Meet Eric Brinkley | Professional Photographer and Model

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

Hi Eric, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
That’s a great question. I’d have to say it comes down sacrifice. I’m still working full time as an electrician and professional photographer part time, I have 4 grandchildren here in Dallas that I love to spend time with also, I also I need my own personal time for prayer and just to find my own balance. First I make my time with God the priority after this is my time for myself, I think those to are the most important (for me) without them it’s easy to lose direction for my life and everyone connected to me. Next is the electrician career, I’m at point that if I need a day for either of the first two I can take off and lastly the photography side requires careful scheduling or passing the job to a few other photographers I trust that will fill the needs of that client. I maintain a great community of professionals intentionally.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Excellent question again. I’d say the thing that excites me the most is meeting new people and hearing their stories. My daughter always laughs at me because whenever we hangout I always meet someone new and end talking with them for some time. I find people interested and to have the opportunity to capture them is an honor. I climbed the ladder from beginner to professional pretty quickly by spending as much time shooting as possible and if I wasn’t shooting I was learning (practicing at home,reading about it, videos, workshops and just playing with my camera). It was far from easy but again that’s where the sacrifice comes in, I stayed up late learning or got up super early so I could get out before sunrise and be set up to learn the light in different places. I never really looked at it as challenging but necessary to get to where I wanted to be and I’m still growing. The most important lessons I’d pass on to new photographers is, learn your gear and get an understanding of light (quality,quantity and direction) and everything else will fall in place. I would say my brand wants to portray everyone I capture in their absolute best light so when they see the portraits they’re truly amazed at how beautiful they really are. Who is Eric Brinkley? Well he’s an man who started photography when he was 59yrs of age and in a few years changed his life forever by following his passion and you can too. I even recently signed on with a modeling firm to start a career as an professional model, I guess you can say I’m still exploring what I can do. LoL

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Museums, we’d definitely explore the local museums. Then we would hangout at Klyde Warren Park, it’s an outdoor venue with a great vibe and everyone there young and old are so chill, plus it’s a very diverse crowd it’s always a great time there. To eat we would go for Tex-Mex it would be an underrated place called Menas Tex-Mex Cantina, and Pappadeaux Seafood Restaurant, no visit to Dallas is complete without eating there. For ordering in after a day of running around it’s always WingStop period. Then I probably cook for them the other days. Other must visits would be The Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, it’s beautiful there year round and in the warm months we’d go to White Rock Lake. If you hadn’t noticed I’m big on the outdoors, there nothing better than being in nature.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Not surprisingly my Mom Zola Brinkley , I have always been a very curious person especially as a child. She always and at 88yrs young still encourages me to explore new things and learn all I can about it. Photography was always apart of our family so as an adult when bought my first professional camera and shared photos with her, she said “keep shooting and have fun”. Next would two ladies who are like family to me, Ivy Warner and Yesica Moran, they both have different styles but took an interest in my work early in my journey. They saw potential when I didn’t and passed tips and constant encouragement to me, I can honestly say without them I’d not become the photographer I am today at the pace I learned it. Lastly I would the Professional Photographers Association and the local chapter Dallas Professional Photographers Association for the workshops I’ve attended and the resources they provide to help us all become successful. Then there’s the countless photographers and models I’ve shot with and continue to today, I love this community here it’s very welcoming to new photographers.

Website: Elbportraits.com

Instagram: ELBphotographyII