Behind The Lens:
Sheltered Beginnings
I grew up sharing a home with my entire extended family. With 5 in the household and half of them being disabled, things were strict, protective, and sheltered. Experiences and entertainment were kept close to home. Due in part, to this, I found alternative ways to express myself -creativity.
I went down various paths of creativity from musical hobbies to art, and hands-on crafts. My family was hesitant to get an ADHD diagnosis, and my mother was paranoid about any sort of testing. In fear of being held accountable for anything genetic, and I understood that. This led to a lot of school struggles, failing grades, and summer school. Which caused a lot of school disdain.
It was only after school that I discovered a minor learning disorder was the culprit. Which is typical for those with ADHD, and anxiety. Bullying, hazing, and mockery were common experiences for most, in High School. I harbored a lot of distrust, and dislike for my classmates. But creative exploration was always my respite. It wasn’t until my 21st birthday, did I start to find some measure of relevance.
Travel: A Gateway To A Larger World
In 2007 I entertained the thought of further education, by obtaining my Class A CDL. This was a gateway to something I didn’t expect to be a passion -travel. I had no rent or responsibilities and took every long-distance trip I was able to squeeze out of my driver manager. I would be gone for months before taking any time off back at home. The thought of being someplace new, and taking in new sights was exciting.
Living in a hometown as tiny and uneventful as East Liverpool, you didn’t miss anything when you were away at work. While others my age were drinking and having parties, I was expanding my experiences and living life. This was when I bought my first camera. It wasn’t much, a simple Walmart digital camera with little to no features. I couldn’t even tell you what brand it was, I only remember that it was maybe 3-4 megapixels. At the time, it took fantastic photos, but looking back on them now -not so much.
It was my way of capturing my experiences and revisiting the things I had seen, with family and friends. In those days photographers were nothing more than people who shot weddings, news, and fashion icons for print. I didn’t know that driving would just be a means to an end. After visiting or passing through over half of the states, I left the field for good.
Too many times had I been told to drive illegally, or risk my life behind the wheel with no sleep. The potential profit did not outweigh the thought of losing my license. Or worse, killing an innocent bystander because of a greedy employer's work ethic. The field let me experience amazing days of life and taught me valuable lessons about the workforce mentality, and how I didn’t agree with it.
My First Camera and Repeat Clients
In the last 5 years, I’ve settled down, but not to the full extent of the context. I have a sweet and supportive fiancé and a clever son. I purchased my first DSLR in late 2021, after nearly a decade of smartphone photos. By 2022 I launched my website, portfolio and started my career with my first clients. In 2023 I expanded into drone photography, to access those otherwise inaccessible locations. I’ve flown for real estate, commercial property, and events. After shooting full-time for over 2 years now I’ve started up a shop to sell prints of my landscape and travel photography.
Using Time Efficiently
While I’ve made progress in establishing myself as the sole owner and employee of my photography business. There is still plenty of room for further expansion. I am still at the critical stage of exposure, marketing, and advertisement, which is a right of passage for all business owners. I am devoted and passionate about my skills and my future as a creator. With the birth of my son, and his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Even as my fiance returns to school to further her career, while I stay home as a part-time homemaker -my drive for photography remains.
Meeting and Exceeding Expectations
This has afforded me the free time to work on my business online. Maintaining and updating my business website, making client connections, and expanding my online and local presence. On the weekends and during the weekday afternoons, I still see to my client’s needs within my allotted time frame. I still deliver in a timely and expedited fashion for all of my clients. My typical turnaround time, for delivery, is between 24-48 hours. This ultimately depends on how many days I am required to shoot, and what degree of editing is needed or requested.
To date, I have more repeat clients, thanks to my work ethic and willingness to communicate. I always equip my clients with vital information to better meet their needs. How the industry works, when hiring a photographer. What the going rates and expenses typically are, and how weather plays a pivotal role in planning. I strive to keep my clients in the loop through every step of the process of their project, with timely emails, phone calls, or text messages.
I contribute my work ethic to my experiences as a driver. Having dealt with greed, miscommunication, and being undervalued. I treat every project as if it were my own, and every client as a person. I’m just as much a perfectionist, as I am a creative. If embraced correctly it can be a highlighting feature, in creative work practices. My prices are as flexible, as they are competitive. I make every effort to keep my prices acceptable in this growing industry, while not undervaluing my skill as a professional. Transparency is key. Every service and feature that is included, is upfront and visible. If something you request is out of my scope, I will always provide a pricing breakdown.
I hope that this post has served to illuminate what type of person I am, and provides a glimpse of what it is like to work with me. For inquiries, email me at info@shaunmrichey.com.
