Daily Inspiration: Meet Houston Ray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Houston Ray

Hi Houston, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2017, I was gifted an entry-level Nikon D3400 camera kit for my birthday, and I immediately became obsessed from there! I started photographing sunrises and sunsets in the city and gradually became more comfortable with photographing other people, which is what I’ve been most passionate about to this day.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Like most everyone else, COVID was pretty rough for me, at least financially. Creatively, I found myself exploring other mediums, like self-portraiture and street photography, highlighting the literal and figurative isolation I saw all around me.

The first time I tried to go full-time with my work in 2022, I initially struggled a lot with finding consistent work, which mostly boiled down to me not portraying myself as an expert in one specific niche.

Thankfully, since then, I’ve found much more consistency in my creativity and revenue streams through niching down and honing into my desired clientele and personal spec work.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an Apparel and Lifestyle Photographer who specializes in helping small to medium-sized brands increase awareness and drive sales via creative photo and video assets.

My main passion is in monthly/quarterly retainers… I love being able to provide a strong ROI for my clients and see how I can give their brand both creative consistency and an increased audience and revenue.

It gives me a more consistent stream of guaranteed income and, in return, my brand clients get both creative consistency in their social media and website platforms, as well as a continuous source of creative content they can use to highlight the best aspects of their brand.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
So many..

My mom for giving me the push to get started, the local creative community in Charlotte, both photographers, and models alike, who have worked with me over the years, as well as the multitude of creatives online who have either taught me directly through video or phone calls, as well as indirectly through workshops and masterclasses.

Pricing:

• Every package of mine is curated uniquely per client!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.houstonray.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houstonrayphotography