Today we’d like to introduce you to Miles McCormack.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Miles. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started taking pictures as an attempt to be a photographer in 2016. It was a rather challenging year, I moved from San Diego to Northern California in pursuit of a college relationship. I had a hard time making friends, it was sort of one of those instances where everyone around me already had their friends and lives put together. So besides spending time with my then-girlfriend, I didn’t really have much going on for myself besides working at Starbucks as a barista. One day, I was inspired by a YouTube creator and photographer named Ben Brown. He just would create videos where he’d go outside and create for the sake of creating. So I started to do that for myself. I dug this old DSLR that I hardly ever used beforehand and just started taking pictures of everything.
Later that year one of my coworkers talked me into taking photos with her. I reluctantly said yes because of one. She was really fun to be around and two. She was extremely cute. By the end of the photoshoot, I had fallen in love (with taking portraits). A few weeks later my relationship ended. I took it terribly and immaturely, I mean I was an insecure 23-year-old. However, I used the pain that I had inside of me to dive headfirst into the portrait photography community. That year I slept on my friend’s living room apartment floor. I’d go to work every day at 5 am, then I’d go to class, then I’d go on a photoshoot and edit the photos right after.
Years later I’ve dropped out of college (for the 5th time) and the coffee shop I was working at closed which forced me to make a decision. Go freelance, or get another job? I chose freelance, it’s been almost three years since I’ve made that decision and haven’t looked back since. I now have 160,000 Instagram followers, a growing YouTube channel, and photo editing courses that I’m working on releasing by the end of 2019. I’ve hosted portrait photography meetups with hundreds of attendees, a 30 student workshop, and am currently creating album art for music artists. This whole ‘photography’ journey has changed my life.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been a rather smooth road, however, there’s always been a strong mist in front of me on this road. I’ve been trying to hone in on exactly what makes me happy as an artist, finding what drives me, and how I can incorporate that into my creative business. The hardest part about becoming a freelance creative is going face to face with burnout and financial uncertainty. However there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing with my life at the moment, and I look at each obstacle as a fun challenge that I get to face. Bumps in the road make for a good story. Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
Tell us more about your work.
I often get referred to as a photographer, but when I think about it, I’m hardly that. The images on my Instagram account take on average five hours to create in Photoshop, sometimes many more than that. I’m a digital artist and graphic designer who happens to use his photographs as a way to tell stories and communicate his emotions with the world. My most common work is one-off pieces for clients, often musicians or artists. My work is based on surrealism and vibrant colors. On the flip side, I’m also an Influencer who fronts mental health in the creative community. Aside from my creative work, I really wanted to get into public speaking in the creative space.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As someone within the photography community, I see photography becoming more and more popular as a hobby. I’m not sure where my peers are going to find their clients at a certain point, many of them are actually making money off of the photography community by growing their followings (which are mainly other photographers) and selling editing courses or presets to them. What will be interesting to watch is where social media takes us, and which outlet will be on top. While Instagram is currently king, I see Tik Tok making waves as well as an influx users going to twitter. I’m curious to see if Instagram will be the top social media app that we use in 5-10 years.
Pricing:
- An average photo shoot for an individual starts at 500.00
- Brand campaigns and social media work starts at 2000.00
- Editing and social media consulting (1v1) work shops start at 100.00 per hour
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milesofcolor
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/milesofcolor
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/milesofcolor
Image Credit:
Models Instagrams: @allyrubbo, @sarah.atoms, @ambaluna, @karismacollins, @jessicaolie, @nat_torius, @laurengav_
Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
