Meet Michael Reinmiller

We were lucky to catch up with Michael Reinmiller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose by accident. I shoot photos and people love them. It is fun. I get to play with gear and tech—and people are happy!
I get such a thrill and rush from getting the shot. It is like a drug that I am extremely addicted to!
It comes with the side effect of super happy customers—another addiction!

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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 started with a 1.3 megapixel camera. I took a class at a local community college and was mocked because “digital photography is a waste of time and only a fad.” That was back in 2001, but I stuck with it. Tech has changed a bit since then and I have made every single mistake possible. I now know what NOT to do!

Going full-time with my own business has been a stressful rollercoaster of wins and losses. I love the feeling of adventure. Every morning I go to my studio and figure out what I need to do. The exciting part of doing photo and video is NO two jobs are ever the same.

I have done everything from real estate photography to promotional videos. I am also teaching after school elementary and middle school photography camps. The joy I get out of showing a 5th grader how fun light painting is—truly amazing!

Weddings are a performance art. Being part of such a joyful event is simply the BEST.

I’ve also taken on a new service converting VHS tapes into digital files. Folks are so happy to have better access to their media—being able to share that data can mean the world to someone hoping to pass on family memories or capture historical moments.

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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?

I am not sure why failure is frowned upon. You don’t fall off your bike at 6 years old and never get back on again… Mistakes are the best teachers.

Advice I have to share is to learn from the people you admire. They do not have to be in your field. Learn how they talk to people and how they treat people. Soft skills can be learned just like technical skills can be learned.

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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 don’t want to waste my time on things I am bad at. I could spend months or even years to only become average if I am lucky. I want to spend my time honing my best attributes and skills. That also “ups” my self confidence along the way.

We all struggle at something. We all are great at something else. People don’t remember if Mozart was good at sewing. But they know about his music skills! I’m guessing he spent his time working on music—not sewing clothes.

Contact Info:

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Image Credits

AVDude LLC

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