It's about time I had a crack at a blog!
Well this is it. I’ve finally got my butt in gear and have started blogging!
I had a little dabble a while back but quit before I got going after talking myself down the ‘what’s the point?’ road.
Well, now the point is clear. I plan to use my blogs to help educate, inform and entertain. I’ll be talking about topics that mean a lot to me, like my business and photography. I’ll be sharing stacks of tips and advice that I hope help you make better choices when it comes to your photography. I also plan to invite others to join in, people more qualified than me to add some spice to the party on a range of interesting topics.
Who knows, I might even start a podcast and get myself a massively oversized and unnecessarily large microphone! It's all the rage!
Who is Steve Currie?
Like everything in life we have to start somewhere, right? So, let’s start with an introduction. Who the hell am I and why should you listen to me?
Cards on the table. I don’t have a degree in photography. In fact, I don’t have a degree in anything. I did physically go to uni to study Media & Visual Culture (whatever that was) but left after 3 months. (Long story but it wasn't for me.) I left and got a job in sales. After that I spent the next 17 years in the world of recruitment which saw me spend over 12 years living overseas in the UAE, which is where my photography journey really started.
My background is more corporate world than the creative world. But I’ve put the hours in to get where I am today and am happy to have made the switch to follow my passion.
Learning my craft.
I like to say I taught myself photography but in truth there’s an army of experts out there who I have rinsed for knowledge over the years. They are responsible for teaching me what I know. The hours of You Tube videos, photography workshop days, I even hired a coach for a while which was a total game changer. I’ve certainly earned my stripes when it comes to learning what I know and am grateful to every single person who has shared their knowledge and helped me along the way.
I’d been shooting in Dubai working mostly in the fitness industry. I loved it. I even managed to work with top brands such as Fitness First, lululemon and Les Mills which was a big deal for me at the time.
Moving back to the UK in 2020 I thought I’d just slip into the fitness sector and carry on shooting the same style of photography. But for me something didn't feel right. The people weren’t the same. The needs weren’t the same and the budgets certainly weren’t the same! It was clear something would have to change to make this work.
Why Branding Photography?
So, I thought what do I know? What industries do I understand? Who are the people I like being around and who can I help the most? The answer was staring me in the face.
I’d spent 17 years in the world of recruitment. I’d mixed with CEOs, business leaders, small business owners, industry experts and people just good at doing their thing. I’d worked in large global businesses as well as fresh start-ups. I knew this space. This is where I needed to be.
Years ago I launched a start up in Dubai and remembered how frustrated I was searching for website images. I didn’t know it at the time but I was developing a serious dislike of stock photography. It all looked the same. It was either diversity gone mad; black guy? Check! Asian girl? Check! Good looking one with grey hair? Check! Or it was just hands. I don’t know why, but it was all images of hands pointing, holding things, typing etc. It creeped me out.
I’d wonder - how can someone truly reflect their own brand through generic stock images?
So putting all this together it made sense for me. I need to help entrepreneurs and small business owners to have their own images so they don’t have to download stock ones. I need to make it easy, fun and something that genuinely helps. Plus I can still help PTs and fitness guys too so I wouldn't lose that.
So this is what I do. I work with individuals and small businesses shooting professional branding photography that's unique to them to help them connect more with their audience.
Pleased to meet you!
So that's me and this is what I do.
I love being able to work with people I want to work with. People who have a sense of humour. People who might be a bit nervous but know they have to get their photography in shape. People who want to show up in the best way they can.
If this is you, we should talk! You can contact me here. I'd love to hear from you.
In the meantime, keep an eye out for my future blogs. If you want to be the first to see them why not join my crew? I love sharing (very occasional) news, tips, tricks and info. Join here
Until next time!
Steve
