Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Surette.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I gained a lot of interest in photography after taking classes in high school. I was enrolled in a TV program for 3 years with one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had. The type of guy that wasn’t afraid to take your project and critique every aspect in front of the entire class. I appreciated this a lot later on in life. I was mainly studying video at the time but was really attracted to the overall idea of getting to bring your own visions to life and showcase them to the entire world.
As time went on and I graduated high school, I ended up finding myself focusing more on still photos versus the video. I bought my first beginner camera, a Nikon D3100 and started taking photos of everything. It was a great escape from reality for me and a really fun hobby. To make a long story short I kept learning new things as time passed, in 2016 I realized that this was no longer a hobby for me. What was once a hobby turned into a career path that opened so many new doors for me. The most revolutionary part of all this was when I started working with people. Working with people was an entirely new world. I was so accustomed to going into Boston, looking through my viewfinder and seeing a bunch of buildings. Every time I went, the buildings all looked the same, nothing ever changed with them. It was an entirely new experience looking through my viewfinder and seeing a person, someone filled with so much emotion, someone that I may know nothing about, someone that could be filled with opportunity for me.
As I mentioned, with people, come opportunity. I have been so fortunate to meet some of the people I have worked with along this journey. 2 years ago I would never have imagined myself in France, standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, all because I knew how to connect with my camera and the people that were in front of it.
I could go on for days about how things went from buying my first camera to taking a leap and starting my own business but things are far from finished. You can never know too much and you can always be better. There will always be someone out there that is better than you. Never give up, it’s simple.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing in life comes easy. If it was easy it wouldn’t be fun right? There have been many struggles in the road and I expect to come across more challenges as things progress. If I’m being honest I think in the beginning, one of the things that got me down the most was being recognized. My perception of that later changed, which I will explain. In my situation, my name is my brand, and my brand is what I need to be recognized in order to be successful. I needed to find a way to go from taking photos of say a tree in the woods, to photographing a wedding of 150 people. I’m only 22 years old as I’m writing this so I’m living through the era where no matter how you want to put it, social media is everything. Social media is what you need to get your name out there. I studied a lot of how this works because it was so important to my brand.
If I can give one piece of advice, DO NOT LET SOCIAL MEDIA DETERMINE YOUR LEVEL OF SUCCESS. I did this for years and it could almost make you give up on your dreams. Here’s what I learned from this; if you’re not getting recognized, there’s someone out there working harder than you are. Rather than complaining to the world about this, take the time to focus on why you aren’t recognized, what can you be doing better or differently? Over time, things will change for the better.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Matt Surette Productions story. Tell us more about the business.
Matt Surette Productions focuses mainly on photography. If I was to answer what I am most proud of it would be my ability to be versatile. I found early on that versatility is very important and can separate you apart from others.
For example, as a 22-year-old guy do you think I ever imagined myself photographing ballerinas? Of course not. But I took a chance, invested the time into learning about it and I ended up finding myself photographing the dance company in Paris.
Some of the other things that I specialize and have experience in are listed below:
Portraits
Lifestyle / Cityscapes
Wedding / Engagement
Maternity / Newborn
Real Estate
Live Concerts
Web Design
Food / Commercial
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MattSurette.com
- Phone: 857-205-5305
- Email: Photos@MattSurette.com
Image Credit:
Mike Neilan
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