Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucas Smissen.
Hi Lucas, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi, my name is Lucas Smissen. I am a professional travel photographer and content creator out of Dallas, TX. When I was in high school, my parents rented a Ford van for me and 6 buddies to take the car across the country from Virginia to California and back. We visited 9 national parks and 17 states in 18 days, and that trip changed me forever. I grew a love for the outdoors, adventure, creating, and telling stories. Ever since that trip, I had been creating content for 15 years, and it was always a hobby. I would get a week here or there and go on fun trips and take videos and photos while on them. Then the pandemic happened, and I started posting more on my page when Instagram introduced Reels, and my account took off a little. I lost my job at the beginning of 2023, and I decided to go all in on myself. I took my wife out to dinner and said, ” Hey, I want to give this content creation a chance. She said, “Just don’t make us homeless.” That’s all I needed for motivation, and here I am almost 4 years later. At the time, we just moved into a new home, my wife had major surgery just a month before our dinner, and we had a 2-year-old. I had no idea what I was doing the first year. I just had a relentless desire that I could build the dream life I wanted. I worked with anyone who would have me so I could build a portfolio, but I quickly learned that I had to treat my brand as a business and not just some hobby. I came from an entrepreneurial background, and I truly believe that helped me overcome so many hurdles in the industry. Every day was a struggle in the beginning, but slowly I started to understand the business and lock in great partnerships that allowed me to continue pursuing my dreams. And now I am sitting on this side of my business where I’ve worked with 180+ brands, visited 25+ countries, and taken my kids on countless trips with me. I love what I do, and I am blessed to call it my work.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Haha not at all. My first year was rough. I taught myself photography because I wanted to set myself apart and not just be some “influencer.” I wanted to provide value to the brands I worked with. I was taking photos of newborns, factories, sporting events, engagements, weddings, and more that entire first year. I did whatever I had to while I was building my adventure travel portfolio. I just believed that I could figure it out. I believed I would make it. I recall one project I did my first year where I was working with a large tourism board, and they cut my budget in half from our original project last minute. All my expenses were included in the budget, so gas, hotels, and food were in that budget. I knew I needed to stretch the money from that project as far as I could, so when I was on site shooting for the tourism board, I ended up sleeping in my truck for that project to save money. There have been several months where I didn’t know where the money would come from to cover bills, and the mortgage payment was becoming late, and God always showed up and always gave me opportunities to continue to do what I love. So no, it has not been smooth, and those first 2 years I did whatever I needed to do to build my reputation in the industry. I even drove 2k miles to Oregon to shoot for a brand because they asked me to, and I slept in my car for that project for 15 days. So honestly, I was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen and to earn my equity in the business.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a professional travel photographer and adventurer. I am known for living life to the fullest. I travel the world working with amazing brands and companies, telling their stories and also sharing my story along the way. I have grown my social media following to over 1 million followers. I am a storyteller and lover of creating things that make people feel things. I want to inspire others to get out and go.
I am also a proud husband and father of 2 kids, and I take my family with me every chance I get. I am known as the fun, exciting, adventurous dad who wants to make memories with my family. I can mix work and family, and I want to take advantage of that as long as I can. My son is 5, and my daughter is 2, and they’ve been to 7 countries and 20+ national parks.
I also have taken all my knowledge and skills in content creation, photography, and social media and helped other businesses with a media agency I run as well.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can work with me in a variety of ways
1. On all of our social media accounts, we do social campaigns in the form of short-form and long-form content. I’ve generated 100s of millions of views on my channels and sold out products with our social content. We have worked with major brands on social campaigns like Google, Meta, Facebook, Mercedes-Benz, Southwest Airlines, Mazda, Hyatt, and so many others. These campaigns have run across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and our Website.
2. UGC – we create real-world videos that brands and businesses can use in their marketing and ad efforts. We take their product and create a story that is relatable and runs well on Meta ads, and we can also run that campaign on our whitelisting. We have sold out products with our ugc campaigns because we not only know how to make an engaging video, but we also understand the audience they are selling to.
3. I am a professional photographer. I specialize in brand photography and epic adventure photography. I take products and tell a story with them in real-world scenarios. I have done massive product launches and everything in between to help businesses and brands with their marketing efforts.
4. If you are a business or brand looking to fix their socials, create content, or need to do influencer marketing, I run a media agency company that helps brands take the next step to market in this day and age. Retention is the new currency, and you have to be creating if you want your business to survive and thrive. We help bridge that gap for businesses that feel stuck on how to leverage social media to break into a crowded market.
If you want to support us you can follow us on any of our socials
Insta: @thejourneyest2016
Facebook: @thejourneyest2016
Youtube: @thejourneyest2016
Tiktok: @thejourney2016
website: www.thejourneyest2016.com
Pricing:
- Every single case is different so just depends on deliverables, usage, etc… we are happy to discuss pricing with anyone. We just need more of the full story and scope so we can help quote it correctly
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thejourneyest2016.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejourneyest2016/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejourneyest2016/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJourneyest2016
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejourney2016
