Today we’d like to introduce you to Bess McCulloch.
Bess, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been playing around with video ever since I was 13-14, learning the bare bones of shooting/editing with point and shoot cameras and Windows Movie Maker. Once I got to college, I majored in Film Production and started thinking critically about how to turn this passion into a full-fledged career because I just loved it so much and genuinely couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.
I loved music videos and began to focus heavily on short-form content, which got me in the door of a few commercial agencies and smaller production houses. There, I learned not only how to polish my work, but focus in on the emotion of a story and bring that to the forefront, which is the main goal of almost every piece of work I create today.
As I sought out more emotion and truth in what I was creating, wedding videography became my main focus as of 2019, which a lot of other people in my industry would choose to scoff at – and they have, right to my face. But working weddings has taught me so much about how to truly serve my clients and make them feel valued, which I now take with me into every single shoot, no matter the subject. If I feel like I have served my clients to the fullest extent, then I am satisfied.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In the back of my mind, I always knew that I wanted to work for myself and I idolized the people that were able to make that happen in their own lives. However, I personally resisted the idea for years. I took on multiple media jobs that weren’t at all fulfilling, simply because I was afraid people would look down on me for not being successful right off the bat. I went into those jobs out of desperation instead of being truly passionate about them but always came back to these deep feelings of unhappiness. This pattern held me back for years.
I thought that by not succeeding quickly, it meant I wasn’t talented, or knowledgeable, or at all good enough. I wish someone had told me that it was all a matter of time.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Bess Ophelia Creative is overall an event videography company, but I’m definitely known for my weddings at this point. I never set out to be a full-on wedding videography company, but in the past year, it has really taken off. I love how personal they are and always feel honored that my couples are allowing me to step into the most intimate day of their lives with them. I try to honor that however, I can, mostly by allowing my clients to be exactly who they are together and capturing exactly that, instead of trying to make them into the picture-perfect Instagram #goals that will maybe get me a bunch of likes. I truly strive to know my couples well so that I can make the best possible end product for them.
What were you like growing up?
Oh, I was super weird. I loved anything and everything creative and so did most of my friends. I was in a theater, I did drill team, I made YouTube videos, always being loud and expressive and dramatic – and having zero shame about any of it. (I am definitely still that way today, at 24 haha)
Contact Info:
- Website: bessophelia.com
- Phone: 469-442-7908
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bessopheliacreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bessopheliacreative/
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