What is he up to?

I have been working to get to a place where my time is my time, my effort goes toward bettering the world, giving myself more free time, while making money. Maslow says we work for five things and then work to find meaning and significance. Google Maslow’s Laws, if you’re not really sure of the list or the order.

Any-who, when I went back to school in 2012, I didn’t take a single photography course. I ended up in the Politics Philosophy and Economics path. It was cheaper than two years of pre-requisites and then trying to get into business school. I was at University of Washington Tacoma and I took a course called Micro Economics. Suffice it to say my mind was blown, in a good way. It was there I learned that what I, and everyone on earth were trying to do as described by Maslow, was more simple in economic terms. We are all trying to Maximize Utility, in short trying/working to do the best that we can for ourselves and those we care about with what we have.

“That’s that LOVE up in there.”

Brenda Miller - Owner of Velvet’s Big Easy Catering

Photography and Consulting Clients

So how does he have clients that benefit from consulting and photography? I have not only been supporting myself through photography though it is one of my favorite in my particular set of skills. After graduating UWT with my degree in 2014 I began looking for work that was outside of the field I had been working in up until graduation. That field being Polysomnography. I was a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist, who could score studies as well (as high in the field that I could get without being manager or supervisor), but the “Cheese” was moving. So I went back to school. After graduation, I ended up working at an interpreting agency, for nearly a year. It was there I discovered my interest for business process and seeing the ways business and people can make adjustments for the better.

In that vein I have worked to help businesses. In this day and age, photography plus business acumen, is a great combination of skills, it allows me to help people maximize their utility. One of my current clients is Brenda Miller, owner of Velvet’s Big Easy Catering. She is passionate about making great food using excellent ingredients. I can sum it all up in what she said after I tasted the Shrimp and Grits, “That’s that love up in there”. She cooks with love and an unbelievable level of skill. We are working on getting the website up and going, and helping develop the menu, some other things that will help propel what I believe will be Tacoma’s best Soulfood destination.

What is Commercial Photography?

At it’s core, commercial photography is any photography used for increase in customer base, spending, or knowlege of a business it’s products and or services. When done well the images communicate the quality of the service or product as well as said business’ target market. We hear all the time about marketing branding and different things, the quality (visually and aesthetically with regards to direction and clarity of message) of the images a business uses have a direct effect on branding. High quality images denote a high quality product or service, and even if the product/service is of the highest actual caliber, if you take the picture with your cell phone…the service or product won’t translate as well. This is where another term comes into play.

Comparative Advantage

Comparative Advantage - the ability of an individual or group to carry out a particular economic activity (such as making a specific product) more efficiently than another activity.

I can cook, but Velvet’s Big Easy Catering is making much much better food than I can on a consistent basis, they can also take photos, but I can take much better photos at a lower cost. So we work out a deal. This is the case with all good trade. While people have various skills some things they are better at. I happen to be highly skilled in photography and have economics to inform the clarity and direction of the images I create for businesses. Enough about me, on to the good stuff.

The Good Stuff

Below are some of the pictures from the latest recipe Capture. Including the first images, we captured Shrimp and Grits, Shrimp Po’Boy Sandwich, Catfish Po’Boy, and Cajun Shrimp.

Click the button below to go to Velvet’s Big Easy Catering Facebook page. Continue to follow as I adventure in business and photography. The better you are able to show what you do well, the sooner your clients will come to find you to help with their challenges. Economics is applicable to every business so I work with every type of business. If you need business process or structuring advice or web presence consulting, my website is proof of what I am capable of because I built it using Squarespace as a platform. Click the button at the end of the article to find contact me and find out how I can help you help your customers.

Comment on your favorite dish. Share this with our city. And reach out to Velvet’s Big Easy Catering.