Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Youmans.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started in 1991 when I received my first camera. It was a “special edition” Hulk Hogan Remco camera which made an imprint of Hogan on every picture you took! Not ideal, but it was a very amusing to a 5-year-old. The 110 film cameras were extremely popular back then, so I spent the better part of my childhood with those capturing every moment I could. I also had a Kodak Star 435 Camera that my mom bought, and to me, that was like a Rolls-Royce. Did I mention I bought the 110’s with the money I made selling lemonade in front of my house?
My mother won’t admit it, but she’s one of the most talented photographers I know. I grew up looking through her photo albums thinking of only one thing; I wanted my own. Both of my parents happen to be my favorite test subjects when I get new gear. My website is peppered with portraits of the both of them, with more to come! They’re my inspiration, and the reason I am where I am today.
It was in my late twenties that I decided I wanted to start a business. One of my best friends gave me the opportunity to photograph his wedding, and from there I fell in love with the art of wedding photography. Portraits came soon after when I started these month-long portrait projects. Sometimes I have a theme, sometimes I just want to photograph my friends/coworkers with a new idea in mind.
Portrait photography has become my absolute favorite, and oddly enough I can barely get any portrait gigs!
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?
Has it ever been easy? Absolutely not! I did what everyone said not to do; bought all of my gear brand new on credit. I even started a GoFundMe, in the beginning, to purchase gear for that first wedding I did. Over the next couple of years I photographed enough weddings to pay off my “camera debt”, and I donated the amount I had made with that GoFundMe to a charity.
Running your own photography business is NOT easy. You are most likely doing everything yourself, and falling short on some things that you beat yourself up over. For me, that has always been trying to find the time to edit. I have gotten much better with discipline, but I have a full-time job and a life on top of my business! Making the leap to registering a business and the tax side of things is also a challenge, but definitely worthwhile.
Web-Head Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
You’ve probably already wondered, why Web-Head Photography? Well, that’s a good question! As a die-hard comic book lover, I grew up on Spider-Man and other characters that brought a world I could only dream of to life. We all dream of something; I, of course, wanted to be a superhero as a kid (and an adult)!
I was standing in my Spider-Man ensemble looking at an artist’s table at a Comic-Con, when my friend nudged me to look to my right. There stood a little girl no more than 5 singing the Spider-Man theme song holding father’s hand. I realized after this that I found something worth keeping. For a moment I was this little girl’s hero whether I was dressing up for fun or not. I instantly remembered the excitement I felt as a kid when I saw others dressed up as my favorite characters, believing that they were real.
If my business is going to mean anything, it should stand for something I can not only have fun with but allow others to see the joy in something I hold close to my heart.
I’m grateful to be a “web-head”.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It is definitely my first wedding. It was such a huge accomplishment for me and was one of the best weddings I have ever shot! Not only that, but I got to spend time with my friends in a place I had never been.
I left Key West with what felt like a new purpose. I had accomplished something I never thought possible.
Pricing:
- Wedding packages start at $1,200
- Portrait sessions start at $100
Contact Info:
- Address: 87 Gordon Street
APT 7 Brighton, MA 02135 - Website: http://www.webheadphotography.com/
- Phone: (508) 566-2129
- Email: webheadphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/webheadphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/webheadphotography/
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