Today we’d like to introduce you to Brent Baxter.
Brent, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My career path did not start within the creative world, it wasn’t until my early to mid-30’s before I truly started exploring this part of myself. I worked within the banking industry for almost 16 years managing various departments. It all really started with capturing my kids and documenting our family, which led to my capturing some pretty great action shots during their games. I had not considered monetary possibilities until other parents and teams began asking what I might charge to capture their teams. I hopped around for some time after that shooting anything and everything I could might that be games, weddings, you name it. This just allowed me to make a little extra income and dial in my skill. It also became a sort of medicine for me, any stress or anxieties I might have been dealing with, the camera helped and still helps me through that today.
At some point I told my wife this is what I want to do for a living, scary right? Hey honey, I am going to walk away from my long-term career, salary and benefits to pursue my passion at the ripe old age of 35? I had her full support, but before doing so I needed to really dial in my business model. I knew I needed to ensure my subject was something I was fully passionate about to ensure the work was always my best. This is what led me to focus solely on business-based marketing content. It allows me to fully utilize my business background hand in hand with my creative mind. Win, win.
As I built those relationships with local business owners such as; 44 Build, Common Desk, and Bullzerk to name a few, my business plan began taking shape however I was still basically working two full time jobs. It was unfortunately a very tragic event that led me to finally leave my day job and fully commit to this new path. On Easter Sunday 2016 I was notified my Father had taken his own life, as you could imagine this was completely unexpected. I took a break from everything for a short while to morn and tend to my Father’s estate, which ultimately led me to make the big decision. I wanted to turn a negative into a positive. I left my full-time position in banking and made the jump to becoming a full-time, self-employed freelance creator. Here we are two years later and I could not be more grateful.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Most of the content I capture is utilized for social media, websites and at times TV. It started off as just still photography, now I offer both photography and cinematography, which just means less work for the client. No more dealing with one agency for photography and another for video. The primary goal is to capture the client’s product or business in the most unique and original way possible to truly grab the attention of current and/or protentional customers. My work does have a certain style, mostly natural light, very sharp with limited editing. I am not a big fan of overly processed images.
If there is anything I would like people to take away from my journey that would be to NEVER settle, don’t take no for an answer. If there is something you want in life, go for it, which you have heard before I am certain but it could not be more accurate. The opportunities are out there if you’re willing to put in the work, not matter your age or background.
How can artists connect with other artists?
Being a creative can be very lonely I learned that quickly, it is also an extremely competitive world. Find people you can collaborate with and learn from. Maybe even consider a personal project each quarter to ensure you are challenging yourself to try new things. The worst thing you can do as an artist is become overly comfortable, it ultimately leads to your work becoming stagnant.
There are so many talented creators out there struggling to make it, the biggest piece of advice I would share is related to the client experience. Although we are in the creative field, you are still running a business and with any business customer service is #1. Always be full disclosure, communicative and place a fair value on your work. There is someone around the corner more talented or offering something slightly different, treat your clients as you would expect to be treated and they will become loyal for life.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My work can be viewed via my website and/or any of my social media channels.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sidebproductionsllc.com
- Phone: 469-628-1862
- Email: brent@sidebproductionsllc.com
- Instagram: @sidebproductions
- Facebook: @sidebproductionsllc
- Twitter: @sidebprollc
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWk2YhqL2j-WGkj3qiWKv7Q?view_as=subscriber
Image Credit:
Brent Baxter
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