Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelli Goodman.
Hi Kelli, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey started a few year ago in 2019 at the Drew League in South Central. I have been involved in sports, specifically basketball my entire life and I’m still around it and play almost every day currently. My introduction to photography and videography started that summer of 2019, my life at the time was such a routine, I was bored and I wanted something new and challenging that I’ve never done before. Something that would allow me to be creative in a way and show off my visions and creativity but I didn’t know what at the time, so with me being at the Drew League, I kept seeing. all these people with cameras and I thought to myself “this seems like something I could do.”
I purchased my first camera and showed up every weekend to take pictures of basketball games and every week a different NBA player would show up to these summer pro-am basketball games. Along the way, I wanted to be a jack of all trades, understanding photography and videography, so then I began doing video work too. As I progressed in the space, I began to meet new people and built my network up along the way and I am truly thankful for those people til this day. Since then I’ve shot the NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, professional boxing matches, artists in the music industry, concerts, marketing deals for Adidas, Puma, and Reebok, weddings and local places in the LA area and so much more!
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?
As a freelancer, this journey hasn’t always been easy or smooth especially during covid. During covid, a lot of things slowed up and I lost momentum because of all the restrictions in the world at the time with everything being limited or shut down that I am into. I still did some photography and video work because a lot of those contacts I had kept in contact during that time but once everything was pretty much back to normal, I took back off.
Another struggle as a freelancer was really just finding work and having consistent pay, which I’m sure most if not all freelancers deal with. It’s a real hustle and grind, especially NET30 payouts but in the end, its usually worth it.
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 specialize in photography and videography. I am probably most known for my NBA basketball videos and Russell Westbrook dance videos. I love capturing people in their most authentic and natural form, people just being themselves because it’s just pure and not forced. I’m definitely proud of all I’ve done but the thing I’m most proud of is that I’ve been able to shoot a few NBA All-Star weekends and it was great. I think what may set me apart from others is paying attention to detail, my confidence in my work and being a step ahead in capturing certain shots and moments. In sports, sometimes you see the shots from the same angles whereas I enjoy moving around the arena/stadium, getting low angles from the ground, or whatever else shows a different look and creativity.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
There are a lot of things and qualities that are important and one of those I feel like one of the most important things in this space that’s important is to really be kind to people and have conversations. Being kind to others can take you a long way most the time because it leaves a lasting impression and people remember you for that and that helps you build friendships and relationships. No one has never done anything alone in this world. This will help so much because you never who knows who and word travels fast. Another characteristic to have is be able to take constructive criticism, being adaptable to certain things, being versatile, being punctual with deadlines and just having fun with it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kdgmedia.mypixieset.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freddie_kelli?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Photos by Kelli Goodman
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