We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Connor Ryan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Connor, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
I grew up doing what I was told, doing what was expected of me, never trying to push boundaries or be uncomfortable. I started to question that way of living when I got my first job working full time for a bank shortly after graduating from college. I had obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, which I pursued at the recommendation of my father. It’s not that he forced it on me or anything, but I just didn’t know what else I would want to try. I was good at Finance, but I never particularly felt passionate about it. Then, once I started working at the bank, I realized this was not something I could see myself doing my whole life.
That’s when I began to look at other career options, and photography was the one that peaked my interest. The only only problem was that a career in photography is the complete opposite of a career in banking: uncertain, always changing, and far from stable. But it was challenging, engaging, and captivating. I knew I would never be bored if I was working around cameras all the time. And that’s when I knew I had to take some risks.
After 5 years of developing my skills and building a local network, I took the leap and went full time freelance in September 2022 and I haven’t looked back!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a photographer, videographer / filmmaker (not sure which is the right terminology lol), and a commercial actor. I’ll try my best to break that down.
Photography definitely comes first for me. It’s something I do everyday and never tire of. I started off taking lots of photos around Memphis because I found the city to be very photogenic. I also grew up in Bartlett so I found it fascinating to explore the city I grew up near but never really got to know. Nowadays, I focus more on my professional photography skills such as event, headshot, and corporate photography, but the passion for the artistic side is still there. I’m frequently playing with different cameras, traveling, and trying new photography techniques. The rabbit hole never ends!
Videography took a backseat to photography for a long time but has recently been something I’ve been doing more often. I worked at a local production company for 6 months last year and that really opened my eyes up to the possibilities in the film world. I have a small setup that I have created a short documentaries, small business promotions, and other low level videos with. But, I believe story comes first when creating anything video related. It doesn’t matter how much gear you have or how big your crew is if the story you’re telling doesn’t resonate with the viewers. That’s why I believe I can be impactful with just a small company! But I’m definitely learning and working my way up to doing bigger things.
Lastly, I have started pursuing commercial acting. My girlfriend is an accomplished actress, and after helping her film several auditions over the last few years, I decided to give acting a try myself (with her encouragement and mentoring). I’ve been in 5 different commercial productions so far and look forward to seeing where this takes me!
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. Passion. 2. Persistance 3. CANI (constant and never-ending improvement). Passion gets you started, persistance keeps you going, and CANI separates you from everyone else.
For people just starting out, let your passion and curiosity guide you. Try everything, be obsessed, learn as much as you absolutely can. That’s how you figure out where you’re supposed to go and what’s going to make you feel the most fulfilled.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think leaning into your strengths is great to do early on in a new venture. You can distinguish yourself quicker and develop a set of useful skills. But no one is flawless. There will be times when weaknesses will come up and you have to address them. For example, I always found composition to be one of my strengths, but lighting was not. I didn’t understand how to use lighting to my advantage in different situations, natural or artificial. That is something I’ve made my primary focus this year and I can already tell I’ve made big strides in that. Soon I’ll be able to call it a strength too!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.connorryancreative.com
- Instagram: @connordryan
- Facebook: @connordryan
- Twitter: @connordryan
- Youtube: @connordryan
Image Credits
IMG_4333: Qualchoice Insurance IMG_4332: Natalie Schuh
