Podcasts, quitting weddings and the next chapter
My seemingly biannual blog post is here, I figured it would be a good time to chat a little bit about where things are, where they’re going and catching you up to speed whether you’re client (past or present) or someone who randomly stumbled on to my work.
P O D C A S T
If you know me, you know I love to talk. If you don’t know me, you should know that I love to talk. It only made sense to start having conversations with the creators, the “do-ers,” the ones who have forged their own path in life with their careers, pushing aside the norm of a 9-to-5 lifestyle to instead do what they love and create on their own terms. While the show is in its infancy, it will not just feature photo / videographers, but instead the people who I genuinely have curiosity in learning about more, from where they were before finding their niche, their struggles to become who they are, what makes them who they are and also how they operate on a day-to-day basis. So often it seems there are articles with morning routines of some of the most famous people, as if you can adopt those same practices and get to where they are. Sure, it helps to lay the groundwork but it is much more than that. For me, it is a journey of learning the similarities and also the differences in the guests I will speak with while also being able to explore different topics on my own; a sort of rant if you will.
The Aaron Mello Podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and slowly being added to YouTube, although I don’t want to crowd that space with content other than my photo / video work.
W E D D I N G S
Some of you may have already listened to my latest episode (Episode #03) where I go a bit into why I have decided to no longer shoot weddings, pushing that up even sooner than the end of 2023. While I won’t spend too much time going over that here and would encourage you to go listen, it is simply something that has worn me down in many aspects. Sure, the 8-9-10 hour events where you are just on for the entirety of the event is one thing, the other is just that it became redundant. The couple & the location are different but the overall premise is the same and I’ve never been someone who thrived on redundancy when it came to photography. I felt (feel) like I wasn’t growing. The number of weddings I shot was increasing while my artistry remained baseline, at least in my own view. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity to flex my creative muscle rather than staying safe to get what I needed for sake of the clients gallery or film. Overall, when something doesn’t excite me like maybe it once did, I know it’s time for a change and that is exactly what I’m allowing myself to do.
Friends, family and referrals from past clients are the exception to this rule, as well as anyone who may be looking into an adventure elopement, say on the top of a mountain or in Iceland - I’m your guy. This more aligns with where my work is pivoting and there is more room for creativity, adventure and the non-traditional.
SO N O W W H A T?
“You’re not going to shoot weddings? So what are you going to do now?” It’s a valid question, especially from those who thrive on security in their jobs but the excitement (and of course the anxiety) for me is not knowing where my career will take me next. The blanket answer I’ve been offering is that I’ll be focusing more on outdoors, adventure, lifestyle work - both photo and video - as this more aligns with my core values and already-present lifestyle of being a Dad of 2 boys, spending as much time outside with them as I can and also on my own. There are brands I use and trust to keep me warm during winter hikes in New Hampshire winter, so I look to provide content for them and being able to venture out into new and different spaces of photography. Every day I sit behind a computer, using technology again that I trust, why not incorporate that more into what I document, creating content with products I own and allow me to do my job more efficiently or comfortably. This is all about continuing to adapt to the “work smarter not harder” mentality, even more important when being a freelancer.
This is in addition to still offering portraits and shooting engagement sessions but not focusing any real attention on wedding clients. I love meeting and working with new people, that will never fade, so it is important for me to continue having new faces in front of my camera in an on-going basis but having the freedom to experiment, whether that is off-camera flash for more dynamic sports subjects (see you in the Spring) or being able to make short-form films with a focus on documentaries.
I want to tell more stories and this pivot is what is going to help me accomplish that.