We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Fulcher a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chris, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
So this question was actually a huge turning point in my career. My editorial photography has always stood out. I loved breaking the rules when it came to portrait work, I created a unique lane for my style of content. 3 years ago, my partner and I started another business where we do luxury travel content. We work with tourism boards, travel agencies, and resorts/hotels. Not only are we photographing specific locations, but we also model within the pictures too. What we felt made this path unique and eventually effective (even though it took some time) was not changing our style when photographing ourselves. We have many tattoo’s, dress a lot edgier, and overall have a different look than I think most people are used to seeing within travel marketing. When we first started doing travel content, we were scared to make that jump. We would hide our tattoo’s, wear long sleeve sweaters and very generic clothing because we felt that’s what we needed to do in order to be hired. Eventually, it just got to a point where we didn’t want to hide who we were and we wanted to offer a different style that stood out from every other content creator there is. Now, just this year, we have traveled to over 6 different countries and 35 different US states and worked with hundreds of different companies. My inspiration went through the roof. When you feel passionate and comfortable within your art, you will hit levels and achievements like never before.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a freelance photographer and director from Las Vegas, NV! My partner, Savannah Woods, and I run our business together and we specialize in editorial, portraiture, commercial, and travel photography. We love to bend the rules within our art and create unique and tasteful content for our clients that will stand out from anyone else. The part I love about my job the most is the trust our clients give us to give them something no-one has ever seen before and will be a statement piece within their brand and ours. Within our portrait and editorial photography, you will see our work as being very exaggerate. We like to light things on fire, use smoke machines, or even building a whole set design in order to tell their story in what they are trying to showcase. We also have some really exciting new projects and ideas we are going to be building and launching this year. Since moving to Las Vegas a year ago, we are pushing a whole new creative collective within the city. On top of content creating, we also brand direct and manage some resident DJ’s in the area and are constantly thinking of new ways to add fresh and new ideas to the nightlife scene.
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?
1. Not following the same path as everyone else.
It’s important to be inspired by other artists and have role model influences, but I always made sure that I wrote my own story at the end of the day and created art that stood outside the norm.
2. Believing and having passion in the art you are producing
This statement speaks for itself. You will not strive in an artistic career without having some sort of passion behind it.
3. Self care and taking care of your mental well being and health
This is one of the most important areas of knowledge I was ever told. Without taking care of myself, I would’ve crashed and burned years ago. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it happen to friends of mine. I’ve seen some of the most talented and amazing artists end up not becoming who they were meant to become because they did not work on their mental health. So I can’t stress this enough. Health over wealth.
We live in a world where we are FLOODED with content. The only way to stand outside the rest is to be patient, consistent, and different! Most people give up within the first year when starting their own business. It took me YEARS to even lift my career off the ground. Like they say, as long as you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
When I was 13 years old, my father let me borrow his camera. It was an Olympus C-4000 digital camera with only 4 megapixels. I used to play paintball every weekend competitively, and then later down the road when the sport got too expensive, I started photographing teams on the fields I would play at to make some side cash in order to afford my entry fee for competitions.
A few years later, my parents for Christmas bought me a Nikon D40. That camera at the time was groundbreaking for me. That’s when I really started pushing photography. I remember going to Walmart, and buying these $50 photo lights and creating a makeshift studio in my basement. My friends and I would all get together on the weekends and take photos of each other.
My mom at the time, had just recently quit her job and creating her own business with all her best friends. Now, almost 15 years later, her business has skyrocketed. She had a huge impact in my career and still does to this day. She helped me set up my LLC when I first started, understand how taxes work, and so much more. My parents have always been my number one supporters and I am so fortunate and blessed to have them in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chrisfulch.com
- Instagram: @chrisfulch / @chrisfulcherphotos
- Other: https://www.savvy-travels.com/
