Hidden Gems: Meet Travis Do of 8 Kinds of Smiles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Do.

Travis, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Travis Do, and I’ve been shooting wedding films for 15 years under my company, 8 Kinds of Smiles.

Shooting weddings has been an incredible journey that has been a mix of circumstance, a bit of luck, networking, support from close friends, and skills that I’ve been able to develop over the course of the past 15 years. I started my wedding videography business accidentally a month after graduating from college in 2010. To date, I had never shot a wedding, but because of my background in film studies, a friend from school reached out to me to shoot her sister’s wedding. Growing up, I had never considered shooting weddings as a career. It certainly wasn’t the “cool” path to take for someone interested in film as traditional wedding videos were anything but cool. But the DSLR video revolution around that time changed the game. During college, I came across some wedding videos people shot using this new technology–videos that put a key focus on storytelling combined with captivating, cinematic footage. Those films inspired me and taught me that wedding videos could be more of an art than in the past. After that first wedding, a different good friend of mine referred me to shoot the wedding of a seasoned wedding photographer (Thao Vu) who was in search of a last minute videographer. She ended up shooting my own wedding 11 years later, coming out of retirement to do so. That 2nd wedding also subsequently led to a referral to another wedding of someone (Vivian Tran) who, at that time, managed a local venue in Orange County, Mon Cheri. I continue to be one of Mon Cheri’s recommended vendors today. These early bookings snowballed into something bigger.

In the years since, I’ve been fortunate enough to grow my business and keep shooting weddings through referrals whether it be through past clients or vendors who I’ve met along the way. I consider myself very lucky for this, and it’s a true testament to the power of a good word and the trust people place in these referrals. I also could not have done it without my 2nd shooters over the years, who have been all close friends of mine. I also met my now wife, Anna, through a wedding I shot, and she works with me today on 8 Kinds of Smiles and serves as a crucial sounding board for my edits and business strategy. There’s something a bit poetic about finding my own love story through my work telling others’ love stories.

Today, I am grateful to still be doing this 15 years later, alongside Anna and two other close friends. We’ve also expanded to include a 2nd team to increase our availability. The technologies and trends involved in this business continue to evolve, and we continue to grow with them while remaining true to the thing that remains timeless, which is good storytelling that truly captures our couples and their big days.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
To answer this question, I should note that 8 Kinds of Smiles is a side hustle for both myself and our 2nd shooters. For me, this has helped avoid some of the difficulties of going full time such as dependency on this business as my sole source of income. This approach has allowed me to really keep my passion and creativity for shooting weddings alive throughout the many years while avoiding burnout.

That being said, I would say that one of the challenges of recent memory was when I expanded to include a 2nd team. Anna was really the catalyst for this as she was thinking ahead for the time when we’d start our own family, and weekends and free time would become a little bit more cherished. Being that 8 Kinds of Smiles is very closely associated with my name, expanding to a 2nd team brought sets of challenges in finding someone who I trusted to shoot on behalf of my brand as well as convincing potential clients that this 2nd team would be able to do so. That initial push was difficult, but things are a bit easier now that my portfolio can easily reflect that the quality and style remains consistent, whether it’s myself shooting or my 2nd team. I’m grateful to my wife for giving me that push to make it happen.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about 8 Kinds of Smiles?
8 Kinds of Smiles is a modern wedding videography company specializing in short and long format wedding films. Our most popular package includes a wedding highlights film (3-5m average length), 2 shooters, raw footage, and delivery in 4K format with streaming access.

Our shooting style leans more candid and documentary. While we do direct couples to some extent for certain shots, we aim to shoot to capture the day as it unfolds along with all of the raw emotion that comes with it. We want our couples to just have an amazing day, and we will be there to capture it.

In terms of our editing style, I believe in the power of storytelling and put a heavy focus on audio to do so. Before even throwing any video footage on my timeline, I perfect the audio aspect of my films first. I start by laying out the music and analyzing it for where key moments can be placed. I then build up the skeleton of my edit with important sound bites of the day to really start to craft the story of the video. Only once I have that audio backbone locked in do I start to lay down the visuals to flesh out the edit. I’ve spoken to fellow videographers and photographers over the years who have mentioned that editing is their least favorite part of the process, and some even say they prefer to outsource it. For me, it’s my favorite part. The beginning part of that process can be a little difficult and tedious as I organize and cull my files, but then it becomes like a puzzle I’m constantly refining to get it to its final form. And once it does reach that point, it’s incredibly rewarding. Whether I am the lead shooter or it’s my 2nd team shooting, I am always the editor on all 8 Kinds of Smiles films in order to really maintain that style and quality.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I don’t know if I can say I’ve found one mentor who I turn to, but I have gotten great advice regarding the wedding industry from friendors I’ve met throughout the years. It’s always great to get other people’s perspectives and a sense of how they’re doing on their journey. I also follow a lot of influential videographers and photographers to stay inspired. That part’s been great as a way to keep pushing myself to be better as well as to draw ideas for how I can improve my own work. Bringing on a 2nd team also allowed me to grow by drawing inspiration from their shooting style as there are certain things or shots they may do different from me.

Pricing:

• Our packages start in the mid $3K range. For more specific info, we encourage potential couples to check out our work on our website and Instagram and reach out via our contact form at 8kindsofsmiles.com/contact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.8kindsofsmiles.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8kindsofsmiles