Today we’d like to introduce you to Brett Erickson.
Brett, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Salt Lake City. I dropped out of college to “find myself” and moved to NYC. When I was there I bought a camera and fell in love with wandering the city and taking photos. I then moved back to Utah to get a degree and after I graduated I moved to LA. I now shoot mostly fashion, advertising, and musicians.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s a scary thing to give up friends and family in hopes of becoming successful in a very saturated market. I have worked hard and given up many things with going through tough nights/weeks/months of not knowing when the next paycheck will come.
When you look back, what are you most proud of?
I don’t know if I have one exact moment, but every time I have a shoot in a new location/country that I’ve never been, I fill with joy and gratitude that I get to do this for a living.
Every story has ups and downs. What were some of the downs others might not be aware of?
I still have scary moments. Being freelance means that you never know when the next job is coming. I’ve had months where I only did one shoot, and it wasn’t even a good paying job. But in those moments you find out if this is truly the life and career for you… you either give up or you give it everything.
Is there something we can do as a city to improve the outlook for professionals like you?
This city is a great place for photography. There’s a lot of work and plenty of space to shoot it. The problem is, like most careers in this town, the market is flooded with “photographers”. One of my teachers in college said this would be a problem (as it always has been) but he said, “there’s always room at the top”. And that stuck with me and that’s where I strive to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BrettEricksonPhoto.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @brettericksonphoto
