Meet Derrick Darby of Darby Media in Fort Worth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derrick Darby.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story starts in the spring of 2014. The flowers were blooming, and I took a picture of a bee collecting pollen from purple flower and sent it to my wife.

Taking those pictures led to me purchasing my first DSLR camera. My wife, Christina Darby, thought it was another short-term idea that I would be over in a few months. I started doing what most other photographers do as they first get started which was doing gigs for friends and family. I was doing that on the side for a couple of years here and there. Then in 2016, I got another idea to purchase a Canon g7x and start a family vlogging YouTube channel.

I buried myself in learning video production. What is the proper frame rate? Shutter speed? Lighting techniques? Camera angles? That was fairly successful, and our small channel grew. We had some friends that were getting married in New Orleans, and I offered to video their wedding as we vlogged. That video turned out pretty cool, and once I posted that video online, I started getting inquiries from people to do their wedding. I bought some  more video equipment, lighting, and a drone.

Next thing I know, I’m filming more weddings and flying my drone for construction companies and real estate agencies. The thought of doing this full-time was steadily becoming a reality, and in April 2018, we did just that. We have been blessed to be at the right place at the right time that has led to partnerships and friendships that have helped our business grow and be better than it was the day before.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The path hasn’t necessarily been easy, but I will admit we’e been blessed with our success up to this point. I was actually born with a muscular disorder — a type of congenital myopathy. Originally, we were told it was muscular dystrophy. We were told I could be in a wheelchair by the age of 15 and not live past my early 20s. I was babied by my grandmother who was constantly trying to get me to take a new pill – a holistic cure-all (I was also told she had bought a funeral plot next to a grandfather). Pushed by my father and stepmother who encouraged me to do any activities I wanted. And raised by a mother who was pretty care-free and kind of just let us do what we wanted.

At some point, it was deemed that my disorder was a congenital myopathy which is just a broad term for a muscular condition (myopathy) that you’re born with (congenital). I couldn’t tell you the last time I went to a neurologist before I met my now wife. I went back at the age of 29 to try and get more information on how my genetic disorder may affect a child when we decide to take that step. I was poked with more needles as they would insert a 4-6 inch needle into my muscles, make me flex and had more biopsies done.

The end result – inconclusive of sorts. They confirmed the congenital myopathy but in order to know the exact type they needed to do “more testing”. I really didn’t care beyond that once we were told it wouldn’t likely be passed along to my child. Long story somewhat short, I’m a videographer/photographer that barely even has the strength to carry the camera equipment. My wife goes on trips with me to carry the equipment where we need it. My father has been my 2nd shooter on almost all my weddings filmed.

It is extremely difficult for me to even hold a small camera up for more than a couple of minutes. As a father, I’m not even able to carry/hold my son for more than a minute or two before getting too weak. But life is about finding a way to overcome, and they make equipment to help compensate for that – monopods, tripods, etc. Everyone has their own issues to deal with in life, my situation is no more important than what Jane down the street to deal with.

We seem to be finding a niche with helping businesses build their video profile (business overviews, client testimonials, product/service videos, website banner videos, etc.) I am extremely blessed to have the support around me to help build a successful business. For that, I am grateful.

Please tell us about Darby Media.
Darby Media is a photography and video production business. As much as I enjoy doing photography for friends, family, and clients, I really enjoy doing video production. Being able to tell a story through video. Lately, we have found a groove with helping businesses across the nation build their video marketing.

We offer video packages for business overviews (a 2-3 minute video highlighting your company, your mission and your staff), client testimonials (60-90 second individual clips of customers talking about their experiences), procedure/product videos (usually about 15-20 individual videos that can be used for social media, websites and video SEO), and of course photo shoots so that the photos on your website are specific to your business and not some boring stock photo.

What I’m most proud of is creating a business that allows me to be home more with my son and wife. My relationship with both my wife and son has grown so much, and that is irreplaceable and priceless to me. I love being able to help a business grow using our skills to create content for them. What that means for us is that as your business grows, our business grows.

I believe what sets us apart from others is the experience that Darby Media brings for our clients. We love to have fun on our shoots. People are always better on video when they are having fun. I like to say that I bring a small town service with big city value. I grew up in a small town in Central Texas, my father and grandfathers are/were business owners, and I’d like to think I am following in their footsteps of being an entrepreneur and providing for my family.

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