Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Goulding.
Aaron, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was in my teen years a buddy of mine had a camera with a water housing. He didn’t want to always just be taking pictures of us riding waves so he would hand the camera off to me so I could take photos as well. He taught me the basics and shortly after that when I was 18 or 19 years old, I bought my first Nikon camera.
My first big shoot was for a billionaire that needed photos for his seminars. He was a day trader. In my twenties, I laid the still camera down and got into video on and off all the way into my 30’s. In 2007, my wife bought a DSLR Nikon camera for her trip to Europe. I had never seen or used one of those but as soon as she got home I completely took it over, haha! She has a great eye but had no idea how to use such a camera.
I went around town here in La Jolla and photographed everything I could from land sea life to sunsets. After a few weeks of getting used to this new camera, I printed what I thought was my best images and hung out near the beach one day displaying them to people just passing by. I did not sell a single print but one lady that was walking by stopped and gave me her number and asked If I could meet with her at her office.
So I met with her and she made a large purchase for her business. I took every single penny and immediately invested in all new gear including a water housing and some new lenses. With my long history in the surfing and bodyboarding community, it wasn’t long before my images were published in all the print surf magazines and online surf magazines which helped me build my name in the industry.
In 2013, I opened a small shop in a garage in La Jolla Cove and started selling my prints and all kinds of gift type items with my imagery. It did very well, so well that it gave me the confidence to open a full-size gallery on Prospect Street in 2016. I was there for a year and a half where I began to realize I had no time for my children which affected me tremendously, so I closed both locations in 2017 to be with my family.
Now I just shoot weddings, portraits, underwater portraits and headshots. On occasion, I will shoot landscape, but it’s nearly impossible these days to find anything new to photograph, haha! It’s all been done!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not always been easy. For a couple of years, I had some great business with celebrities and their children photographing underwater portraits, but then GoPro came along and put in the hands the capability to do the “same thing” for much cheaper. Yes, celebrities can be frugal too, haha! Now that the fad has died I am starting to get some of that work back. People have realized that quality is more important than easy.
Another challenge was the soar of photographers in the water now with GoPros that were just playing around with them but actually getting decent enough shots to get published so for a while it was challenging to get published because of this so I stepped outside the box of water photography went for other shots I knew could not be taken with GoPros.
Other than that, opening brick and mortar locations is tough! One has to invest a lot of money and really push hard to be at the forefront constantly. It’s a battle that I am far done with, haha! I wouldn’t change my experiences for the world though.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
My photography business, Aaron Goulding Photography, specializes in anything ocean, portraits or fine art.
I think I am more known for my images of ocean sports and landscapes/seascapes, but I am pretty much capable of any type of shoot. I’ve pretty much done it all from seminars and major sporting events to infant portraits and real estate photography.
I think what I am most proud of is that my clients keep coming back and the referrals keep coming. I have found that what sets me apart from others is all of the communities I have been so deeply rooted in throughout my life such as music and the ocean and various others. It really does matter who you know, and I know a lot of people.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
For now, I do not have any major plans, but I am really liking shooting more portraits, weddings and stuff like that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aarongouldingphotography.com
- Phone: (858)312-0970
- Email: info@aarongouldingphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aarongoulding/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aarongouldingphotography/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AaronGphotos
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagmediaproductions/
Image Credit:
Aaron Goulding Photography
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