Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Kent.
Brian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Truthfully, I never thought I would be a photographer. I started my career as a photo-journalist at my college newspaper, and I was having too much fun to consider photography as a serious career.
Before I worked at the newspaper, I studied abroad in Spain where at every turn there is a charming cobblestone street or gorgeous 400-year old cathedral. From my very first hour in Spain, I was inspired by the multitude of architectural and cultural sites. I used my point-and-shoot camera to capture the beautiful historical landmarks. I was fortunate to visit incredible art galleries featuring works by Dali, Picasso, and Velazquez, and I was so motivated by their art that upon returning home, all I wanted to do was take pictures.
But I had absolutely no idea what I was doing with my camera. At that time, it was all film, and each horrible picture I took cost me 87 cents. When you are a starving college student, and all you want to do is take pictures, the costs start to add up quickly. The next logical thing to do was to get a job, and thus the Cork-n-Bottle liquor store was soon blessed with their newest 21-year old employee. This classy joint served one-dollar hamburgers to just about every college student in town.
As I was walking to class one day, I spotted the office for the Mustang Daily newspaper. I stormed into the office demanding a job. The photo editor, who was understaffed and overworked, told me to bring in my “portfolio.” I responded that I would bring in my portfolio the very next day. Portfolio? I googled “photojournalism portfolio” and soon realized I was in big trouble. Nevertheless, the next day I brought the editor the photographs I had and he laughed until he cried. I don’t mean he eyes got a little watery. He was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face because he had never seen a portfolio as pitiful as mine. But he then said one thing that would change my life forever: “Can you at least learn fast?”
Fast forward a few years and I was lucky enough to apprentice at a photography studio in Santa Maria that specialized in weddings. After assisting at just one wedding, I was hooked. I wanted to combine my photojournalistic approach with my mentor’s artistic flare to beautifully capture special moments in peoples’ lives.
After my apprenticeship had run its course, I wanted to travel the world on an extended adventure trip. I knew life was about to get more serious, and so I did the mature thing and ran as fast as possible from impending adulthood.
My best friend and I decided to sell everything we owned and drive south from San Diego through mainland Mexico all the way to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. This sleepy fishing village has a surf spot which produces some of the largest sand-bottom barrels on the planet. We spent two months sleeping in the back of his truck with no more than four inches separating the two of us. We then sold the truck and flew down to Chile where we traveled for another two months up the rugged Chilean coast and on to Lima, Peru for our final departure home.
With no car and massive debt, I was in need of a city where I could live and work. That narrowed it down to two choices—San Francisco or San Diego. I had a few close friends in San Diego and so, on a whim, I moved here to begin my new life in 2006. I was blessed to meet a beautiful girl in 2007 who became my wife. We have expanded our family to include two incredible young boys, two Boston terriers, a bearded dragon, and a dancing cockatoo.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the biggest obstacle for me has been this highly competitive industry. Everyone wants to live in San Diego, and many people want to be a professional photographer. When you combine this beautiful city and a desirable profession, there is bound to be stiff competition. But I’m OK with that as this competitive industry has pushed me to always be better and never become complacent with my skill set or status of the business.
We faced a very real challenge this year when after eight consecutive years of growth, we experienced our first decline. Not only was this a slap to the ego, but what was most concerning was that I had no idea what caused the sharp decrease in business. I spoke with other photographers and other industry people, and they too said that they had a very slow year in 2017. That helped me at least feel better knowing others were facing a similar challenge in their businesses. But that did not answer the question, “Why?” Ultimately, I blame Trump and election years tend to always be slightly down.
I took a step back and reevaluated every aspect of our business, from the website design to the sales system, to the workflow, contracts, etc. I tried to think about the business not from a “we have always done things this way and it works fairly well” standpoint to a mentality of “how would I set up a brand new photography business without the pre-existing baggage?”
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about ABM Photography – what should we know?
I started ABM Photography in 2007 at the height of the great recession. You would think this would not be a good time to launch a company, but I truly feel the timing was perfect.
Our photographic style is a perfect blend of photojournalism with artistic flare. We want to capture real moments in the most beautiful way possible. Often times it is the moments between the moments that tend to be some of our favorite images.
We are proud to say we now have over 550 5-star reviews between Yelp, The Knot, Weddingwire and Facebook.
Since people primarily write reviews only after having had a bad experience, it is quite a feat to have that many glowing 5-star reviews. Being one of the most highly trusted photography studios in San Diego gives our clients peace of mind and assurance that they will love the photos from their event.
In 2012, we added a Videography division, and we are so honored that Norma Medina, formerly of Nr3, heads this division of our business. There are several advantages to having the same company for photography and videography. We work closely together as one team to create fantastic images and video. We have had problems in the past working with other videography companies where there was tension and a lack of cohesion. Our clients would never have known it, but I can say that there were times in the past when our quality was negatively affected due to the videography company’s incompetence.
Since 2007, we have grown to be one of the largest and well-respected wedding photography studios in San Diego.
We have a team of talented photographers, a full-time manager and a social media guru. Coming to work is always entertaining, and most importantly, I cannot remember a day where I came to work in the morning and left at the end of the day bored.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
In the beginning years, my focus was so simple…I wanted to take better photos tomorrow than I did today. Every night, I would read books (pre YouTube) and analyze my photography. I’m a slow learner in the beginning but I tend to get hyper focused with certain things and end up mastering everything I put my mind to.
I think human beings tend to over complicate things that should just be simple. Because I did not attend business school, I have had to rely on my observations of successful businesses where I have been a consumer, and the insights I have gained from these observations, combined with honest reflection and great mentors, has been the recipe for my success.
If you are upfront and honest with the client, and you exceed their expectations with outstanding customer service, delivery time, and a top-quality product, they spread the word to their friends and write positive reviews. It is as easy as that!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3421 Tripp Ct. STE 3, San Diego, Ca 92121
- Website: http://www.abmweddingphotos.com/
- Phone: 858-271-8029
- Email: info@abmfoto.com
Image Credit:
Nick Mantzel
Monique Feil
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
