Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Rollerson.
Mike, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up, I was never much into photography. I definitely appreciated it, but nothing ever pulled me in and made me say “I want to do that!” until I attended the E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) back in 1999. The over-the-top costumes, fully-built sets, and bright lights showed me something that I hadn’t really seen before. Until that point, most of the photography I had seen were landscapes, fashion and more traditional events like weddings.
On the 2nd day of the event, I loaded up a backpack of disposable cameras and just had a blast shooting for the first time. Following this event, I was hooked. I went out and picked up my first digital camera (which were all fairly basic at this time), went back the following year and it was better than I had remembered. Over the next few years, I had upgraded several times until the point that I had a professional camera set up in the early 2000s. I started attending more of these events and loved every minute of it – it was just so different from the photography I was used to… giant costumes, neon lighting and videogame sets brought to real life had given me something that inspires me to go out and shoot.
Over the next few years, I began taking it a bit further, bringing full lighting setups to these events, setting up in any corner I can find and experimenting with more creative techniques to give my own twist to these shots. I eventually began creating my own costumes, picking up makeup FX, lighting and practical effect techniques and working with local models and cosplayers to bring our own creations and ideas to life. Several of these had been picked up by websites, newspaper and eventually international print publications. I knew I wanted to pursue this even further by putting myself out there more. Around 2009, I partnered up with other events, traveling up and down California, working with a circus, haunted houses and local party companies to provide promotional photos.
I’ve always wanted to push myself further though. As a photographer, it’s very easy to stick to your safe-zone of what you knew. Branching out from Cosplay photography to horror, live event and studio work helped me get some variety and see what I liked to do. I never wanted photography to be a “job” where I would take on anything – if you’re shooting something that inspires you, you’ll be able to create much better photos that you and the subject can both appreciate. I see it similar to a tattoo artist: they can tattoo any design you want, but if you find an artist who is very into the piece they’re putting on you, you’ll likely get a much better result out of it.
Over the past few years, I’ve been branching out much more to include fashion, art, and creative photography while also throwing in a mix of vintage looks with some frankenstein’d Polaroid cameras from the past to add a new challenge to the mix. It’s been a journey for sure, but I wouldn’t change any of it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve had a very smooth progression with many great opportunities opening up for me along the way. I think a big part of it was that I didn’t get into this hoping to make a career out of it – I just wanted to have fun, meet some awesome people and create some work that everyone can enjoy. Going in with this attitude actually motivated me to learn, to try new things and to not stress over it. It’s definitely an investment, it can be a steep learning curve, but when it all comes together and pays off, it’s worth it. Many of these opportunities presented themselves just by meeting people, not going into it with any “business” mindset but having doors open through others coming across my work, inviting me to events and bringing me on to their projects.
Alright – so let’s talk about your work. Tell us about Mike Rollerson Photography – what should we know?
Rather than being a “do-it-all” photographer, I try to stick to the areas that I feel I can create the best work in. I love event work, creative/artistic looks, costume, fashion, and horror-themed works while I know that wedding work is something that others can create a much better final result out of. I think it’s important to recognize those things — definitely take a shot at it, see how it goes, but don’t force yourself to take on everything if it’s not something that you have a passion for and won’t be able to create the best possible work in doing.
Some of my best moments have been seeing my work in large-scale distribution, appearing internationally in-stores, magazine covers, on the side of a convention center, on billboards, TV, and tattoo’ed onto people!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I owe a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years. They’ve pushed me further, given me critique, modeled for me, encouraged me and helped me get to where I am today.
These people have taken me out of my comfort zone to try different things, trusted me with capturing different looks and pushed me out there to take on projects that have helped me get to where I am today.
These are models, friends, photographers, cosplayers, FX artists, costume creators and just people following my work in general.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.MikeRollerson.com
- Email: Mike@MikeRollerson.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MikeRollerson
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MikeRollersonPhotography
- Other: http://www.instagram.com/instax.mike
Image Credit:
Diana G., Cristina H., Sarah B., Annabel B., Patrick Marinelli and Nicolette Fornasari, Sui S., Ciara A., Luis Linares
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.
