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

Robert, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

When I went to college I had every intention of becoming an engineer. I studied hard, got good grades and interned with various companies each summer. But by the time I graduated I had learned that a career as a mechanical engineer wasn’t what I had hoped it would be and I was faced with a difficult dilemma: do I accept an offer for a job that I know I will hate, or do I take a risk and ignore my expensive degree to hopefully find a new career that will bring me more fulfillment?

With little to no plan, I began searching for work that I could find happiness in, or work that would at least buy me enough time to find out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I took on odd jobs, freelanced as a consultant when I could and even started a nonprofit.

During this time of uncertainty, I made two particularly important decisions. The first was that I picked up a camera and became obsessed with learning anything and everything I could about photography. The second was that I began traveling, mainly domestically, but occasionally internationally, all the while gaining a deep appreciation for the various perspectives on how different people chose to live their lives in different places.

After a year of this soul searching period of limbo, I decided that I needed a new catalyst to expedite the process. With carry-ons for our clothes and a small camera bag tucked under the seat in front of me, my then girlfriend, now wife, and I boarded a plane to Peru with a oneway ticket. Over the course of the next 5 months, we backpacked around the world until the little money we had saved up ran out. During our trip, we visited 7 countries on 4 continents and I shot thousands and thousands and thousands of photos. Every day, without fail, I either took photos and filmed video, edited photos and footage, studied YouTube videos about photography and videography or did some combination of the three.

When we returned home I suddenly had a robust portfolio, a handful of small client shoots under my belt and the belief in my ability as a videographer and photographer to pursue a career in the industry. While I was still nervous about the transition and whether or not I’d succeed, I committed to freelancing as soon we got back and haven’t looked back since.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a photographer and videographer from North Carolina who recently moved to New York City.

I originally started shooting as a way of documenting my 5 month trip around the world, so my early client worked was heavily geared towards travel and adventure content, but I eventually transitioned to focus more on marketing content for fashion, lifestyle and CPG brands. My biggest strength with my camera is my versatility, often utilizing photos, videos and drone shots to meet clients creative needs, and my ability to operate independently or with a small team with a run and gun style.

I now serve as the Director of Content for Fair Harbor, one of my former clients, in New York and freelance on the side when the right projects present themselves.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is getting to work on fun projects that are also mentally stimulating. Every shoot has its own unique set of problems to solve and the challenge of figuring out how to bring a creative vision to life is one that never seems to get old. As someone who left engineering behind to pursue a creative career, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work on projects that I find enjoyment, purpose and satisfaction in on a daily basis.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I think the best source of new clients for me has always been my commitment to the quality of work that I put out. Yes, social media, cold emails, paid ads, etc. can all be leveraged to bring new business in the door, but some of my best clients have come from word of mouth referrals or from random messages after they saw a piece of content that I’d put out for another project. One of my closest friends is an incredibly talented photographer and his favorite mantra is’ “one thing leads to another, so do the one thing well.” This message is easily forgotten in our digital world of instant gratification, but I think it’s one that’s immensely important and is so simple to put into practice. No matter the project, no matter the budget, if you always commit to producing the best quality of work that you can, eventually it will pay you dividends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Libtography.com
• Instagram: @Robert_Lib
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-liberatore-11ab2a69/