Today we’d like to introduce you to Tobias Smith.
Tobias, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
As a child, I was always into arts. I used to draw, take photos with a Polaroid camera, play in the band, and I sang in the choir in high school. I received a scholarship from Alabama State for chorus, but decided not to go and wanted to get back into photography. Not knowing anything much about the school, I decided not to go and attend The Art Institute of Atlanta and take up product photography. Once I graduated, I found a job doing school photography. That’s where I started using my knowledge of product lighting on portraits. I continued to perfect my craft and stop doing product photography and focus on portraits. After I felt like I had gained enough experience, I started to venture out and network. During this time, I photographed the artist Ciara, was a photographer for Hot 107.9 celebrity baseball game, shot for Big Boi’s Big Kids Foundation, photographed tons of weddings, senior portraits, family photos, and events. From there, my name and business grew by word of mouth.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. Some of the struggles I’ve had were trying to get people to believe in my work. Ever since cell phones were invented, everyone thinks that they are photographers and think that they can do what professionals do. I’ve had a couple to not book me to photograph their wedding and told me that they decided to let a family friend that’s learning photography do their wedding. I’ve also have friends not hire me because their mother wanted to go with another photographer. A year later, that same couple deeply apologized to me and told me that they regretted changing photographers. I’ve had people base their decision to not book or work with me on how many followers on have on Instagram.
Please tell us about Tobias Smith Photography – what should we know?
Tobias Smith Photography started back in 2000. After working for a school photography company for about 6 months, I told myself that I could do what they do, but better. From then I pushed myself to go out, network, and shoot as much as I could. There’s not one thing that I specialize in, I love doing events, weddings, and portraits. I feel like I’m on cloud 9 when I know I can produce a photo that makes memories for a lifetime. As a company, I’m very proud that my name is getting around via word of mouth. I feel like what sets me apart from other photographers is that I’m a big component of lighting and composition. I see a lot of photographers with flat lighting, no dimension, no “wow” factor. I plan every shoot out before I shoot.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being trustworthy, having that eye, quality work, and being affordable is what I strive for to be successful. I fill that being affordable with quality work plays a huge part in this business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tobiassmithphotography.com
- Phone: 404-323-0876
- Email: tobiassmithphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: @tobiassmithphotography
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