table. I’ve said it before but social media platforms over the past couple of years have gained and continue to gain traction and have become a very rich and versatile showcasing tool through the use of creators and photographers like myself. The significant and potential reach of social media marketing is only growing bigger by the day. I guess one of the things that attracts clients to my work is my ability to be able to offer them both: the social media side of things alongside the professional photography aspect. Many times, places may only be looking for updated interior/exterior photos due to a recent renovation throughout the property therefore needing new and updated photo content. Other times, they’re simply looking for social media content which I can happily provide either or most often, a combination of both. The term “partnership” was relatively new back then and very few properties at that time truly saw the impact creators like myself could have on their property in the long run. Obviously, things are a bit more different now with many more properties setting aside a yearly marketing budget for content creation projects but I remain with the same mindset as when I first arrived in this space. That very same mission that I uphold to myself hasn’t changed since day one – to inspire as many to travel through my creativity and experiences all while being committed to the work I provide to my clients and remaining aligned to my core values: high quality and hard work. Whether my client is a realtor looking to showcase their next listing or a hotel property looking to promote their brand, they can rest assured they are receiving and engaging with a professional who has gained valuable insight, work experience and will go out his way to provide the best possible service.

Miguel , 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?

Absolutely. First, I’d like to say thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be able to share my story within this community. If anyone reading this can gain some sort of inspiration to go out there and pursue their passion, I’ve done my job. But a bit more about me. I am a luxury travel content creator, hotel & real estate photographer based out of Houston, TX. The original goal and backstory behind Miguel Frias Photography continues to be to create highly engaging digital media assets for luxury hotels and resorts, real estate and brands. Within the last year, I have been able to expand my business to now work closely with realtors and provide real estate photography and media assets for their property listings when I’m not traveling for work on a project. I’ve been in the hospitality and travel industry for roughly the past 4 years. Most of my work is in the luxury hospitality industry working with all different types of hotels & resorts on the brand side in creating content for their own marketing usage. My attention to detail with every project and willingness to over provide value to my clients is what keeps me going. One of the key things that I take most pride in is the ability to help share a client’s story and bring it to life through my own professional work and creativity which I’ll talk about later on. I specialize in providing clients with services ranging anywhere from social media content, professional photography and video, etc. It’s all very dependent on what their needs are but I always like to enter these types of projects with an open mind and hear their thoughts and see how we can best work together. Same applies when working with realtors and providing real estate photography. Their goal is to sell the property, my main objective is how can I best showcase their property in a creative way to get their listing off the market. My very first partnership with a hotel occured when an opportunity to work with a very well known brand and resort property in Costa Rica presented itself back in 2019. I think we all have those special types of moments we look back at years later and realize it was that exact moment that helped open the door for much greater things to come later in life. That Costa Rica project was that moment for me. The assignment went great and eventually helped pave the way for new and future projects as I was slowly starting to build a name for myself within this industry and gaining experience over time. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many other brands having traveled to many international destinations such as Switzerland, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and many others.

It’s been an incredible journey for me starting from where I took this several years ago and just picking up a camera as a hobby to now working with some of the top brands in the industry. This isn’t something that normally happens overnight but more so an accumulation of hard hours being put in behind the scenes. It’s definitely a testament to a lot of that work, the commitment and dedication over the last few years and I couldn’t be happier.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One key resource that comes straight to mind and one that has tremendously helped pave my creative journey is a program called Sidewalker Daily. For all those creatives out there, who find themselves on a similar creative journey as mine and are unfamiliar with Sidewalker Daily, SWD is a team of marketing experts that help digital entrepreneurs and creators like myself learn the ropes of how to build a sustainable online business and monetize their online influence. The team is run by an extraordinary group of women and experts who I’ve had the privilege and honor to be mentored by. With that being said, I’d like to take this opportunity to give a special shoutout to Nina, Clairesse and Kingsley who all played a key and special role in transforming my business into the business it is now. I joined SWD during the summer of 2020 and enrolled into one of their online coaching programs where we met on a weekly basis and touched on all subjects related to social media marketing such as building a media kit, pitching to brands, how to land top paid deals with brands and much much more. I felt the timing of joining was spot on as it was during the middle of the pandemic when everything was in lockdown. Prior to jumping on board with SWD, I did have prior experience under my belt working with several different hotels and brands but I always felt there was that missing piece which I knew SWD could help provide. From a brand side, I knew they had the knowledge and expertise that I was looking for. I wanted to learn the ins and outs and, in a sense, try to fully understand from a brand perspective what working with creators like myself looked like on their end and through their eyes. My mentality was if I could understand those key pieces, I knew I could better position myself and set myself apart from the rest of the pool. Over the course of my time learning with the program and soaking in valuable information, I was able to take my business to that next level that I was looking for. To this date, I still have a very positive relationship with the program, the coaches and with everyone I was able to meet which I’m grateful for because it’s such a supportive community unlike no other. Investing my time into this resource and program has been without a doubt one of the best choices I could have made not just for myself but for my business.

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

Bringing innovative ideas to life without a doubt has to be the most rewarding aspect of the work I do. During this process of creativity that I often find myself in, I feel the most inspired when I have the vision to create a new idea and bring it to life behind a camera. Social media is always changing and we simply have to adjust to those changes as time passes. This process of creativity often happens during the planning process prior to executing a project but can also happen as instantly as the day of the shoot. As a creator, I feel we always have to be on alert. We have to be able to adjust to changing weather conditions during an outside shoot or adjusting to a last minute client request, we have to be able to adjust almost instantly which oftentimes leads to new ideas developing at that very same moment. When it comes to working with a hotel property, I usually like to work very closely with the marketing team to help strategize and figure out together their current and future marketing needs. This allows me to better tailor my creative work to ensure it aligns with their mission, story, values and marketing goals. As a photographer and more importantly as a creative, there always seems to be that creative voice in all of us. I think the joy truly comes when we listen to that voice, we try to play and juggle with it for a bit and are finally able to share the final product with the rest of the world. Nothing brings me more joy than the opportunity to sit down with a client and share with them my vision for their brand. In return, I get to listen to their own ideas and this eventually sets the base for a successful partnership and project. One thing I always like to say and emphasize is having clear communication between both parties is key to having a great outcome and successful project. I’ve been in the travel and hotel industry for a few years now to understand how social media works and the role creators like myself can have in helping bring value to a property and destination. It’s no secret that every brand has a unique story to tell. As a creative, being able to bring each property’s story and message to life via my work is a prime example of a rewarding aspect of being a creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.miguelfriasphotography.com
• Instagram: @miguelfriasphoto