Today we’d like to introduce you to Aloha Bob Moffa.
Aloha Bob, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always liked taking pictures. When I was young I was fascinated with my parents’ camera and would photograph everything I could. In high school, I was able to qualify for my first credit account through a camera store and bought the first Canon Rebel. This was back in the film days, 1987, when the cool long-haired Andre Agassi was the spokesman for this new and affordable DSLR camera. I read books and practiced as much as I could to learn the skills that I knew I should know. I improvised studio lighting with lamps around the house and off-camera flashes, practiced with manikins and friends.
Fast-forward to 2007. My wife and I had a house with a basement that I wanted to try to use as a studio. This is when I invested in my studio lights and different light modifiers. I reached out to models that would be willing to be patient enough to sit there while I adjusted lights and camera settings. I found that I was apparently a natural at this because I was getting the looks I wanted very quickly. I’d picture something in my head and I was able to recreate it. But I also experimented and saw the way that moving lights highlighted or hid different things and realized that this could be used to make people look thinner, to direct the viewer’s eye to a certain point, to tell a story.
A year later I decided it was time to open my first studio. I paid a lot of money for everything I needed and paid a high monthly rent. Right as that happened, the housing market crashed and businesses all over started closing. We had hit our recession and people had less disposable income. It was through this that I learned that, unless you are in a mall and have a ton of people walking by you, or an army of salespeople, a stand-alone photo studio isn’t going to get a lot of walk-in business. People don’t get all dressed up and just come into a studio expecting to be photographed. However, I made it work by finding clients that were business owners and needed products photographed, marketing materials designed and web sites created. This became what kept the bills paid.
I also decided that competing with budget photo studios like those in the mall or inside retail stores would not be a wise thing to do because my talents were so much more than that. With the fact that I fully edit the images my clients want, plus I will make books and even print to canvas and hand-brush a protective layer, I could either provide a simple photo package and bring in a salary that wouldn’t pay the bills, or I could offer what I wanted to, beautiful photos that people would proudly display as large pieces of art. I opted to go the “boutique” route and take only those customers who wanted the best.
My studio location has moved a few times over the years, but my wife and I now own a private, two-acre mountain-top property in Northeast Cobb County with a separate 1000 square foot building that we are turning into the Mount Tiki Photo Studio.
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?
I also decided that competing with budget photo studios like those in the mall or inside retail stores would not be a wise thing to do because my talents were so much more than that. With the fact that I fully edit the images my clients want, plus I will make books and even print to canvas and hand-brush a protective layer, I could either provide a simple photo package and bring in a salary that wouldn’t pay the bills, or I could offer what I wanted to, beautiful photos that people would proudly display as large pieces of art. I opted to go the “boutique” route and take only those customers who wanted the best.
The biggest challenge for any photographer today is two-fold. 1) We are having to compete with photographers that have recently come into the field due to an influx of affordable cameras. The fact that these people can instantly see and fix errors they make allows them to bypass a lot of the training and experimentation that we had to go through when you wouldn’t see your final shot a day, or even a week, later. B) Pricing has become a huge factor as well. These new photographers are often telling people that they will shoot for free because they have to build up their portfolio.
Wedding photographers used to be able to charge $2000-5000 for a wedding with no argument. Since this sudden influx I have had couples come to me and say that someone else will shoot their wedding for only $250 or even free, why am I charging more? My reply is that they are relying on someone who is learning how to take pictures for the most memorable day of their life, and getting a DVD of thousands of unedited photos that may or may not look good or even be seen because no one wants to look at 2000 photos. For my price, I am guaranteeing great results, a nice and big wedding book and large, hand-embellished canvas prints that will be proudly displayed.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Aloha Bob Photo and Design – what should we know?
With my large format printer, I can produce images up to 72″x40″ and I have a talent for turning my photos into pieces of art that look like paintings and my customers like that.
When it comes to design work for my business clients I have a knack for looking at their business as an outside and how a customer would view it. This helps me and them to realize what they may be lacking or how they are or should be viewed by potential clients. My marketing degree helps with this as well.
One of the things about me, personally, that sets me apart is the fact that I am always in a Hawaiian shirt. At a wedding several years ago I had someone ask, “how will I know how to find you?” to which I replied, “Just look for the guy in the Hawaiian shirt.” This became my brand and I’ve had people recognize me all over the place. Someone even came up to me at a zoo in Tennessee and said, “You’re Aloha Bob, right? I love your website”.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I am always casual and laid back. I had a business client come to my studio wearing a full suit and briefcase one day and I was in one of my 250+ Hawaiian shirts and probably a pair of jeans. Rather than sitting at a desk we made ourselves comfortable on my leather couch. After a few minutes, he said that he really enjoyed meeting like that because it was very relaxing and he felt that I would be someone he’d enjoy working with because I wasn’t like all the other stiffs in a stuffy suit. I come off as a regular guy that most people can relate with.
Pricing:
- Photo sessions start at $75
Contact Info:
- Address: 2705 Jamerson Road,
Marietta, GA 30066 - Website: www.iloveAlohaBob.com
- Phone: 678-643-4076
- Email: alohabob@iloveAlohaBob.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilovealohabob
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilovealohabob
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aloha_Bob
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