Community Highlights: Meet Anthony Barker of Barker Shoots

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Barker.

Hi Anthony, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I always wanted to have my own production company. Writing and photography has always ran parallel in what I ultimately wanted to do in life. Become a visual storyteller. I’ve had a passion for both narration and visual expression at an early age. I learned about journaling in the third grade and what stuck out to me was that I could write about whatever I wanted. My imagination has no limits and I would write stories in my journal that was inspired by things I seen in current events or things in my daily surroundings. Whenever I would watch a movie or television show and if I did not like the ending, I would write my own conclusion to the story to satisfy my viewing experience. One day, my mother threw a birthday party for my sister and my mom had a three pack of deposable Kodak cameras and I just picked one up and started shooting images of the party. I enjoyed the fact that I could capture photos of people in some of their most intimate moments. My aspiration of visual storytelling was just a hobby until a few years ago. My wife and I were at Disneyland and I was taking pictures of her on my iPhone, and this couple seen what we were doing and asked if I could take some pics of their family. Always wanting to help, I did not hesitate and another couple asked, another and another. Seeing how many people have always enjoyed the photos I’ve taken for them and the many people at Disneyland that day, my wife tells me it’s time I buy a camera and go into business for myself. I thought about it for a few days, and realized that this was my way to share my passion and use my voice to bring value to myself and others through my visual storytelling. This was the beginning of my production company.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, not all. The journey has been challenging. I started my business in the fall of 2019, and right before I launched my website, COVID-19 hit, and that was a big setback. My wife had kidney disease and was on dialysis so I was limited on the assignments I could take even if there was established guidelines of safety protocols. I would find clients here and there during the outbreak, and things got a little better in the aftermath of the lockdown, but I felt I was not reaching my full potential and self doubt took over. I thought that I was not good enough because other photographers had better equipment, they had their own studios, they had more clients. My insecurities were at the forefront and it showed in my work so much that I considered throwing in the towel and quitting my business.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Barker Shoots?
Barker Shoots is my photography business that I started in 2019. My vision was to build my production company as I love creating stories and making poetry with my camera. I specialize in product and automotive photography. I discovered a love of marketing while building my business and I felt it was the perfect combination of my passions that I could adapt into my journey of success. I feel what makes me stand out is my ability to find the right moment of expression in the images I produce. The ultimate compliment for me is when a client looks at an image and turns to me with excitement and says that it was a dope image and it captured exactly what they were looking for.

My proudest moment as a brand came when I did something I thought I would never do, I shot a wedding solo. I never wanted to do weddings because I was not confident enough in my work at the time and it’s not what my specialty was either. I was a last minute situation for a family friend and I believe the best teacher is failure. So I took the challenge, went and had some work shirts made with my brand name embroidered and showed up ready to serve. I had a blast and so did everyone else. The couple enjoyed the photos and I proved to myself that I defeated the self doubt that kept me from growing as a photographer. I’m more known as a writer, as I have some history in journalism and blog contributing for Strange Music Inc., writng posts for music artists such as Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko and others.

The writing extension of my brand is expanding. I resumed my creative writing and I just created my publishing business, dopesince82.com. A digital space for all of my work to share and an online store for the purchase of my books. I just lauched the website with the release my new poery book, “RelationTrip: The Wholehearted Edition” and with more books to follow in the coming weeks. I also look to tell stories of other people and colaborate with businesses for marketing campaigns to help acheive their goal exposure through visual storytelling.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My beautiful wife, Anastasia, my mother, brothers and sisters, my family. I’ve been blessed by God to have such an awesome support system. My wife is the one who inspired me to start my business and my mother challenged me to write my first book. My Grandmother who passed away a few years back was always there to listen and she instilled the relentless spirit that helped shape me into the man I am today. When I attended Banning High School in Wilmington, CA. I had a teacher named Mr. Hirayama, and one day he pulled me out of class because I was goofing around, and instead of a stern talking to, he did what no other teacher did for me before. He asked me what I wanted to be in life. I told him I wanted to be the C.E.O. of my own production company. He lit up with excitement and told me that he believed I could do it and that he witnessed my potential, but that I should give myself a chance. That talk with my teacher remained in the back of my mind and it adds to my drive and commitment to keep doing what I love to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.barkershoots.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barkershoots/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Barker-Shoots/100079960596728/#
• Other: https://www.dopesince82.com/