Today we’d like to introduce you to Larry Miller Jr.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Larry. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Art has always been apart of my life. When I was a young boy, I started out by drawing fictional characters that were similar to looney tunes. That love for drawing characters inspired me as I got older to start drawing people’s faces. As I got to my senior year in high school, I started to take an interest in design. During high school, I was a pretty good athlete playing quarterback for the Duncanville Panthers and had offers from many colleges. My plan was to go to a D1 college that had a good design reputation so that I may improve my skills. Using football as a way to pay for college. Unfortunately, God had another route for me to take. My senior year during the second game of the season against the Garland Owls, I suffered a Liz Franc Fracture that shifted the small bones in my foot. Immediately I began to get denied the offers that were once given to me. I had to find another route to go.
All hope was lost until a Coach by the name of Jeff Tesch visited the school and made me an offer to Bemidji State University. It was a blessing in disguise, Bemidji State University had one of the top graphic design programs and student success rates in America for that particular field. I took the offer and attended BSU for five years. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I decided to pursue professional arena football before moving back to Dallas. Arena football was fun but I always felt like I was meant for more so I moved back to Dallas. After moving back to Dallas, Texas, I joined another arena team named the Mesquite Marshals, where I played with them for two years. During those two years playing, I pursued my Masters’s Degree at Full Sail University for Media Design. Full Sail was very known for creating designers or animators of this century.
After graduating with my Masters from FSU, I did not know what route to take next. I had gained all this knowledge but never once did anyone tell me or direct me on how I could start my own business or service for others. Struggling with decisions, I did not want to just be sitting still so I got me a job as a hall monitor at Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School through a close friend. While being there, I realized how much I enjoyed working with kids and helping them improve their skills as creators, so I decided to take the necessary steps to become a computer teacher. With some help from some co-workers, I was guided to the Texas Teachers program. I joined the program and passed my content exam, which allowed me to teach technology. Proud of this accomplishment, I could see how God was continuing to open doors for me financially. I began to think, now that I have a salary, maybe it is time to start investing back into myself or my skills I learned through high school and college. That is when I decided to buy my first camera. I began to go to events and networking parties to gain more insight on how the creatives in Dallas work. I met tons of people and potential clients, but I had to get more work for my portfolio.
One night in Deep Ellum, I brought my camera out with me to a bar I usually visited called “The Nines.” I passed by a woman that I had recognized on social media. Her name was “Sweet Savage.” I yelled, “Hey, your Sweet Savage, right? Love what you are doing”. She is proceeding to answer back with a thank you as normal but she must’ve saw the camera hanging from around my neck. About 15 minutes later as I was networking, I felt a tap on my shoulder and all I heard was, “Hey man I been looking all over for you, Galaxy 9 is looking for someone to do videos tonight, can you do video?” I automatically said yes even though I had not even shot a video on camera before just a couple of pictures. I videoed with confidence and submitted to Galaxy 9 and they loved my work. I then knew photography & videography was my niche. I had just done something I had never done before and taught myself angles and lighting and people loved my work and also my work ethic. I began doing free work for about a year until I actually had proof that I knew what I was doing, then I began to get paid for my work. That is how Don Photography came about.
Has it been a smooth road?
Running a photography and videography business has not been a smooth road at all. I have dealt with getting clients, clients that want to use my service for the benefit of their company but do not want to pay or want to underpay. I have dealt with customers trying to blackball my name in the industry because I would not do anything for free anymore for them. I have had to deal with family not wanting to be charged for anything as well. The list is long but most of my problems have been about money not my work.
Don Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Don Photography is a company that provides visual content to help improve business branding and packaging. In photography, we specialize in portraits and headshots. In videography, we specialize in creating stunning visuals for small businesses that will raise brand awareness and identity to ensure more traffic to any social media platform that fits your audience. I am always open to any ideas that any of my clients bring to the table. Throughout my career, I have obtained essential skills within the Adobe Creative Suite programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
I am most proud of the way we do business with others, allowing their thoughts and ideas to become apart of ours to create exactly what the client’s vision is. What sets us apart from others is our attention to detail and also making the client feel comfortable that they are getting exactly what they paid for. I am also one of the only company’s that offers graphic design, visuals, photography, and brand packaging. Very hands-on and time-efficient.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the culture in Dallas. There is always something creative to do. I love how the creators make something out of nothing. I love the potential to grow and diversity within the city. It doesn’t matter if you black, white, Hispanic, purple, blue, yellow, people will accept you in this city for who you are.
The thing I hate most about Dallas is its competition mindset. Although we need competition, the competitive mindset is what gets me. It’s ok to be competitive but to not like someone because they may be better, do not do things the way you do it, do not hang with the same crowd you do, or they are not apart of your crowd, is just hate. We can all learn from each other and if we all came together as creators of the industries we are in, the city would flourish 10x faster.
Contact Info:
- Website: donphotography.net
- Phone: 2148507560
- Email: d.o.nphotographybookings@gmail.com
- Instagram: d.o.nphotography
- Facebook: Larry D Miller Jr
Image Credit:
Instagram Models:
@nia_deon
@vivalachelz_
@crystallnicole_
@kiarra_nique
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