We were lucky to catch up with Nicholas Shorter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicholas, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken that showed me who I am was a random photo of a lost dog. I like helping animals the best I can on my spare time so one day I was driving home from work & when I saw a dog roaming the neighborhood & it had a collar on. So the first thought was to read the name & number on the collar but of course the dog wouldn’t let me get near it. I tried using food to lure to the dog in and it didn’t work, I tried using binoculars to read the name tag and it didn’t work since the dog moved around too much, I tried zooming in on my cell phone & nothing would work….at that moment I remember that “duh Nick you’re a photographer”. I whipped out my camera and put in on the correct settings, took a photo of the dog from a distance and enlarged it on my computer I was able to read the name & contact the owners of the dog which made me feel very proud of myself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I never saw myself becoming a photographer, it just always felt natural like I was being led to do something & without question I followed that feeling and one thing lead to another. There’s always going to be some type of challenge in your way as you move forward in life. As simple as this advice may be I always tell myself, ” Strive for progress not perfection.” Everyday I try to see the world around me for what it is, from trends, to what matters to me, the most effect way to use little energy and time but increases my workflow and I adapt as needed while keeping my core values the same. I just want to capture the beauty of life and seeing two people get married always looked intriguing in such a pure way. I once heard a saying that said, ” obstacles aren’t put in your way to stop you but they are put there to see how fast you are willing to give up on the item you say you want the most.” So in essence it shows your character.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I would say when starting off do not be afraid to experiment and feel what it is you want to do. Dive into different aspects of your career and see what feels right and then just go and learn along the way. Experience is one of the best teachers but also being resolute in not giving up, having patience and being able to take critique well with being humble.

Example:
I love working with people, I’m a people person or at least I grew to be. I started photographing my friends first, and friends of friends and each time I examine my work too see how I can improve and watched a lot of photo videos in lighting. When I felt semi better, I started looking up people with kinda small kinda big followers on IG and offering to take photos of them so I can get exposure and worked my way up the ladder. All this takes time by the way and always remember the best art comes from within not having the most high end gear.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’ve worked other jobs while being a photographer, but something simple that me keep going is I know deep down I love what I do. Every time I go take a photo it feels like I’m taking a breath of fresh air for my soul allowing myself to breath for the first time again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shorternicholas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shorter_nicholas/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@resoluteinterview/videos