Meet Mitchel Wu

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mitchel Wu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mitchel, 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 excelled at drawing and art so I knew I wanted to have a career that allowed me to express myself creatively. I’ve always been interested in telling stories and was intrigued by art, drawing, and comics growing up. I eventually went to the California College of the Arts in Northern California which led to my being recruited by Disney, where I worked for 6 years. Following my time with Disney I worked for several different companies until a couple of major life changes made me realize how short life can be and how important it is to pursue one’s passion. I didn’t want money to be the thing that drove my work. I had an interest in photography and made a choice to explore that more. I photographed weddings for about eight years, which was critical to my development as an artist, especially focusing on technique and storytelling. It took me years to discover toy photography, but once I did I found the creativity and career I had always dreamt about and never looked back.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I create and craft stories through toy photography, capturing the illusion of motion and emotion where none exist. Telling stories has been a constant throughout my career and is the foundation of most visual art. I find that toys are an amazing vehicle for telling a variety of stories. If you think about it, that’s essentially what toys are made for. It’s getting back to those childhood pursuits of ‘playing make-believe,’ in which almost anything is possible. Most adults rarely exercise that part of the imagination, something that came so naturally to them as kids. Toy photography allows me to enter that world again.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Creativity, persistence and risk taking. The one thing that was most impactful in my journey, that included all 3 of those qualities, was creating a niche, and then going all in on that niche. As far as I know, in 2015 there wasn’t a single independent photographer focused on photographing toys as their career. I saw the opportunity, which perfectly matched my passion and interests, and went for it. Finding or creating a niche was something I wish I knew about when I first began my photography journey some 17 or so years ago, as I know it would have changed the trajectory of my career. But better late than never, right? So my advice to anyone who will listen is always have the goal of finding a niche to work in. It may take years, but the likelihood of it happening is much stronger if you have it as a goal.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents believed in me, and allowed me to pursue my interests and passions rather than imposing their own on me. My wife and I followed that same philosophy when raising our own daughter. Seeing her spread her wings, grow and flourish in her independence is one of the most amazing and satisfying things to see.

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