We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Noah Douglass. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Noah below.

Noah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some of the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

Sadly I’ve seen a trend that is exchanging artistic conviction for money.

There are many reasons to begin a creative career, but as I can tell there are two main types of creative professionals.

One type chooses the career because they sincerely love the work, the other has seen financial opportunities and may not be as concerned about their craft. (This is not a criticism, or a critique of anyones character, but rather an observation on what traits are directing this trend.)

When creative agencies streamline production they are able to put out a high volume of content. They are also able to purchase more marketing opportunities. This saturates the market with lower quality examples shifting client expectations. It then allows agencies to have even lower prices because they are utilizing a high volume business model.

This trend is happening more and more with wedding films for example. Clients see these wedding video examples so often that they begin to appear as the industry standard. The videos they are seeing however are mass produced serving the bank accounts of the agencies rather than the client. Competing with this trend seems to force the lowering of prices, and quality, skipping as many steps as possible, and a mental shift away from artistic integrity.

I have moved with my family from Alaska to Idaho and was shocked to see this trend displayed and spilling over into portrait photography, and even marketing content creating a sea of price comparison. It forces prices lower making it harder for creative professionals to run stable businesses, but what’s perhaps even worse is that its forcing quality lower across the industry. Clients now often shop for lower prices rather than higher quality.

Building personal relationships and trust is difficult when you’re the “new kid in town” but this has been the best antidote to the spreading corporate mindset. Ironically showing that I am in fact not a business man shows that I’m on the side of the client. I believe that we should prioritize results over speed while still being fair with pricing. Honesty with myself and my clients is not for sale so it’s not easy, but I believe that eventually if we exceed client expectations we can diffuse the power of the trend and return conviction to the craft.

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

I was born on the amazing Oregon coast and grew up in beautiful Homer, Alaska. Over my lifetime I have lived in Florida, where I earned a music degree, and many other places such as England where I met my beautiful wife. I now gladly return to being a resident of Idaho to lay down roots with my family. I’m always inspired by the beauty that surrounds me which has given me a unique perspective on how to make the most out of my projects. I create unique images by way of film and photo. I have had my work featured on CMT and many publications. My accomplishments however mean very little to me because conveying emotion is the primary purpose of what I do. My professional media services range from Real Estate, Business Advertisements, Promo Videos, Special Events, and Weddings. No matter what my clients need I always put 100% into every one of my projects.

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

Every creative person is unique, maybe even a little bit weird. We tend to be the “road less traveled” types, and I started my journey in a school bus.

My story began in Alaska but I was no stranger to that road. I cannot count the places I have lived throughout my life. It was not under ideal conditions, but these experiences were building an artistic perspective that only comes through difficulties.

Stability was not my strong point. Anywhere from Alaska to the islands of Scotland was my home but I had no real foundation. You would more likely find me concerned about writing a song than knowing where I would find my next meal, but resilience was in my blood.

After returning to Alaska to do construction, the extremely long work hours and harsh conditions lead me to ask myself if there was another way through. I was used to starting over, and learning new skills so I borrowed a camera and filmed a wedding for free. Of course I was terrible at first, but this was for me and I could feel it. I dove in completely. I had previously been a songwriter, but found that this different way of telling stories could take me from where I had been into a new chapter every single time.

We all go through difficulties. We lose, we grieve, but if we let our struggles strengthen us we can take our unique perspective and possibly use it to even help someone else. The need for resilience never ends but finding joy in the stories that the struggles are composing, is my best way of getting through.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

One of the hardest things to understand and convey about creative work is that quality always costs someone.

If the client get’s a low price, then the creative professional essentially pays the rest.

If I take on a project of any kind I must maintain my reputation, but I will also stand by my personal conviction to provide my best work in spite of the price tag. This is the difference between artistic motivation and being motivated by money. Some people will cut the necessary corners to fit the budget, others will keep their standards in spite of the budget.

I want to help every last person who needs my services but sometimes we must turn down potential clients. Unusual requests can possibly be red flags, but sadly if the clients budget cannot support the time it takes to maintain quality then it’s better to not take the job. Don’t offer lower paying clients lower quality. Be honest, be transparent and accommodating whenever possible but don’t compromise. The client doesn’t win if you can’t pay for the time it takes to give your best.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.noahdouglassvisuals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noahdouglass_visuals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noahdouglassvisuals
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@noahdouglassvisuals

Image Credits
Noah Douglass Visuals