Meet Rocky | Wedding Photographer/ Photographer Educator

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

Hi Rocky, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind my success would be learning how to do just do things without waiting for it to be perfect. I think many other creatives such as myself can be hindered by the wanting to wait til something is perfect or up to our standards before sharing, This can apply to most things I experience on the daily, from creating reels for instagram to trying to write the best caption. Once I learned to stop worrying about if everything I do was perfect and just started sharing my content, materials, photos, educational info just as I wanted them to be, I felt such a relief. And apparently, my clients/followers seemed to engage with my info the more “real” it was and less perfect. I can now confidently start doing new things within my business without feeling held back.

What should our readers know about your business?
When I started my business, I was your average joe photographer. I did everything under the book, from families to seniors to events. It was fun but It never tugged my heart. One day I followed the photographer I aspired to be on Instagram and I was mesmerized. She was unique, creative, and most importantly different, I then saw how the photographers who followed her were different as well and I was compelled. I then realized I didn’t want to me a regular photographer, I wanted to be a creative, non-traditional photographer. I wanted to let my creativity be set free and work with clients who had the same values as I did. I learned that when you’re passionate about what you shoot, you’ll very easily find clients who are just as passionate as well. It’s very easy to drown in the photography industry as it is becoming over saturated. I wanted to do what everyone else was doing when I first started out since it seemed to be working for them, but them I learned that I needed to show people something DIFFERENT if I wanted to make it in this industry. I had to push myself to be different in many ways of my business. I had to show them my work that was unique and that they could only ever get from working from me. I had to create such an unbelievable client experience that they wouldn’t want to work with anyone else. It took a lot of work, and time, and effort, and lessons learned the hard way. BUT I did it,. After 3 years, and plenty of hard work (thanks dad) I am finally proud of me and business. I’ve learned so much and I learn even more everyday. Now, I work with the best clients in the world. I shoot couples who enjoy creative, unique, non-traditional photos and I love that I get to do my dream photo shoots with them.

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.
Obviously I must choose the stockyards. The stockyards are filled with culture and history. There’s so much to do, eat, drink, and play. My favorite thing to do however, is go to the rockwood go-carts track near downtown Fort Worth.. They’re so much fun to ride and really fast as well!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would say everyone closest to me has supported me in some way. If I could shoutout everyone, I would. My family is always sharing my info with everyone they meet. My friends are always so encouraging when I hit my goals. If i had to be particular, I would shout out my parents. My mom is my number one fan girl. She literally reshares everything I post on social media and is always telling all her friends about me. She’s always so supportive about everything I do and Is always encouraging me to do more and keep pushing myself. My dad is also amazing. He encourages me to live my life to the fullest and to work hard for everything I desire.

Website: https://www.rockys.photography/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/rockys.photographydfw

Image Credits
Personal photo is taken by Hailly Mae Photography but edited by Rocky’s Photography All other photos were taken by Rocky’s Photography