Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryder Visuals. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ryder, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I attended Columbia College Chicago where I majored in creative writing. I developed a love for the camera early in my life but it was around the time I first started in school where I decided to go the professional route. Since I was transitioning into something new, aside from my writing, I wanted to pay homage to my other creative side, since I knew that it could go hand in hand with my business. So I took the name ‘WRITER” and squeezed and shaped it into “RYDER”, as somewhat of a reminder of where I started and where I’m going. I also wanted to let anyone who views my work join me on a journey of progression as I move up the later, or in others join this incredible ride with me.

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?

Camera work has always been an interest in my mind. I remember joining a photography class in high school and later dropping out after a week, only because I felt the teaching methods were not going to take me where I wanted to go. So by the time I got to college, I self taught myself how to operate the camera. I was already in a class that required me to rent a camera, so instead my brother bought me my first DSLR camera. I also was a party promoter for PREMO and I turned into they’re behind the scenes camera man. From there as I was scene all over campus and all over the internet with my camera, people started to reach out to me about shooting music videos. While it was never in my head to shoot music videos (I only saw myself as a vlogger), my skills quickly picked up and I received more and more music video inquiries.

Since then, my goal was to always expand. I always wanted to either meet my clients expectations or exceed them,-nothing less. From the smallest projects to the biggest productions, I knew no matter what, to always give this my A game. I knew to expand, which is why I decided to combine photos and videos in my business, but also provide edits for anyone who needed them. I think what sets me apart from most people or other videographers/photographers is my ability and hunger to adapt and expand. Not only am I in love with what I do, I want to be of service to as many people with as many different crafts. Aside from my camera work, I started my own monthly showcases highlighting many of my previous clients. Some time later, I practiced graphic design for anyone with graphic needs. Later on, I created my own podcast, to not only give myself a voice that many haven’t heard before, but give others a chance to make their voice be heard.

The progression is what I’m most proud of, I went from shooting small projects in my dorm room to one of my videos being played on VH1. Through time, I get better and better and there is never a day that goes by where I don’t learn something new. If there is any take away bout my story, I want people to see the wild ride I have been on and hopefully they can join the ride as well.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

While I was doing the camera work, I was in school and working as a paralegal/assistant. My office job was my main source of income at the time while my photography and videos were more of my side hustle. It was a lot to juggle all three at the same time, so when I finally graduated I had more freedom to do more work, learn new tricks and make more money. While I started working at the office and started Ryder Visuals in 2013, it was until 2021 where I knew it was time for me to take a risk. While working at the office for almost 10 years, I knew it was time for me to move on my own and become a full time videographer/photographer. I knew it was time for a change once I was getting multiple shoots a day and had no time to work a regular job. With that, I left the office and began to truly work for myself. Though it was a struggle at first, It has been a great experience to put my all into just my craft and only my craft.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When my brother bought my first camera, I knew that it was a time to build a new audience and build some clientele. My first month of doing photography, I advertised on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook that I would be doing free photo shoots for the month. It got a tremendous response and within that month I met a lot of new people and expanded my resumé. I also attended various events around my school and took pictures and video of each event, all while networking with other creatives. If I could give anyone any advice, especially when starting something new to expand your presence, there is a concept that I like to call, “beat the streets up”. It simply means to go out and push your art. Work with as many people as you can so that they remember not only your name but the work and art you can provide to others. Working for little or nothing is a process to build awareness of who you are and what you can provide to others.

Contact Info:

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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;”>View this profile on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0;”></div> <div style=”display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px;”> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;”></div> <div style=” width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; 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margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/ryder_visuals/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading” style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;” target=”_blank”>Ryder 🦅 Host of the Byrd House Podcast</a> (@<a href=”https://www.instagram.com/ryder_visuals/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading” style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;” target=”_blank”>ryder_visuals</a>) • Instagram photos and videos</p></div></blockquote> <script async src=”//www.instagram.com/embed.js”></script>
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOCzeerS57_kQQagBshJtLQ

Image Credits
Shot by @gxld_photo & @somadds