We recently connected with Stephen Payne and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How has Covid changed your business model?

In the start of 2020 I was approached by some friends in the industry about joining forces and starting a new company together, and like with everyone COVID seemed to essentially shut down business overnight having clients cancel or reschedule for later hoping things would be better. We had a strong focus on working with musicians and when shut down these local musicians were hurting very bad. After talking, brainstorming, and looking at the future we got into the livestream game. We jumped in feet first and started working with artist. Over the last year and a half we done livestreams for so many artist from local Georgia rock bands to Grammy winning blues musicians in Mississippi.

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?

My name is Stephen Payne. I am a photographer and videographer working in the Atlanta / Athens areas. I grew up loving to play music and take photos, and when I graduated I couldn’t see my self working in an office and knew I had to do something in the creative industry so I decide I would pursue photography as a career. Not really knowing where to start I asked a friend if I could assist at a wedding and through a turn of events I ended up cover the videographer when she unexpectedly had to leave for an emergency. Shooting half a wedding video and I was hooked. I attended SCAD in at Atlanta for photography and have been working full time doing photo / video since.

Sometimes I feel like I shoot a bit of everything. I have done work with ESPN, Atlanta Magazine, and even ZOOAtlanta to name a few. But, my first passion has always been music. I love working with artist just starting out all the way to sold out tours. Myself and my company Super Canoe think that everyone deserves high quality content. If you’re passionate about your craft we want to help you succeed.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My company Super Canoe started in 2020 with a few people that I have know for a long time. We all work somewhere in the creative industry. We have full time musicians, photographers, videographers, and managers. One of my oldest friends had the idea to join forces since we all had different skills we could help each other. Like the saying goes “If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.”

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the biggest rewards is creating something that you are really proud of. You can take a step back after a project is finished and know you put a piece of yourself into it. Sometimes that ends up being a video with millions of views and seeing “Direct by: Stephen Payne”, and other times it’s taking photos of someone that only a few people will see. But, it’s something that you helped create and can proudly show.

Contact Info:

• Website: StephenPayne.co / SuperCanoe.co
• Instagram: @StephenPayne91 / @Super.Canoe
• Youtube: YouTube.com

Image Credits
First photo (of me): image by Love Stories Co.