Meet Harley Goul | Fashion, Brand and Grad Photographer

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

Hi Harley, what do you attribute your success to?
As a photographer, human connection is one of the most important factors to creating authentic work. Creating connections with the people I photograph and matching their energy to create a comfortable environment is one of the most important factors in creating photographs that we are both overjoyed about. Harley Hero Photography is all about images that showcase personality, passion and fun! For any aspiring photographers out there, i would recommend finding your best methods of connecting with others because a photoshoot where everyone is on the same page and excited about the mission is an excellent photoshoot.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I eat, sleep and breathe photography and put all of my love into my images. An enormous amount of detail and care goes into the setup and post production of every image I take. My professional portrait work uses natural light and a lot of back light to create very airy, dreamy images. I also do many personal and travel based projects entirely on 35mm film which creates a colorful and grainy image. What both my professional portrait work and personal projects have in common is my ability to capture the people and places’ essence with each photo. My connection with my subjects create true to life images that bring out their best qualities. My next interest is to bring my eye for portraiture and ability to connect with the subject into fashion and commercial work! I love any western fashion with cowboy boots and I think that area would be very fun to explore living in Dallas.

Photography has always been my passion and getting to a point where it is my full time career has definitely taken a lot of work and very early mornings. During busy season which is usually spring, I have a photoshoot at sunrise, a photoshoot at sunset and spend the rest of the day until very late at night editing. I love creating images and the connections I make with my clients so much that it makes all the 15+ hour days worth it.

One of the main lessons I have learned in my photography career is that there is always so much to learn. I want to constantly become a better photographer throughout my career and there are just countless ways to learn in this industry. Photography is a career that can grow as you grow and change with your life changes and that is what makes it such a sustainable career. Even though I have made photography my full time career, I know I have barely scratched the surface of the many amazing opportunities there are in this field. I want the world to know that Harley Hero Photography is a business that grows and blossoms alongside me as a human and can only get exponentially better as the photographer within it expands.

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?
The DFW area is so fun because there are so many different vibes you can discover while being here. On the first day my friend was here I would take them to White Rock lake for a walk and then inside the Dallas Arboretum. The flowers inside are so gorgeous and for nature those are both some of my favorite spots. We would then go get some food at Hinodeya Ramen which is my favorite ramen and it’s in the Lower Greenville area. Lower Greenville has so many places too so we would explore that afterwards including of course Leela’s wine bar for a cocktail.

The next day we would head to Fort Worth and to the Stockyards. It is such a fun and unique experience up there with so many lovely western stores.

Another day long experience is walking around downtown and going to museums like the Perot museum and the 6th floor museum. And hanging out in the Victory park area and going to the shops.

The next day I would take my friend to the Bishop Arts district and go to my favorite coffeeshop/ bookstore The Wild Detectives. They have a deal where you can buy a book and get a drink with it which I think is such a fun idea.

A few other places we would need to go on my favorites list are Shug’s bagels for a wonderful breakfast bagel, Window seat coffee for a cute wanderlust vibe and Klyde Warren Park for an exercise class. I also walk Katy Trail most days and love the Ice House just like the rest of Dallas.

I haven’t lived here my whole life so these might be newcomer recommendations but those are some of my favorite spots in Dallas that are sure to give you a great vibe visiting the area!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who have helped me get to this stage of my life and business. My biggest help with photography came from a Boise, Idaho commercial photographer named Deborah Hardee who let me assist with her photoshoots at the very beginning of my career. Deborah went above and beyond to help me understand photoshoot planning and many photography processes that I use in my business to this day. My parents have also been extremely supportive of my photography journey. Both of them have come along for the long road trip from Dallas to Tucson, Arizona that I did both ways this spring in order to have photoshoots in Arizona. I’m so grateful to my many creative friends and communities of people I have met over the years who continue to inspire me and raise the creative bar higher for us all to stay inspired.

Website: harleyherophoto.com

Instagram: harleyherophotography

Facebook: Harley Hero Photography

Other: My TikTok is @harleyherophotography