Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Troy “Seven” Timberlake. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, “Seven” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my company, Ex Voto Studio, is relevant to it’s starting place. By the mid 90’s I had already become a serious hobbyist with my photography and had even been published. I had not considered it as a career because the very thought of it seemed impossible. At that time information was much more difficult to come by and someone couldn’t just Google “How does a new photographer make a living?”. So I studied and practiced my hobby for the love of light and capturing moments until I started to realize that even while I was at my actual job all I was thinking about was photography. I wasn’t particularly miserable at work but in the same breath I can also say I was not happy either. So New Year’s Eve 1996 I made the resolution to try and find a career that I would indeed be happy and proud of doing. That meant pursuing the thing I love to do so much that I would have done it for free. It was a vow to myself that I would try because I was still relatively young and had time to fail and start over if need be. So Ex Voto (Latin) means; ‘In fulfillment of a vow’ and my slogan “Sauviter In Modo Fortiter In Re” (also Latin) means; “Soft in manner. Strong in deed. Which turns out is probably a perfect way to describe my personality and manner. I don’t boast but instead just try to quitely surprise people with what I do. With that said both the company name and slogan both seemed fitting and a great conversation starter when someone reads my slogan on a t-shirt.

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?

About me: I am very laid back and I’m a watcher. In a crowded room, if I was allowed to, I would always choose a corner to just sit back and watch the dynamics of the room. That being said I can also be very social when I need to be…. the proper term may be “extroverted-introvert” but I’m not a psychologist. My wife and friends have many times just watched me walk around a room and go out of my way to talk to strangers. I’m not sure what drives me to do it other than a belief that making the world a smaller place is better and that we all may be able to learn from other peoples experiences. By the end of any given night out or vacation people that were strangers and now giving hugs and well wishes. I love a good adventure and making stories. I don’t want to live forever I just don’t want to die with a salad in my stomach. That is to say I want to live my life in the here and now not worried about all the things that could possibly kill me because that list is way too long and our time will be way too short in comparison.

I am also very good at putting people at ease so it’s no mystery why I prefer to work with people as opposed to products or landscapes. 99% of my work is photographing people in different scenarios and for different reasons. One day it may be a corporate branding shoot and the next may be a Designer’s Look Book. I am most proud of portraiture though. It is not nearly as exciting or challenging as my other work but when a client comes in that doesn’t feel photogenic or I know that due to health reasons it is the last portrait they will ever take I begin to shine. Everyone has a good time on my shoots even the assistants and guests not being photographed. I try to treat shoots more like a party than work since people look to the photographer to set the tone and vibe on set. So when a challenging or unique subject is on my set I will 100% make sure they feel comfortable. From the moment they arrive (if not before in communications) I constantly reassure them how much they are going to love this experience. We all have something that we are uncomfortable with or we don’t like about the way we look so being able to talk about that with clients is a good start. Of course as the photographer your skill-set has to back up what you said but you won’t get the chance to show them if you can’t get your client to relax and have fun. Then after you are done, when they are leaving…. just watch them! They are smiling, standing taller with their shoulders back. Because you just gave them something they didn’t believe they could have and that’s what I love the most.

I am a rule breaker by nature and there is no separation from that in my work. My clients love me because I like to dream beyond what they are asking for so I can tell them what else is possible. Some clients just don’t know about photography (and that can be a good thing for photographers) so they may come with half an idea or concept. We can fill out the other half for them or we can even go beyond their expectations and that is how business relationships are forged.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

My. “non-creative” friends really struggle with me and my eventual general dissatisfaction with my work. I tell them “it’s an artist thing” but there is no research I’ve done to back that statement up. I even wrote a blog about this but it’s too long to post here so maybe just a link below if anyone would like to read it.

I have never loved one of my images for more than a day or two. I constantly tear them apart and tell myself what I am going to change the next time but I think that is what an artist is supposed to do. Constantly evaluate your work to become better at it. If you are always happy with what you’ve produced then in my opinion you may be missing out on some potential growth as a creative. The goal line should always be changing. Yes it can be a terrible feeling but in the long run but I never let myself celebrate for too long because I’m only as good as my last shoot… and that was at 10am this morning….and it was AWESOME but by tomorrow I’ll know what to do differently next time.

Some non-creatives also struggle to see the value in hiring a professional creative to do the work they think they can do themselves. Just recently I heard about a meeting that happened with a potential client in which they were discussing whether or not to spend the money on an actual photographer for a project. It struck me as a very cool company but their imagery could certainly use some work and branding. Headshots ranged from a few professional shots to selfies and the team shot…well it just really needed a professional’s eye in many ways. During the course of this meeting I am told a VP of Finance said something to the affect of ‘I have an Iphone **, why can’t I just take these pictures?’. Now, to be fair I wasn’t in this meeting and I cannot say if he was joking but I don’t think he was given the subsequent conversation that I had. Had I been there I probably would have replied with something like this (with a little smile on face): ‘I understand exactly what you’re saying! Phones these days are amazing and I have certainly taken images with my phone that people assumed were taken with my professional camera. Here’s the thing though, to me my camera is a screwdriver and my brain is the actual camera. My brain sees the potential in what can be done with your project. My brain has spent decades studying facial features and light just to know what angles are going to suit you best and how not to take those angles too far to send the wrong subliminal message to your potential clients about your character. It’s fun to think that we can all be professional photographers with the purchase of a new high-end phone with an amazing camera on it and I encourage you to explore and use it to document your life. When it comes down to it though, there is no phone and no professional camera that has 100% replaced the human brain and what it has learned about what a human with proper experience and training can do. For example, I have a Canon P170 Business Calculator and a computer on hand but I know for a fact that those two items are not enough to make me capable of doing your job. I’m assuming you have spent time being educated, trained and have gone through experiences that make you very good at what you do. The difference between us is how we see the world and the tools we use to document what we see to tell a story. Your story is numbers and my story is light and texture. If we both tell our stories to the best of our abilities we can make this Annual Report a work of art that captures your investor’s attention.

https://www.exvotostudio.com/blog/100-dissatisfaction-guaranteed-get-onboard

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of my job is that it has never felt like a job at all. I still giggle on the inside that I am being paid to do something I love and that people value what I do. I wish that feeling for everyone!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.exvotostudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exvotostudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exvotophotography
• Other: Blog: https://www.exvotostudio.com/blog