Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Baker.
Cameron, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always loved photography and film! When I was younger, I always loved seeing what a camera could do and what amazing things have already done with film and photography! My dad raced off-road so I grew up around action sports and always saw magazines with the cover photos of my favorite riders but I always seemed to look at the photographers who shot them! When I got my first camera, it was around ten years old I started playing with it and got into making little videos on my iPod! I kept doing that for a couple of years and developing a love for it just seeing what angles I can put that thing or what I can do with it!
But possibly two years later I got my 2nd camera a real camera this time it was the Canon t5i! I used my friend’s camera before a bunch to help them film or whatever we were doing that day, so I knew how to work the camera! But when I got the Canon t5i, I moved a lot into photography and seeing what I could do with that from all aspects of photography, I wanted to mess with them all I never had a specific thing I enjoyed shooting! I had that camera for about three years and loved it I started messing with film a lot more and would start to edit photos and videos on my phone and started my Instagram @baker4a, where I started to grow a following for my work! With the canon t5i, I feel like it really showed me that I love photography and film and I wanted to do something like that in my life but I never thought I’d make it a career!
After I shot everything I could with that camera, I ended up getting the canon 60d from a photographer friend I met through social media! Once I got that, I took off with shooting photos and videos and loved seeing what that thing could do!! I started to shoot a lot of beach videos which started to reach 10,000-16,000 views on social media! At that point, I started to use my work as a way to make money starting around people closest to me for there companies or businesses they need media for! Also, at that point I was just getting into high school where I took a photography class my sophomore year, my junior year I took multimedia, and my senior year I ran my school’s news network! Where I really decided on making this thing a full company!
During my senior year was big because I pushed a lot into my work and developed a good following on social media where I created my platform too begin making my work a business! Around half of my senior year, I got a Sony A7r II which became my go-to film camera! I started to do a lot of work with film! Making that my main area of expertise! I still did photography but didn’t push on it as much as film! When I graduated, I started working full time with the film trying to find anything I can to film! I started working with a clothing company Shreddy Lyfe and took off with doing there YouTube and supplying a lot of the media on their social media!
During that time I was working with multiple other companies doing work from weddings, cooking, off-road, soccer, scooters, motorcycles, Bmx, cars, lifestyle content, clothing, Commercial content it can go on and on I never liked too single my self out with any work! But I kept working and every time I shot I learned a new thing school never could have taught me! I am still learning how to make this thing a business, but I’m trying my best and learning everything I can! I like the people I surround myself with, I think is what keeps me in check! I was going to go into film school, but it wasn’t a good option for me at the time I had a lot of other film opportunities that were available for me at the time and still showed that not going too film school was a good idea because I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to visit so many places! I have gone too:
Puerto Penasco, Mexico, Ensenada, Mexico, Big bear, CA, Johnson Valley, CA, Joshua tree, CA, Sand Hollow, Utah, Pheonix, AZ, Gilbert, AZ, San Francisco, CA, Malibu, CA, Miami, Florida, Key Largo, Florida, South Beach, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, Big Sur, CA, Morro Bay, CA, Sparks, Nevada, San Quintin, Mexico, Ojos Negros, Mexico, New York, NYC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, London, UK, Bracknell, UK, Minnesota, Silver Lake, Michigan, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Edge of the World, Saudi Arabia, Monterrey, CA, Charlotte, North Carolina and Amarillo, Texas.
Since graduating in 2018! It might not seem crazy, but it is too me. I am happy I get to call film my career cause it lets me express my creative side and do things that I enjoy! I recently upgraded my camera from the Sony A7r ii to the Black magic pocket cinema 6k and I couldn’t be happier with my work! I keep investing into my career one cause I love looking at that camera and what it can do but two the film industry is constantly changing and getting more advanced with many more people wanting to start film and because a filmmaker or photographer so you always have to stay on top of your game which has been one of the hardest parts of it all!
But recently, I have just been back and forth being home and working all day too, leaving on a job and being gone for 2-10+ days! Over the past years to I started to bring photography in too be right there with film so I have been going back and forth and doing film and photography side by side! I still don’t know exactly what I want to do in film or photography but I know I want to do something having to do with them I just haven’t found what exactly I want too do or continue to do everything at once! I’m still trying things out, but I’m happy with how far I’ve gone in the industry so far!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think some of my struggles had to be dealing with high school and just figuring things out while I have the drama of school and the people in it! I am the type of person too figure out things my own, which could involve me too push away for a little bit! I took times in between really pushing in my work because I was hesitant if I am good enough too do this or make it a full career!
Call me an artist but I always have disliked my work just because I know how much better it could be! Because I look at the people producing amazing work and I’m not that that level yet so it is a little struggling at times! But there’s nothing that’s happened that I can’t get through I feel like the biggest struggles are today is my everyday problems in life interfering with my motivation to work or stay productive!
Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
My company is Baker4a Productions and I specialize in Film, Photography, Social Media Marketing! People know me as Baker because of my social media handle and for all the work I’ve done with companies around my everyday life! I’m most proud of not giving up and continue to work on perfecting my work and getting better with each job! I think what sets my company away from others is how I look at things differently than others!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My Dad, family, and friends have been a huge support into what I do! My clients really push me to work with people better and too learn the business side of it all! I am the type of guy that loves people but doesn’t work with others from since I’ve started the film. I haven’t collaborated with any other filmmakers I am and have been a one-person show so far! I look up to the guys that shooting with companies that I have always loved or people that I’ve always enjoyed watching! I look at the best work there is then I look at my own, so I try to make my work be like there’s! I couldn’t name one person cause I always find other amazing artists that I admire!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://baker4aproductions.com/
- Phone: 6192494296
- Email: bcameron781@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baker4a/
Image Credit:
Cameron Baker
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