We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Dulaney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.
Matt, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
In my experience, artists typically are some of the biggest self critics. It is incredibly easy to look at your own work and find every single flaw you can while simultaneously criticizing yourself and your mistakes. I feel that it is something that all artists struggle with, no matter how successful. For me, I’ve had to learn how the quiet the voices over the years. I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where I don’t hyper criticize myself, but at the very least I can turn those screams into a whisper and keep pushing forward knowing that there are people who support me, my work, and are willing to pay me for my services, which is a great confidence boost.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Matt Dulaney. For the last 18 years of my life I have loved photography and it’s ability to allow people to express their perspective on the world. I had always picked up small gigs here and there to make some extra cash doing small photo shoots for friends, but in 2018 I decided to take things more seriously. I started developing my voice, learning more about the business side of creative work, and worked towards building something that brought me sustainable joy in a professional sense. I’ve always had a passion for the hospitality industry, the issues facing a majority of it’s workers in the form of mental health, and people in general. Through my work I’ve sought to showcase that world whether it was through photographing the incredible food and drink that was created, or my current long term project taking portraits of cooks, bussers, dishwashers, servers, and bartenders in an effort to bring light to the constant struggles with mental issues that plague this industry.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the most important part of any creatives journey is to figure out what it is they want to say. That is something that can change numerous times over the course of one’s career. A number of people talk about finding your voice, and while I agree with them on the importance of learning how to channel ones visions creatively, I think it’s also equally important to know what you’re trying to say. Second would be to find the joy in what you do. Creative people tend to have a lot of highs and lows in my experience that can make it hard to push on, and in those low moments I’ve found it’s important to step back and focus on what it was that intially made you fall in love with your chosen medium. I’m all too guilty of taking months off at a time because I don’t feel confident in what I’m shooting or my ability to do so and it’s in those moments that I have to just grab my camera and go for walks shooting anything that grabs my attention. Most people never see those photos, nor are they supposed to. Those are the moments for me to get back to my love of my craft. The final impactful thing for me has been to never be too humble. Take the compliments you’re given by others. Recognize your own talents but always strive to improve. Humility is a wonderful thing, but when it hinders your growth it stops serving you. You’ve worked hard to build the skills that allow you to do this work professionally and it’s ok to be proud of that and as much as I’m saying this for anyone reading this, I’m saying it for myself too.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
I recently was asked to do an engagement shoot for two of my close friends. I was nervous because this is a huge moment for them and I didn’t want to mess anything up, but they were the perfect clients to work with. Flexible, communicative, and they had a vision of what they wanted. It allowed me to work on ideas, present them and then go shoot. Every shot we discussed was quick and near effortless and we worked so quickly together that we were able to fit in other shots that came to us spontaneously. It was a shoot that I will remember for a long time, work that I was excited to do, and a finished product I’ll be proud of forever.
Contact Info:
- Website: matthewdulaney.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: chromastills
Image Credits
Matt Dulaney for Chroma Stills
