Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Smith.
Hi Brian, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I went to school for engineering, after deciding last minute that a degree in videography wasn’t for me – a favorite interest of mine at the time. I had always been drawn to physics and math, so a career as an engineer seemed like a natural fit. I worked two jobs, for 6 years, as a Mechanical Engineer. The latter of those two, brought me down to Charleston, SC. I began to feel disconnected with my work and lifestyle as an engineer. I always felt like the work I was doing was for somebody else and I never felt a deep sense of fulfillment from it. I felt disconnected at work and deep down, I longed for a different sense of purpose – a more creative, more dynamic life. One of the engineers I worked with also photographed weddings, occasionally, on the weekends. I had just picked up my camera again, after a long time of little interest, to document and blog about an old BMW that I was rebuilding. We got to chatting. He told me if I practiced and got some wedding experience I could come work with him a bit. I started volunteering to assist and work for anyone I could find. I never ended up working for him but I completely fell in love with photographing weddings – the energy, the joy, the sense of personal achievement and accomplishment. I was reflecting on these feelings while sitting at my desk, distracted and disconnected, at work on a Monday. In that moment, I decided I was going to quit my career and pursue wedding photography. I spent most of the next two years traveling the world, building the business as I went with whatever work or experience I could drum up. Then, the pandemic came. I felt a bit lost, like what little I built was going to fall apart. There was little I could do to change the situation surrounding weddings for the next year, so I decided to really lean into personal projects. That year and the year following were some of my most prolific creatively, quantitatively, and did so much to help shape my interests as a photographer and kickstart the wedding business. I dove into studio portraiture and fashion work, leaned heavily into film and experimentation, and began to find my voice as a photographer and artist. I attribute these early personal projects with so much of my successes as a wedding photographer. They gave me a voice and taught me what I value in a photograph – something that others started to really connect with. Today, over 7 years into this career full-time, pursuing photography still remains the best decision I ever made. My wedding and portrait work has taken me all over the world. Most of my clients find me, seeking out something more artful, less traditional than the mainstream of wedding photography. Most of those clients share my love of film. These days, I consider myself a true “film wedding photographer”. I shoot most of my wedding work on film, and all of my portrait work. I’m even expanding my offerings with film wedding videography shot on Super 8 and 16mm motion picture film. I am still based primarily in Charleston, South Carolina but I travel around the country and world for the majority of my work.
Alright, 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’s never a perfectly smooth road. Definitely not! Even in the good times, there are always struggles as someone self-employed. I think it’s unavoidable. Working for yourself, the highs are certainly higher but the lows are often lower. Still, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The wedding industry is something ever-evolving and it can be challenging to keep up with trends, especially when marketing the business is so dependent on social media – something that very much relies and thrives on trends to drive engagement. It can be difficult at times to reason and establish one’s own voice when it is so easy to compare your work with those of the greater wedding industry. I think every creative suffers a bit from this comparison game but photography, especially, is such an accessible art form these days that the sheer volume of work for comparison can feel overwhelming at times. In these moments I try to remind myself about how I got to where I am today. I was able to find my voice early on by leaning into the specifics of what I love about photography – film, dramatic editorial portraiture, experimentation, compelling documentary story telling, etc.. All of these interests, all of the personal projects, my genuine love for what I do, make me a great wedding photographer. This is what I try to remember in those moments of comparison. I didn’t get to where I am today by following trends and doing what everybody else is doing. I got here on my own path, with my own journey, and if you can present that to the world, there will always be clients who find their way to it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Smith Brian is a wedding photography and videography brand specializing in the use of film – of all sorts. I shoot 35mm, medium format, and instant film for my work as a wedding photographer; 35mm, medium format, instant and large format film for my portrait and fashion work; Super 8 and 16mm film for my videography work – both in weddings and motion picture portraits, commercial and fashion work. Most of my clients are seeking out a film photographer, even if they can’t necessarily articulate the exact reasons why. They’re simply drawn to the medium and the feelings I elicit through it’s use – whether that be rooted in the aesthetics of film or something more emotionally rooted; reflecting feelings and longing for nostalgia, tangibility, or a slow and more thoughtful process in a fast paced, digital world. Beyond the look of film, that is so important to my brand and process, my clients are drawn to my unique blend of documentary storytelling and editorial artistry. I am inspired, equally so, by a dramatic portrait as I am a compelling, documentary moment – whether artfully composed or imperfectly captured to render the most fleeting of moments. This sentiment is my favorite thing about photographing weddings. Weddings have everything that a photographer like me could ever want. There is chaotic energy in contrast to moments of calm and composed. There are moments of poise and polish, occurring in tandem with moments of unfiltered expression. There are times for drama, just as there are times for joy. I love it all. It’s a beautiful thing to observe and be a part of. I think my clients see this in my work and are drawn to it – they can feel my love and passion for all of the dynamic energy of a wedding day.
What does success mean to you?
At my best, I define success only by my sense of personal fulfillment in what I do. This comes from producing work that I am proud of and inspired by, and seeing the way that work makes my clients feel. At my worst, I define my success by my achievement in relation to my peers in the industry. It’s all too easy to get lost in the comparison game. However, when I slow down and take a step back, it’s pretty easy to realize that every moment which brought me a deep sense of fulfillment in my career had little or nothing to do with a relative definition of success or comparison to the rest of the industry. Instead, those moments where I felt the most love and joy for what I do were always because of the experience and connection I had with a particular client; the pride in the images created, simply follows. This is how I ultimately define my success, because all of the outwardly perceived definitions of success would mean little to me without the deep sense of fulfillment I get from the work I actually do and for the people I actually do it for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thesmithbrian.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesmithbrian/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/thesmithbrian
