Meet Darian Thompson | Photographer and Media Manager

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

Hi Darian, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Purpose, Passion, Priority, Peace, and Prosperity are the five P’s I govern my habits around. I make sure I lead my days with making sure my mindset is in the right state. I ask myself everyday what my purpose is for being here on Earth and if I am operating in that purpose. If I am not operating in my purpose I take a look at what is impeding me from doing so and make a plan of action to tackle it. Establishing my purpose will help me execute my daily actions more efficiently because I will be driven by passion. If an asks from someone during the day does not fit within the scope of my purpose and I am not passionate about it, I will politely decline to do it. This is because I have to protect my mental to be able to stay in a state of peace. In that state of peace I will be able to solve more solutions during the day leading me towards a position of prosperity. The purpose and prosperity activity will have to be done everyday to help organize thoughts to prepare the mind for the day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being a photographer and the owner of a media marketing agency is not always a smooth road. I would be lying if I said we made it to a point to where we no longer experience challenges. We are constantly experiencing issues everyday. Some of the struggles in this industry is that people often buy into things that are popular or have credibility before they even give someone new in the industry a chance. That is not their fault because they are looking for someone that literally holds the way that their brand will be presented to the world and they have to be picky on what they want. When you first start doing photography or even business anywhere, you have to be resilient. This is because it really felt like at one point people always look to find reasons not to business with new businesses. Of course, there have been equipment issues, figuring out where to host the website, and issues in creating the customer journey process but I do not think those were the toughest hurdles along the way.

Everyone says open your own business and own your own things but when you do so it does not always feel like the support is there and that is why you have to be resilient. If you are not, this is a dangerous con that can spill over into other aspects of your business. One of them being your pricing. You have to know your worth and not compromise on your pricing going forward if you want to continue to thrive as business. This can be hard if you do not feel like the support is there for your business and that is ok. You have to stay consistent and true to yourself, so you can start to put together the things that present the business well. This was and transparently sometimes is still a hurdle that I have to get over from time to time. I now accept feedback with a grain of salt because I know that it can only help my business. I say with a grain of salt because some people are not credible to speak on what I have for my goals with the company. Most of the time the people that have the most to say are the ones that are looking in from the sidelines. I am still willing to grow my company to the point to where the business model and work that we have speaks for itself.

The way to get through this is to build with a solid team around you that are also credible in their occupations. Along the journey we were able to connect with different stylist, make up artists, creative directors, graphic designers, photographers, and videographers. Making those key connections has made the journey all the more enjoyable and fulfilling along the way. We are building a family/community where we can learn and grow from one another while offering our media services as a collective to other businesses. Yes, we still work with the everyday and occasional businesses but we also work with other entrepreneurs with their businesses and even artists to have a platform to build their brand! We are a media team that will be able to scale our business to not only do business in North Carolina but also in Texas if we continue to work hard and stay consistent in what we do. We are also a company that realizes that we won’t be able to achieve success alone. We have to work with one another even if that means working with our competitors. We are willing to work with another company to land or complete a bigger project. It is enough room for us all to be successful at the top.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friend was visiting the area for a weekend trip Friday we would settle in and make sure we got everything set for our weekend. Later that night we would hit up the art park at trinity groves and enjoy the vibes at the beer garden. We would grab a bite to eat there before heading out to taboo to enjoy the rest of the night. The next morning we would head out early to take pictures around downtown Dallas. While we are there we would check out the AT&T Discovery District. We would only be there for a little while because then we have to hit up Dallabasses for brunch and unlimited mimosas. Later that night we would probably enjoy a chill night at the house while reviewing the shots we took earlier that morning. While doing that we may have small group of friends over or go hang out with them at their place. The next day we would go to one last day party at Turkey D.A.M before having to send them back home later in the afternoon.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are several people that I would love to shout out for help along the journey. First of all I would like to thank all of the clients that have supported and done business with me in the past. Without you all there will be no business and we are always glad to help! Next I would like to thank all of the ambassadors that is doing work with us and has done work with us in the past. To our previous interns we appreciate everything that you have been able to teach us. The videographers that have worked with us along the way too your help does not go unnoticed. To the photographers: you are all essential to the team as well and I want to take this moment to give you all a big thanks. Thank you Tim, Tshion, and Growentertainment. Thank you to our new partnerships with stylists and creative directors as well. Thank you to my dear friend Devin for being there during many moments when the journey was tough. I Lastly a huge shout out to my mom and dad for just simply loving me the best way that they can to give me a shot to build something bigger then myself.

Website: https://sites.google.com/westanmedia.biz/thedarianthompson/home?authuser=4

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darianwiththatcanon/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekingdarian

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010465517267

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8BAeLYjDXr7qJ6p5AU0iXQ

Image Credits
Top left image taken by Henry Lagrone (Cameraophenry) All the rest images taken by Darian Thompson (Darianwiththatcanon)