Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Baker.
Robert, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
So my wife does birth photography. I picked up her camera a while back and started taking pics of my kids and of the places we went to. It started to morph into a hobby and I realized I loved doing it. We had some friends ask me to take pictures of their family, which I did. That scenario started repeating itself, along with me posting stuff on Instagram so word got out. I quickly realized however that I didn’t have the technical skills to create the pictures I wanted, and I refused to shoot in automatic mode. So I just YouTube’d classes…ISO, Aperture and all that. Next up, I started offering free shoots to allot of my friends and to people who I thought would make interesting content. I also started shooting all the clothing models for my mother in laws store in Bishop Arts, called The Laughing Willow.
Slowly I built a website and started charging a bit for sessions, and then folks who I had done free sessions for started referring people to me. I still make a TON of mistakes. But every blurry picture or missed moment is also a learning opportunity that drives me back to you-tube or to other mentors to make sure I don’t miss the moment the next time.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth-ish yes, as I have some awesome mentors, cute kids, and a very supportive wife. I have also been able to invest in good gear which makes things easier. However, it has been very time consuming. I am someone who likes to get things right, so my edits in the beginning took FOREVER and my shoots took way longer than needed. I took way too many pics to get the few good ones. But I slowly got better, faster, and smarter work habits started to take hold. It’s gotten much smoother—1 bad pic at a time.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I do mostly family, kids, maternity and newborn sessions, on the paid side anyways. A lot of hobby fashion shoots and experimenting as well. Real estate too. I have started to do some weddings, but that’s a newer side of things at the moment. Love doing them though! I think eventually that will take over. I know posed photos are part of picture taking…sometimes you just have to set things up. But my absolute favorite gigs are when people truly act like they don’t know I’m there. Real people living out real moments are always the best pictures. And I would say that is what I strive for in every session. I want my clients to feel comfortable enough just to be themselves. Forget about me, and forget about how you look, and I’ll make you look amazing.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas is awesome for city scapes and cool fun artsy locations in the city. I have a harder time finding really pretty nature vibe locations that i don’t have to drive far for. I shoot at White Rock allot or down in the Red Oak area if I need some good fields. But that’s not Dallas at fault. We live in central Texas! But the beauty is there. I just have to find it.
As far as getting clients go, heck yea. Dallas has become some a great melting pot and the opportunities are out there. My biggest recommendation is when starting, don’t be afraid to work for free to build clients and build a portfolio. However, know your worth, and when it’s time to charge, CHARGE and don’t be ashamed of your price. If you put out a good product, people will pay for it. Work hard; be yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.capturedbybaker.
com - Phone: 214-882-5695
- Email: capturedbybaker@gmail.
com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/robertbakerd - Facebook: https://facebook.
com/capturedbybaker - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
RobertBakerD - Other: https://
capturedbybaker.pic-time.com/ portfolio
Image Credit:
Robert Baker
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
