We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pat Gump a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Pat, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
The most important aspect of my growth has been my willingness to “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!,” in the wise words of Ms. Frizzle. Each ‘mistake’ I have made; whether in my life, my art, or my relationships; has been an opportunity to look towards my self and improve. If I could have changed anything to speed up my learning process, I would have encouraged myself to hire professionals to form a team to help me, rather than always learning on my friends’ time. Most essential (and most challenging) has been the skill of quiet, efficient communication. I can be quite wordy when I want to be, and I am often better served (and serve better) when I am silent. An unwillingness to be wrong stood in the path of my growth for a long time. I continue to learn that sometimes my well-intended actions are misguided; and as a result I am able to lean into learning.
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.
After buying a camera to photograph client dogs on walks, I felt myself first drawn to pet portrait photography, then studio-lit portraiture, and finally into fine-art portrait and fashion photography. i provide fine-art and headshot portrait services to my individual clients and their pets, as well as branding services for a variety of groups and individuals. I strive to help my clients feel their best and most authentic selves through a comfortable and communicative environment. I am most proud of my commitment to underrepresented communities, and am passionate about curating a personalized experience for anyone I work with.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My vocation in life is to help people to see their own light, and the light of others. I strive to build individuals up – whether they be portrait subjects, or creative collaborators on a team. My core values include authenticity, transparency, and positivity, and my goal is to fuse those with my technical proficiency to help people see the beauty in their authentic selves.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is the sense of fulfillment I get from watching people relish in their own excellence and coming together to execute a shared vision. Whether it is a make-up artist speaking up to pause the shoot because there is a detail they’d like to fix, a model suggesting we refocus on our original vision for a shoot, or a portrait subject requesting a different pose than I had in mind, the magic in creation lies in collaboration and connection.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mxgump
Image Credits
Pat Gump