Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Douglas.
Doug, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a cancer survivor. 16 tumors and 11 feet of my small intestine removed. Living through what might have been my last day of life because of an emergency surgery. All of these things immediately and radically transformed my priorities.
I was a successful businessman. I was highly respected and sought after in my field. In the time that it took me to get to that point, I was pretty ruthless. My priorities were money, position, power, and I’d do anything to get them. But when you hear the words, “You have cancer.”, it changes everything, Immediately my priorities shifted to faith, family, friendships, and meaningful conversations. I no longer cared if I closed the next big deal, or what my bonus plan was, or how many people reported to me. They just no longer mattered.
I tried going back to my job, but I immediately told our CEO that I needed to leave and figure out how life and work fit together. Eventually I found my way to photography. I had owned a graphic design firm year before, and always been pretty artistic, but photography was new to me and I found that I could use some of my other skills with it.
My expectations were low as I started my photography business. I thought I might get 1 customer per month. That never really happened. I stayed busy constantly through my constant presence on social media channels. Two years later, I do around 15 shoots per week. I’ve done over 1000 shoots just in the past year. I work with fashion designers and brands from around the world, but always make it a point to work with new or first-time models. I love to develop them and coach them.
In addition to my photography business (Captured Me Photo), I also have a model development program called CMP Elite Models. Then, I also recently began my own modeling agency, DX2 Model Management. I am blessed, and lucky, the way things have turned out for me. I love what I do. I get to work and pour out my passions in a very real and visible way every day.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a photographer. I don’t just do one thing, but like the diversity of the projects that I take on. I am often found doing fashion shoots for a fashion designer or for a brand, helping them to create online content. But I also spend a significant amount of time doing editorial projects for no particular publication, although some of them do get picked up. Then I also like to do some of the creative photography projects turning the model into art through various techniques.
I’m not really sure what I do differently from other photographers, but I do know that I constantly am receiving comments about how different my editing is and things of that sort. I know the trend with some is to make photos light and airy, or some place a brownish hue over it. I go for bright, vivid, realistic looks that are bold and strong. It’s not a secret formula…I just edit until I think it looks right.
The challenge for me is that I want to push people who model for me. My goal is to get them to a place where they trust me, are comfortable with me, and then I want to push them so I can try to reveal who they really are but rarely let it be known. I want to capture that spirit within them and bring in forward in a photograph. Those are powerful moments, and powerful images. It also creates a bond between the model and myself because they just shared something with me that they don’t often share.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I try my best to stay out of those issues. Our culture is so divided currently. By choosing a side and promoting it, you alienate half of the population one way or the other. Being a photographer is my passion, but it’s also my business and a method to support my family. So, from that perspective, why would I want to cut my potential customer base in half?
I very much live in the moment when I shoot. I think that is the way it should be. Going into a shoot with an agenda or a predetermined idea of a message that I need to get across, I’m not sure that works. Art is subjective. Two people can look at one piece and come away with two totally different messages, ideas, concepts, themes. People will see what they want to see from the filters they have firmly planted on their eyes. They don’t need my help.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
The bulk of my work can be discovered at www.capturedmephoto.com. You’ll be able to see my photos there, but can also see more about my model development work that I do, CMP Elite Models. Just in the past 7 months, I’ve had 7 of my models sign professional modeling contracts. I truly love to discover new talent and then bring them to that point.
Then for my agency, it can be found at www.dx2modelmanagement.com. These are professional models who are ready for paid photoshoots, runway events, events, etc. Of course, we are on Facebook and Instagram – @capturedmephoto / @dx2model.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.capturedmephoto.com / www.dx2modelmanagement.com
- Instagram: @capturedmephoto / @dx2model
- Facebook: @capturedmephoto / @dx2model
Image Credit:
All images are property of Captured Me Photo and cannot be used without written permission.
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