We recently connected with Vince COOPER and have shared our conversation below.

Vince, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

If I could have started my photography business sooner or later than I did, I would not pick either. Starting sooner was not an option due to my regular job. I worked ridiculously long hours, weekends, holidays, and so on. Being in the military there were also long deployments and frequent travel. Had I started photography later, it would have been during the COVID pandemic which would not have set me up for success. The idea to start photography was one I played with in 2018 during a deployment to Kuwait. I began writing down ideas for photoshoots and did my first shoot upon returning home. Being as my experience behind a camera was taking crime scene photos, the first photoshoot I did was a murder scene inspired by Clue. I moved soon afterward to Alaska which allowed me to find more models to shoot with. When I found models, I shot fairly frequently and was blessed to work with some fantastic ladies. Had I tried photography sooner, dedicating the necessary time to finding people to work with, promote on social media, learn editing, and scheduling shoots would have been sparse. I would not have been able to do enough photoshoots to get enough practice. I would have likely also developed a reputation as a flake for canceling shoots because of duty calls at work. The timing for me to start photography was perfect for me. Starting earlier or later would have probably created a lot of frustration and made it seem like a job, thus killing a lot of the fun.

Vince, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Federal Agent for the Air Force. I have been on Active Duty for 19 years and been an agent for 14 of those years. Working criminal investigations can be extremely stressful so it is important to find distractors or hobbies. I used to paint as a hobby, but painting takes a lot of time and patience. If I finished a painting and wasn’t satisfied, there wasn’t much I could do and felt I wasted my time. That was when I thought about doing photography and creating scenes. If I didn’t like a picture, I could just snap another one. Plus, after you’ve taken pictures at crime scenes under pretty much the worst circumstances, a photoshoot is easy. I think the way I learned photography, by having to tell a story through pictures, as well as my approach to photoshoots sets me apart from many photographers. I don’t approach photoshoots looking to get that one perfect shot. I have ideas for certain photos, sometimes specific shots, but for the most part, I go into a shoot open-minded. I see what the environment provides, whether it’s indoor or outdoor, as well as seek input from the model I’m shooting, and just go with it. As a result, my shoots are relaxed and fun. I also believe in not having a model do something I wouldn’t do. Climb a tree? Great, I’m going up first. Stand in freezing water? I’m doing it too. I love leaving a shoot covered in fake blood or glitter, soaking wet, sweating or freezing to death. What I’m most proud of and humbled by is the quality of models I’ve been fortunate to work with. Most of them I’ve shot more than once and that’s the biggest compliment I can receive as a photographer; when someone wants to work with me again.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of doing creative photography is seeing an idea come to life. Sometimes I will have a picture in my head and I end up capturing the exact photograph I had in mind. Many times what I envision ends up being surpassed by the final product. For example, I am currently shooting a photo series on the Seven Deadly Sins. The first theme I did was gluttony and the model’s make up and wardrobe was far beyond what I imagined and I knew immediately the shoot was going to be amazing.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media requires a lot of patience. The key to posting on social media is to post often. Keep the content going, educate yourself on hashtags, find places to promote your pages, sign up for multiple platforms, and don’t be afraid to fail. I was familiar with Facebook when I started my photography business, but I was not familiar with Instagram and actively avoided TikTok for a long time. I searched Google and watched videos on YouTube on how to grow an audience. I took an online course in social media, and I tried things that either did not work or I was not fully satisfied with and made changes. If you’re going to post on the internet, use the internet to learn how to effectively grow an audience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Manic_expressions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Manic-Expressions-Photography
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@manicexpressionsphotograph6518

Image Credits
Corianne, Kaylee, Drew, Sam, Amy, Tia, Lisa, Sareina