Today we’d like to introduce you to Micah Laplante.
Hi Micah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a very artistic family. The house I spent most of my time growing up in had an art studio where my grandma taught art classes in. Both my parents were into music, and my grandfather was a graphic designer and illustrator. When I was a kid, I would constantly be drawing and dreaming up stories. In the early 2000s, my father became a repair technician at one of the first digital camera repair companies in the country. so he started bringing home cameras, and that’s where my introduction to photography came into the picture (see what I did there?) I almost always carried my camera with me and would try to document everything around me and get interesting pictures. I was probably a bit annoying.
Eventually, in my early teen years, I discovered stop-motion animation and got really hooked on that. It brought my love of Storytelling back. And was the only thing that I could fully pour my imagination into. I definitely did not put as much time and attention into my schooling as I did my animation projects. Oops. Eventually, I had to get work and tried a variety of different jobs that were mostly labor. Though I got pretty good at some of them, I was always pretty bored and frustrated by them. So I started looking for some more creative work and took on some clients on the side in my free time. Most of what I would do in the beginning was graphic design work and web design. And that’s the work that would come to me so I figured that’s what I would probably end up doing. So in 2016, filed for my business name and got started. And in the second half of 2017, I quit my full-time job so that I can work full-time for myself. This was a huge jump, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my wife. But it seemed necessary to really get the ball rolling. At first, I put all my efforts into design and illustration, But 1 video I saw recommended that I buy a decent camera to use to get references for design. At this point, I had been out of photography for a little bit. But it was a good thing I picked up a new mirrorless camera because that was what put me back into photography and videography again which was ultimately the career path I took. Now I get to tell all kinds of stories with my camera and am never stuck being bored with my work.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Nothing worth doing is easy they say. No, I can’t say it’s been fully smooth. Money has often come in waves. Since it’s based on contracts or jobs, they aren’t always steady flowing. Some months have been spectacular and others have been pretty rough. The Silver Lining is that there is no glass ceiling. I know it’s not for everyone, sometimes it’s hard to even stomach for myself. But it surely rewarding when clients value my work and I can see progress every year, both in skill and finances. You have to be positive, but don’t be naive. Just always keep moving forward and you can push through the rough bits.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Though I do have a lot of roots in different areas of art, I think I am most known for my work behind a camera. The bulk of my work Is in high-end real estate photography now in the Atlanta area. Though the work I’m more passionate about is when the subjects are people living their lives. Being able to Freeze the moment of their life in time is something that’s very special to me. Using colors that enhance the mood of the scene. Experimenting with cameras trying to get something out of them people haven’t seen before. It’s something special to make people feel something. If someone likes a picture so much that they want to hang it up and see it every single day, it’s quite the compliment. Mostly I like exploring my creativity the way I did when I was a kid. I want to always be able to do that.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I’m a sucker for YouTube. Most of what I’ve learned in photography and videography and even cinematography has come from the Giants in the space on YouTube. You can learn a little bit from everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LaplanetArts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laplanet_arts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaplanetArts
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaplanetArts
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/LaplanetArts
Image Credits
Micah Laplante (Laplanet Arts)
