Meet Lex Abshire | Wedding Videographer

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

Hi Lex, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking is literally everything when it comes to my business. It was a risk jumping out on my own. It was a risk turning down certain jobs to focus in on what I wanted to achieve for my business. I felt like from the beginning if I wasn’t willing to take risks then my business would only go so far. Turning down jobs wasn’t always easy at the beginning but I knew it saved my time for investment into things I wanted vs. just doing it for the money now. Taking risks allow me to be comfortable with failure as well. Not every risk taken gave the result of success. Sometimes it was a loss that shaped into a lesson for myself to make better decisions in the future. I also witnessed a lot of people that were to scared to take risks and settled for less than greatness. One major common factor you see in any major successful person, it’s their ability to take risks & accept losses. Losses are hard to swallow sometimes. But they also provide an opportunity to grow. So really if you think about it, it’s still a win win situation. You take a risk, you can be rewarded. You take a risk, you can fail but you take home a lesson for the next chance. How do I think about risk? I look at it as opportunities just waiting for someone to grab them.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
So I run a video production business that specializes in wedding videos. To be completely honest what sets me apart isn’t something magical and in your face. I do strive to create “unique and authentic” films that are true to the couple but so does a lot of other wedding videographers. I do run more of a personal brand however. And what you get with my business is me. My thoughts and who I am has influence on my day to day communication with my clients. The editing process I go through with my work. I really strive to be as close as I can to a friend for my clients without crossing the line of “this is business”. It’s a tricky industry to work in because you’re apart of someones wedding. That’s a big life event for some so I want to make sure outside of the product that I deliver, the experience is unique as well. If you were to ask me, no one can be me so that’s something to hold on to.

I got here today by not f-ing around with shit I didn’t want to do. At the end of the day I knew I wanted to make wedding films. Kick-ass ones at that. So I put in a lot of work on my craft. I made sure that if I wasn’t the best shooter, then maybe I could be the best editor. I studied what worked in other peoples work and what didn’t (for my taste). I obsessed (still do) over business. How to conduct business. How to make a sale. How to talk to clients. How to provide a good experience. Literally so much to where I talked about it all the time (still do…). Was it easy? In some ways yes and some ways no.

It was easy in the sense of it’s what I love to do. I love to make wedding films. I love to strategize business moves. I also love to make a lot of money. And I plan to make even more soooo I’m not done. It was hard in some sense cause I made mistakes often. I’ve gone through edits that I’ve scratched and started new. I’ve burned some money faster than it came in on things I didn’t need in the long run. I’ve worked many late nights till 2am-3am and even now I still have nights like those. I share 4 kids with my wife, thank god she helps a lot with them cause they are a wild bunch. But I do struggle with time I put into my work vs time I put into them. Sometimes it’s more kid time & sometimes it’s more work time. Overcoming challenges mostly came into play of just finding a way to get it done. Spending the money if it needed to be spent. Spending the time when you just gotta do it. Stop thinking so hard that it put you into a standstill and just making a decision to do something. Let the chips fall and take it from there.

I want people to know you don’t have to end up a negative product of negativity in your life. I went through a lot in my younger years that still put thoughts into my head. I went through a very angry time period about everything and everyone. The only true negativity that changed me into a negative product was myself. Once I was able to change that in myself, I was able to change my life. Recognizing negativity that tries to entire your life as an adult then becomes easier and you can walk away from it. You have the power to tell it to go. As corny as it sounds, surround yourself with positivity. “You can do this”, “Make art” You’re the best”, literally all words that you hear from others can help become a stronger voice for yourself. And for those that are leeches and negativity black holes, get them the F out of your life right now.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I probably suck for this honestly lol. Fort Worth stock yards is pretty cool. I’m a big sports fan so for sure Rangers or Dallas game. However I’m a Saints & Astros fan so it certainly wouldn’t be to root for the home team, just saying. I like to keep it simple when friends visit. Catch-up with long talks. No specific destinations to add cause it’s about the relationship in that time for me.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Solid question! I’ve had many different influences in my life, both positive and negative. But even in some way the negative have become positives to prove wrong. My Dad though is for sure the root of most of my success. My Dad raised me as his son even though he had absolutely no duty telling him to do so, other than the love he has for me. He raised me to not be a victim. He raised me to be a leader, how to appreciate what I have, and how to love strongly. He was always the perfect example of stepping up when it was time to step up. He made so many sacrifices for me and my brother growing up that I have to live my life to its fullest potential just so I can thank him for everything he’s done for us.

Gary V for sure was a great kickstart into my thought process as a business owner / driver of my life. Happiness is a big deal that a lot of people just overlook. It’s about the “grind”, it’s about the lack of sleep, eating shit yada yada. There’s certainly times to grind, take work for no pay, deny work for no pay, but it’s also about the pursuit of happiness, Gary clarified that for me when it came to my career choice.

Community of good friends online and offline as well. These days there’s so many different groups to be apart of so the access to great friendships are there. Along with the bad side of criticism online but I’ve managed to find smaller groups that were easier to work together on ideas and give constructive criticism. Even local friends in my area that are also in the same line of work. Rather than at each others throats in competition, we come together a grow as a community. So much better IMO!

I could go on and on but that’s what comes to mind currently!

Website: https://www.abshirefilmsphotos.com/

Instagram: @abshirefilms

Facebook: @abshirefilms

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpVAULO8yf_abFh8_iyQKJQ

Image Credits
Abshire Films