Meet Drake Alexander | Professional Photographer

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

Hi Drake, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
For many years I had been treating photography as a hobby and occasional side hustle. I would shoot a couple of campaigns for brands a year and set up some fun creative shoots whenever my work schedule permitted, but never really took it seriously or thought it was possible to make photo work my primary source of income. A big lump of photography work landed in my lap this spring unexpectedly, and that coupled with my increasing sense of frustration working in a corporate environment led to me quitting my day job a few months ago to pursue photography full time. I thought “well if I have those 50-60 hours available that I was devoting to my day job then surely I can use that time to find new clients and develop (pun intended) my photo career.” While more stable, the day job was a known entity, both financially and from a lifestyle perspective, and I knew I wasn’t content and never would be in that environment. At the end of the day, photography and entrepreneurship represents a higher financial ceiling while allowing me to build my own schedule every day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been involved with almost every aspect of professional photography, from production to shooting to assisting to post production to fine art to landscapes to portraiture, but I find myself mostly drawn to fashion and editorial work because I enjoy working with talented teams and bringing together and organizing all of the variables that make a great image. I try to set myself apart by putting in the extra effort on pre and post production. I spend a lot of time preparing for my shoots and make sure the finished product looks and feels exactly how I want. In a previous life, I was an Operations and Project Manager and fashion photography often isn’t that far off in terms of day-to-day preparation. I get excited about hiring a stylist and makeup artist, spending time finding the perfect location for the shoot, casting the right model, etc. I love meeting Creative Directors from different brands and getting to hear their story and see their vision. I just like being around other creative people in general. Every project is different with a new team in a new environment and I feel so fortunate to be doing this for a living. I’ve definitely learned that you can’t prepare for every scenario but it doesn’t hurt to put the time in before the shoot to make sure you are ready for a variety of situations and challenges.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love having friends and family visit me in LA! I’ve only been here about three years but have had around 20 people come visit so far, with more on the way this summer. Itineraries tend to stress people out so I’ll just make a big list of my favorite things to see and do:

– hike Griffith Park to the Observatory
– beach day in Venice followed by beers and burgers at Hinano Cafe
– cruise the canyons and gawk at houses we can’t afford
– get coffee at La Mill and walk around the Silver Lake Reservoir
– see whoever is playing at Gold Diggers
– tacos and frozen margaritas at Home State
– drive to Malibu via the Santa Monica Mountains
– I have a whole Celebrity Death Tour I like to give (hotel where Janis Joplin OD’ed, the house where Marvin Gaye’s father shot him, the sidewalk where River Phoenix died, etc.)
– see a Cinespia movie during the summer

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Huge shoutout to all of my friends and family that supported me quitting my day job to pursue a brand new creative career in my late 30s. Having that support base really gave me the courage to take the leap of faith

Website: www.drake-alexander.com

Instagram: @drake.alexander

Image Credits
All photographs by Drake Alexander