We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Austin Vidmar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Austin below.
Austin, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
At first I think my optimism came from the idea of a perfect world. I hoped for the best thing to happen even with a doubt that it could go wrong, I still believed in that idea. I believed in chance. Now I believe my continuous optimism comes from my experience. While I still strive for perfect outcomes, I have had my fair share of unexpected outcomes. I have grown over the years through the jobs I have worked, the people I have met, and the places I have lived and traveled to. I have come to learn that the unexpected can be intense and emotional, but it can also be beautiful and serendipitous. There are only so many things you can control in life. But because I have overcome so many obstacles, big or small, I take those experiences and turn them into lessons. Every new experience teaches us something and every day after that experience, we learn to grow and learn from it. I believe that there will always be a better day even when you are at your lowest.
I have dealt with job loss and car troubles and stolen property. One optimism story to share is when my camera was stolen from me. My car was broken into and my camera and my work was stolen from me. It was scary and frustrating but every day after, it got better. It was not always easy to look on the bright side, especially being a photographer, I did.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a photographer. I enjoy all types of photography but architecture and music/event photography are my favorite. I went to college at Loyola University Chicago and earned a BA in Studio Art: Photography. I graduated in 2019 at the age of 24. I started AV Photos, my own freelance company, in 2015. My work ranges from portraits to weddings to concerts and festivals. At Loyola I was taught to continue creating no matter what. For the last 9 years I have gotten paid gigs for weddings, for concerts, for events of 250+ people, and many other things. I like to be flexible and create the exact vision my client has. I strive to improve my skills with every new opportunity. When I am not getting paid I like to create a project for myself to explore and learn. In the beginning of COVID-19 when everything was changing, I was an Uber Eats Driver and started noticing all the posters and signs going up. I started photographing the changes. I photographed individuals with their mask on and took some surveys to see how others were impacted by COVID-19. My most recent project is called “I Love Color.” The overall end goal was to make a rainbow on my instagram grid. I explored new techniques and practiced my portrait photography skills. I continue to create new projects to post on my instagram and share on other social medias. This year I strive to perfect my projects to then enter them into an art gallery or art show along with gaining a bigger audience for my art. I also plan within the next two years to bring my art to a street fair with prints.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
One thing is time management. Time is so important. With social media it feels like every thing is instant. Another thing I learned with that is, you have to go at your own pace. Life is not a race or a competition. I found myself indulged in social media at times. While I do have to use social media for my business, I tend to post when I can and take my time with my projects. Sometimes breaks need to be taken to then reach your full potential again. Those breaks are where time comes in again. Not only do we work to live, we need to live outside of that. We spend time with family and friends, we go on adventures, and we practice our hobbies. Balance is very important to me. The last thing I learned is that if you are not happy or satisfied in something that you are doing, stop what you are doing. This may take time, like finding a new job or figuring out new ways of transportation, etc. Find a way to turn it in to a positive experience and move on from it. Life is too short to be unhappy all the time. You can always change your situation.
I feel as though life was painted to me as a straight shoot, something simple and easy. I always heard “go to college, get a job, and you are set, then you retire.” Well that was not the case for me. Life isn’t just a path with security, things happen and it just simply isn’t the same for everybody. Those experiences make us who we are.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I like being well rounded. I think you can always learn and grow. I think the most relevant story I can share is with my photography. So many people have told me that I should stick to a category of photography, to reach a specific audience. I agree, I should, but I like exploring different photography styles. I like trying new things and creating new visions for myself. I have currently been doing photography for 10 years diving into all the genres. I have had clients ranging from event photography to music photography. I also shot a couple weddings. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and learned from these events. I started to perfect each style that I was working with, pushing myself to become a better well rounded photographer. I have a certain color scheme and an editing style that I like to keep continuous, but I like to shoot all types of things. I think this can be used in other aspects of our lives. We learn new things and build ourselves off of the things we retain and what we enjoy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/av_photos123/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-vidmar-chiphotographer/
- Other: linktr.ee/avphotos
Image Credits
From left to right: Lily Adkison Hayley & Christian Adorjan Antonio Bruno Myles Mendoza Alex Ashton
