Meet Sam Brand | Photographer

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

Hi Sam, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’m just not cut out for corporate life or retail situations. I’ve tried both and felt caged in with the same clientele over and over again. Working on my own I’m working with a variety of people, and the fact that most are creative too, really makes what I do even more enjoyable. I get to take more risk and figure out more artistic ways to capture people I stead of just playing it safe and following a predetermined formula. My success is my own.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My first rule of business is to always present my best work. I never let anything that I am not 100% proud of leave my control. I find myself making friends more so than making clients out of everyone I work with. I give my all in everything I do, and people pick up on that. The best part of my job would have to be all of the new people I work with. People come to me from all over DFW, Austin and even as far as Abiline! I keep my Brand positive and support everyone that I work with. We are all artist in some form or another and have to stick together and be there for one another.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So, I’m not too big on sports, but my favorite thing to do is paddle White Rock Creek. We would load up my dog Penny and a couple of paddle boards and see how far up we could make it paddling the creek. After that, it would be Lakewood landing for some bar food and drinks. Even cooler place because Penny would be able to join us on their patio.

Other than hitting up the Meyboom on Greenvile for some good beers, there’s not much more I can think of. I’m not a big planner. I’m more of a seat of my pants planner. Take it as it comes mentality.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I hate to sound cliche, but my dad deserves the biggest shoutout. He always inspired me to do what I loved and always did without so that he could help me follow my dreams with all of my musical and artistic endeavors.

After my dad, the others to thank would be two great mentors, James McIver and Kathy Miller. They both pushed my photography to limits I never imagined before by teaching me some very helpful lighting and editing techniques to make my work stand out as much as possible.

Lastly, Michelle Rose Domb. She is an actress, a show runner and everything between. Her weekly Monday night open mike is really how I got my start working with the comedy community. I started out catching shots from her shows, and then one day a comedian asked if I could do video. I said I could, and then figured it out before the show and started off from there.

Instagram: @sambrandphoto

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/sambrandphoto/