Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Strong.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been doing photo/video work since middle school and always had a passion for the camera. Toward the end of middle school, I began to walk around with a disposable camera and take candid photos. Even then, capturing memories brought me joy. In high school, I even signed myself up for a photography class during summer school to learn more about techniques and film development. But after high school, I had to put down the camera to focus on maintaining three jobs while putting myself through college. After college, I went straight into my decade-long career as a teacher.
But my journey toward running my own photo + video company was elevated in 2018. My wife and I got married that year and had an opportunity to hire a wonderful photo/video company for our wedding. While we liked the results that this company delivered, there were some key parts of our wedding that were missing from our video. After struggling to get the company to properly re-edit the video, I made an attempt to use the raw footage to re-edit the video myself. It came out so well that I quickly realized, “I could actually start my own company”. After that, I saved up some money and bought my first professional camera. The skills and passion were always in me, but the drive to make something out of it had finally been sparked. I have since worked multiple weddings, as well as professional studio photo shoots, across southern California.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road toward this level of success was slow and steady. Moving here from San Diego, I didn’t know a lot of people. This made my ability to grow based on personal connections a near impossible route for growth. With hundreds of talented photographers already occupying this city, I had no choice other than working for free to build a portfolio. With videography, I would run as a second shooter to other established directors. As my portfolio and experience grew, my connections and clientele flourished.
In 2023, I’ve decided to pay homage to that “work-for-free” grind that got me here. I recently started running a monthly “Free Photo Shoot Giveaway” to ensure that I give back to this city and keep building connections with its people.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
On the videography side, I specialize in wedding films. I create 3-5 minute wedding highlight videos that capture the love and excitement of the special day, focused on depicting beauty and elegance. I also create 60-minute wedding “movies” that capture the entire wedding day to create a love “story”. It’s the work I am most proud of because it’s a high-stakes gig that requires many moving parts to capture and edit a great film. Unlike photo shoots, here are no do-overs, and every moment matters. Being able to attend weddings as a job is also a very fun way to spend my days! Being around such positive vibes from morning to night on what is many people’s “best day of their lives” is an experience from which I continue to find the utmost fulfillment.
However, I am most well-known for my photography work. As a result of working with some celebrity dancers, singers, rappers, models, and content creators, there are certainly more people who see my photography work than my wedding videos. And while wedding films are my specialization, I also take extreme pride & joy in using my photography skills to help my clients fall in love with themselves. Having clients go from “I’m not a model. I don’t know how to pose” to “OMG I look so good! I’m so happy I did this!” is always my goal. And with more seasoned models who are comfortable behind the camera, I get to collaborate and experiment with new techniques and set designs, challenging my creativity.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
This industry of photo/film is constantly competing with advanced cell phones with better image/video quality and artificial intelligence. These shifts are making content-creating and photo/film work more accessible for non-professionals. This requires people like myself to hone in on the professional side of the work (lighting, technique, editing, set design, etc). This shift works in favor of the creatives who enjoy the process of learning and growing, as the shift allows for us to develop “one of a kind” experiences for clients.
Pricing:
- Wedding Film: $1,750 (base package)
- Wedding Film + Photo: $3250 (base package)
- Studio Photo Shoots: $350-600
Contact Info:
- Website: StrongVisualsWeddingFilms.com
- Instagram: @Strong_Visuals
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/strong-visuals-wedding-films-carson-2
Image Credits
Dorian Aleccia Tonya Granberry Tiarra Granberry Aries Williams Queen Morelife StrongVisualsWeddingFilms.com RideFrsh Vee Valdez Michelle Burney Donovan Brown InRageEnt
