We had the good fortune of connecting with Rick Craft and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rick, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I never really thought of my photography journey as starting a business, especially in the beginning stages. When I bought my first camera, I was just taking pictures so that I could practice/learn my editing skills in photoshop. I didn’t go into doing this with the intention of making a career out of it, but as I stayed persistent and grew my portfolio, I started to have people reach out to me asking to shoot promo photos/campaigns etc! It wasn’t really until I moved to Los Angeles that I thought of my passion as more of a business and began to take it more seriously. I knew once I started to be hired as a photographer for the larger campaigns, I would need to operate as a business to some degree to deal with the backend.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an artist of many forms as I feel like many of us are in today’s creative environment haha. I primarily work in film and photography. I also sing in a pop band and make music! My creative style in film/photo is very colorful, cinematic and almost creates a world in which the characters live. I am inspired by story-telling in all aspects of art, so I try to convey a feeling through photos that the viewer can interpret. With my band, I enjoy creating upbeat pop music as another form of expression/story telling, I get to write from a point of view that isn’t necessarily my own experiences directly but has familiar themes. My profession began as a hobby, something I was doing for fun and the sake of creating while working at a sign shop. Honestly, not much has changed with that original goal, but after many years has turned into something that I was able to do full time and make a living with. It wasn’t (and sometimes still isn’t) easy as most people can sympathize with. Starting a business, moving your entire life to a new city, taking risks and being a direct source of obtaining your next gig is hard work! I don’t think we truly realize how hard something was until after the fact, because when you want to make something happen, you just make subtle moves every day that eventually become the success you achieved, no matter how big or small. If there is anything I could say about my journey that would attribute to being able to do this full-time, it would be to just keep doing what you love every day. Take breaks when you need to, but keep moving forward with your art! Small steps that might not seem important end up being huge foundations to your eventual “success”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is the hardest question since I don’t go out super often haha. The thing I would suggest to most people visiting LA, is to DEFINITELY rent a car. Most people assume the city is super walk-able, or that staying in downtown is “LA”. Most of the fun things to do are spread all throughout the city, which could take an hour and a half to drive to the next spot in traffic! But I always try to take advantage of the local food places, there are too many to list but LA has a great food scene for every taste! This city is also made in the company you are spending time with, so if you are with good friends and go out in Hollywood, burbank, downtown etc. there are so many things to do and memories to be made!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have so many amazing people that deserve a shoutout! To quickly name a few that helped me with photography, Jason Levesque “StuntKid” for simply being kind to me when I was first getting into shooting. I loved his work and reached out asking a few questions about his process and any tips he could give me, and he was very helpful! I would also like to shoutout Lee Loo, she has been an absolute amazing model/muse and source of inspiration since the very beginning of my journey!

Website: https://www.rickcraft.com

Instagram: @rickcraft

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1eJezYisE3TB86De878X6Z?si=Iqfy4BHkQz-moYnH-sVEoQ
My band Survive The Night

Image Credits
Rick Craft, Lee Loo La, Holly Madison, Kelly Eden, Chrissy Costanza, Candice Alice, Sasha Massacre

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