Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Nguyen.
Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Radio/TV/Film so I have a background in video production. I originally wanted to move to Hollywood to become a filmmaker. But with the advent of social media like Instagram and YouTube, I learned that you could entertain audiences from literally anywhere on the planet as long as you had an internet connection. So I abandoned that plan and stayed home in Dallas.
I only got into photography the past couple of years because the core concepts were practically the same as video, just different applications. It’s like if you know how to play a grand piano, you can already play a keyboard synthesizer. Or if you know how to play six-string guitar, you could easily learn how to play bass guitar.
I’ve been attending a lot of outdoor festivals and indoor events for the past decade like hot air balloon festivals, jazz festivals, comic-cons, video game conventions, etc. And I was capturing all of these moments with my camera and posted them on social media as a means of sharing my experiences with others.
It wasn’t until the second half of 2015 that I received a message from the City of Plano informing me that I had won their monthly #LovePlano photo contest. I didn’t even know about the contest until they messaged me. I was just posting pictures of the Plano Balloon Festival for fun. Later that year, one of the editors of Lions Club magazine wanted to buy my photo of the Highland Village Balloon Festival (managed by the Highland Village Lions Club) and it ended up being published in their magazine a few months later.
Apparently, I got so good at covering events that I scored a gig as an official photographer for the 25th Annual Wildflower Arts & Music Festival, hosted by the City of Richardson. Later that year, the Highland Village Lions Club asked me for help covering the 30th Annual Highland Village Balloon Festival and I volunteered. After that, I was asked to photograph for the 38th Annual Plano Balloon Festival.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been anything but smooth.
A while back, some magazine (I forget which) did an interview with ten very famous and successful people. The question was, “What’s the secret to your success?”. One person on the list was Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group. His response was nothing more than a mere one-word answer: “Failure”.
You’ve probably heard the quote from Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” It’s absolutely true.
Behind all of my recent successes, there were at least a dozen failed attempts and ideas. There were times where I put hours into an idea, only to see nothing come out of it. Other times, I would show up at an event and I end up either not take any pictures, or I take a few snapshots only to realize that none of them are any good and will never see the light of day.
The point is that you shouldn’t be afraid to try new things and ideas. If it doesn’t work, figure out why it didn’t work, and see if you can do better next time. Every time you try something new in life, it’s always a learning experience, and experience is what ultimately helps you grow as a person.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mikeybnguyen story. Tell us more about the business.
So I manage my own profile on social media under the name “Mikeybnguyen” because it’s my full name and it’s easy to remember. Plus, you want a consistent username so that when people look you up on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or anything else it’s easy to find. It’s also a means of “Googling” myself so that I know how my work is being used on social media and how much exposure I’ve gained.
Right now, I’ve been doing event photography for the past year but now I’m looking to expand my portfolio into more video and 360-degree photography.
This isn’t my full-time job. It’s more of a side job/hobby. What I really enjoy is cooking and education, so I’m looking into either becoming a math/science teacher or the owner of my own restaurant.
I’m probably best known for creating viral images and videos on Instagram. My 360-degree videos and my light-painting photography has probably gained the most recognition.
What separates me apart from other photographers is that I’m not afraid of trying out new things. I dabble in almost anything: food photography, portraits, landscape, light-painting, 360, etc. I feel like most other photographers stick to their comfort zone and only do what they know or what’s already been proven to work. Me, I’m more interested in the new or the unknown. I like keeping up with new ideas and trends and seeing if I can turn that into something usable.
I’ve been told that when you create a portfolio, you should stick to one thing like portraits or landscape and keep your content consistent. I completely disagree. I believe in versatility, that if you can show that you are multi-talented and that you can do almost anything, you’re showing to everyone that you’re not limited in your abilities or that you’re just a one-trick pony.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I hate to say this, but I was asked not too long ago if I ever wanted to do this full-time and my answer was “No”. And the reason is because of smartphones, or in general the changes in technology and social media.
You know, a while back if you wanted to send letters, you had to go through the Post Office. And now because of email and the internet, the only reason why the Post Office hasn’t gone out of business is because of eBay.
Similarly, I gave up my dreams of becoming a Hollywood movie director because of YouTube. I feel like that if you move to Hollywood, you’re limited to just doing sequels, remakes, and reboots. Thanks to the internet, I learned that as long as you had a camera, an online connection, and the motive to produce a least an episode once per week, you could call your own shots and entertain audiences right from your own living room.
It’s the same with photography. Smartphone have advanced in technology so much that there really isn’t much that separated a smartphone from a DSLR camera. Most of the basic functions that exist in Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom like cleaning blemishes or applying filters can be performed with a push of a button on your phone. And now they have 99-cent apps that make video editing a piece of cake compared to the difficulty of running Adobe Premiere Pro. You also have to consider the fact that smartphone now have “portrait mode”, thus eliminating the need for specialized lenses on a professional camera.
When I talk to other photographers or read comments in the online forums, I see and hear the same word popping up: “workshop”. Nowadays, if you’re a professional photographer, you have to make ends meet by creating a photography workshop and teaching hobbyists how to operate their camera. Aside from weddings and sports photography, there isn’t much of a need or a professional photographer now that anyone with a smartphone is a photographer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mikeybnguyen.com
- Email: mikebachnguyen@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeybnguyen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikeybnguyen
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeybnguyen
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