We recently connected with Mike Whalen and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I first decided I wanted to pursue photography and videography, I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I just knew it looked fun and I wanted to give it a shot so I bought my first camera when I was 19. Everything was in a foreign language at first. I didn’t know what shutter speed, ISO or what any of the camera settings meant. So I just went on to YouTube and typed in camera basics. after watching and following along I started to get the hang of it. I would frame up something simple like a pencil holder or anything I could find in my room for practice. But now, most of what I know is from physically going out and using my camera. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by good photographers and videographers that I would meet backstage at a show or working the same sporting event that taught me a lot as well. One of the most challenging things was learning how to balance light and adjust that on the camera, which is an essential part of creating a good photo or video. Now I feel like that’s not a problem because I can go into any given shoot and confidently know what angles I want to get, where the light is coming from, what my camera settings should be at, and how to pose my subject. Looking back on it, I wish I took more time to learn more things sooner. because I could have grown my own brand in that time and make myself more marketable now.

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 am a 23-year-old sport media student at West Virginia University graduating in December 2022. My whole life I loved sports. I started playing at a young age and played football and lacrosse through high school. It came to a point though, where I knew there was no way I was making it onto an NFL field as a player so I wanted to find another way to pursue my dream. photography and videography came to mind instantly and I fell in love with being able to create content that people love. I would go up to my friends and pretty much force them to do a photoshoot with me, and most of them did it willingly. In college, I decided to start my company “Mike Whalen Media” that would provide photography and videography services to whoever needs. I shoot music videos, hype videos, concerts, portraits, graduation photos, sports, weddings, or really anything someone would need photos or videos to create a long lasting memory. The thing I take the most pride in with my work is showing a client a photo or video for the first time and how excited they get when they see it. Obviously as a creator you want people to see and appreciate your work so when people tell me they love something that I created is always the best feeling. I love what I do and am highly motivated to build my brand further in the coming years.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience is always a challenge but if you have a good product that audience will come to you naturally. My first followers were really just some of my close friends. As I started to work more events and meet more and more people, then those people would follow me and then tell their friends to follow me. Networking is a necessity for any industry, but for like me whose whole brand is based on social media, the more people I talk to, the more followers I can get, which leads to getting more clients. The key to social media is to keep posting. Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, or LinkedIn, you should be posting almost everyday. You’re never going to reach your target audience if they don’t know your work. So if you made an awesome video or took an amazing photo, get it out on social media so you have the ability to reach the audience you want. Create good content, be yourself online, and post often and that social media following will rise soon enough.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had just sold my first camera so I could upgrade to a newer, better model. I was so excited and I would go out and shoot everyday, but I also needed it because this was when I was working with my school newspaper as a photographer. One night though my house got broken into and when I got home my camera was missing. I didn’t know what to because without my camera I couldn’t do much. I couldn’t afford to just go buy brand new camera and honestly thought that I would have to find another career path. The thing is is that I loved taking photos and videos and didn’t want to stop. Every time I would go on a shoot I would have to text some of my friends with cameras if I could borrow theirs. Luckily, my friends are amazing and always say yes but it was definitely hard not being able to go out on my own time. I was asking to use other people cameras for a few months until I finally saved up and was able to buy my own camera again. Moral of the story though is there are going to be bumps along th way, in this case I hit a pretty big bump, but if you love something you’ll find anyway possible to keep moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: MikeWhalen_media
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-whalen-017655217/
• Youtube: Michaelwhalen2536

Image Credits
NEBS (IG: @nebsgotjokes) West Virginia Black Bears