Meet Austin Cloud

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

Hi Austin, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
When I was growing up I was always antisocial. I never had the courage to talk to someone first and when someone would speak to me first I was always nervous. When I got into photography I had already met some people who showed me their gear and the work that they made and it inspired me to create stuff for myself. I went to my first photo meet with a group of friends back in 2021 and I was the odd man out when it came to being anti social. All my friends wanted to go network and shoot with other people and I found myself alone trying not to feel sorry for myself. Eventually my friend Wallace saw me sulking and came over to shoot with me. We went down to the Davenport beach swings to take photos and before I knew it a lot of people started coming down to shoot with us. I found myself talking to people and directing models. I found myself being social with people who wanted to do the same thing I wanted to do. I kept going to these photo meets and in March of 2022 my girlfriend and I hosted our first photo meet in Modesto. Ever since then we’ve been hosting and going to photo meets all over California. My hope is that I can inspire someone, anyone out there with a camera and the desire to create something for themselves. My purpose is to create things with the people I love. That’s what I want to do above all else!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Austin Cloud of Austin Cloud Media. My business is to capture memories for people whether that be a wedding, birthday or anything else they may want to remember forever through the gift of photography. My team and I also run Cali Creators. A group of talented creators dedicated to bringing creative people together to create cool creations. We host photo meets all across California trying to reach those who want to learn and collaborate with other great people. I’m also trying to get into filmmaking. I have a couple of films I’m working on but we will see how that goes.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Passive learning is a very important skill for me. I took photography and videography in high school and I almost failed both classes. When Covid started I took the time to walk every day to my local park and trails and take photos. I learned way more in those first three months than I did with two whole years of photo and video classes. I learned about everything by being a shadow of professionals and hobbyists alike. Being obsessed is very important. When I was in school I always found myself researching cameras and gear. I was obsessed with photography and I was what some people might call a “gearhead”. At one point in my life I could name off almost any camera and its specs. I also was obsessed with going out and shooting. Being obsessed will give you a drive that nothing else will and it will bring you success in the long run.
Teaching people will help you learn more. I’ve had the privilege to teach other about photography through hosting photo meets. Teaching someone no matter what you’re teaching will give you a better understanding of the topic and will give you more patience. It’s something that I love doing and it always helps me understand what I want to do and it even gives me ideas for future projects I want to accomplish.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
For me the biggest challenge I’m facing is actually making a film or a video that I’m happy with. I always feel like I can do better and I’m often disappointed by my work. In some cases I’ll even delete my work off of my social media because I feel it doesn’t meet my personal standards. That’s something I need to work on is to just put something out there and keep learning anyway.

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