We recently connected with Mikey Berlfein and have shared our conversation below.

Mikey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’m fortunate enough to have made it to a point where I’m solely living off of my creative work. It still feels surreal even after doing it for a few years. But if you can get over the fear of the inconsistency, (especially if you’re used to a 9-5) you will be able to own your time, and hopefully your peace.

There are different sets of growing pains that went on throughout my creative journey. Where at first I did anything and everything to learn how to get better with a camera. Then people started asking me to shoot random events for them. Experience was all you wanted back then. Those were the days you say yes to anything and learn as you go. I did this during my part-time employment days working in retail. Nothing glamorous about this life.

Once you start getting a good amount of work under your belt you realize what is and isn’t worth your time, plus what you enjoy and don’t enjoy working on. The next pair of growing pains came in the business dept. Where I would have to learn proper business practices in order to get the more respectable clients I desired at the time. I was always grateful for people who would call me but this was when you start holding yourself to higher standards and saying no to jobs you don’t want. Aligning yourself with the work you want to do is the first step towards accomplishing those goals. At this point, your part-time or full-time job might be getting in the way of potential work, and you might want to consider stepping away to chase the dream soon.

At the end of the day, the amount of work you get is contingent on how many people know what you do, and how well you work with others. There are so many capable creatives that can take a photo, light a set, or direct talent. Your way to stand out should be your body of work, but your respect & professionalism is what keeps the client coming back. There is nothing more powerful than a person who speaks your name in a room you’re not in. The more enjoyable you are to work with; the more likely you’ll get those people to reach out, and refer you as well.

Mikey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who have never heard of me; Hi! I’m Mikey, a Photographer/Videographer based out of South Florida, and I’ve currently engrained myself in working in the Athletics space. Between freelancing for the FIU Athletic Department, as well as Inter Miami CF, and the Miami Marlins, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some major brands in my short time.

Aside from game-day coverage, I find myself freelancing a multitude of different ways from offering Photoshoots for Brands, Products, ECom, Real Estate as well as the occasional Graduation, Engagement etc. On the video side I’ve offered content creation services, ranging from short form video clips to longer form interviews, features & reels. Learning how to do the workflow integration from pre-production to setting up, lighting, audio, and then post-production has given me tons of hands on experience to tackle and creative project.

I love the background I’ve been able to grow with as a creative entrepreneur. I love being flexible with all of my client needs to see how I can best benefit them and their content delivery plans.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I picked up a camera for the first time in 2014, with no real vision or idea of what I wanted back then. I had just taken some time off of school at UCF and I was about to transfer into FIU. I started taking photos as part of my workload at a small e-commerce startup back when Instagram was blowing up. I slowly grew really into taking photos and I kept practicing at work while I got ready to go back to school.

When I was finishing up my undergrad I became known as the kid with the camera, always bringing it around, getting involved on campus and taking photos. It was a purely fun thing I was enjoying at the time. Until people started asking me to take their photos, was when I started considering actually charging and working.

Fast forward 2 years later when I graduated with my Bachelors in Biology and I was ready to take the leap of faith and pursue a creative career. I worked part time at a smoothie shop, a hotel front desk, and a retail camera shop to fund my part time camera jobs. Once it got to the point where I was missing out on good photography jobs because of my part-time job, I started to consider going full-time.

By November 2018 I had gone full-time freelance and I have yet to look back ever since. I’ve been able to work with plenty of the local Miami Professional Sports teams as well as a slew of major brands. The best part is, I’m always looking to grow.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Preferably referrals, there is NOTHING more powerful than a person who speaks your name in a room you’re not in.

If not, then I’d have to say social media, between a healthy mix of Instagram, & Pinterest I generate a ton of new clients quarterly for my graduation photography seasons. On top of that I do occasionally follow up with older clients on upsells of new services I’m offering to re-engage them, and if no work comes at least they remember me for next time.

Contact Info: 

• Website: https://photobymikeyb.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m.eye.key/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikey-berlfein-592b46196/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mberl9
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/michaelberlfein/ https://gondola.cc/mberl9

Image Credits
Images by: Michael Berlfein (FIU Athletics) Joe Hausman (FIU Athletics) Inter Miami CF Zach Marks (@ShotByMarks)