Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Frederick.
Hi Eric, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My father is the one that got me interested in photography at a very young age (can’t remember exactly when to be honest). One of the earliest cameras that I remember using was an old 10mm camera, then I moved up to my dad’s Canon 35mm TLB and F1. When I got older my parents got me my first point and shoot digital camera which I used for many years, upgrading to a newer point and shoot (bot Canon’s). When Canon came out with the Rebel series I asked for the latest model (at the time) the Xsi and they got it for me for Christmas along with a couple of lenses, a bag and other accessories. This is when the kits on Amazon were really popular since they came with many of the pieces of equipment that are great to start with. The Rebel camera served me for a lot of years and I even purchased my own lenes to upgrade the glass I used with it when I stated to earn my own money. Then I took the leap to semiprofessional cameras when I purchased the Canon 7D Mark I which was a great camera for a few years before upgrading to the 7D Mark II. The Mark II is the camera that I used for many years and started my business with before upgrading to the camera I have now which is the Canon R5 Mark I. What is awesome is I still have many of the original digital cameras I stated with like the Rebel and the 7D Mark II. I donated the 7D Mark I and some of my older equipment to a friend in Georgia so that she could better pursue her passion for photography.
The main subject that I stated with was wildlife as well as nature in general. My family owns a summer home in Red River, New Mexico and I credit spending summers up there and using my cameras for helping me to develop my skills as a photography. My uncle was also a big time nature photographer for a long time and between him and my father, I had a big knowledge base to draw from. Some of what I do today for clients, the skills I use with the camera, was developed tracking wildlife over many years not only at our summer home but here in the city as well.
A couple of years before COVID, I started to work as a Special Education Teacher for Rio Ranhco Public Schools. during COVID is when I had the inspiration to start my own business. During this time we all worked remotely from home with our students and it was a challenge for everyone to say the least. It literally began as a conversation with my longtime friend who also owns his own consultation business. I expressed an interest to share my work with others and possibly sell prints. At the time in October of 2020 the Federal Government has also waived all federal fees to register and start your own business (state and municipal fees still applied). He looked up available business names and Sandia Photography had just come available a few days prior and we took that as a sign that it was meant to be. We purchased the name that night and that started me on the path to become a business owner.
The next year in 2021 through that same friend, I had the opportunity to go to Uganda, Africa as part of a UN peacekeeping mission to teach photography and sustainable tourism. It was Ryan, another friend of ours, and I. Ryan taught about organic agricultural practices and OSHA, our other friend taught first aid, emergency medicine and OSHA. The goal of this trip was to educate many of the local people so they could better develop their businesses and hopefully increase the standard of living for the local community. We spent about 26 days living and working in the local community in the town of Mbale, Uganda. We also traveled to many different spots around the local area such as farms and nature preserves. I did pictures for many small, locally owned business there in the town of Mbale and worked with many prominent people in the community. Much of that experience helps me with clients that I work with today. That trip to Uganda will be an experience that the three of us will never forget.
Since then I have stated to work on my business full time as of last September when I left my job as a Special Education Teacher. I have worked with many local businesses for grand openings, product images, and help with social media. I have done headshots for many local business owners or leaders and their staff. I have also had local politicians reach out wanting headshots for campaign materials as well.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. There are many aspects to running your own business, especially as a sole-proprietor. Thankfully I do have a support system. Most notably my wife, who has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader, as well as counselor when I get stressed out. She has also gone with me to many gigs with clients and to many of the networking events. My family and friends over the years have pitched in to help and my mother recently started to volunteer some of her time to help now that she is retired from being a Special Education teacher. My business partner Ryan has pitched in on many of the shoots and continues to do so as well as goes to many networking events on my behalf. I also have a great marketing coach and have partnered with a great social media and email marketer.
One of the biggest challenges that I find as a sole-proprietor is time. Time management is some thing that I am always working on. Running a business also takes a fair amount of investment and have to at times run everything on a shoe string budget. Thankfully, as business has been growing, it has become a little easier and the business has started to support itself. When I worked full time as a teacher, time and energy were two of the biggest limiting factors. It was really difficult sometimes to work a full day then got to work a gig for a client later that evening or night. Even working for clients on the weekends was tough sometimes since that time was normally used to rest and recoup before the next work week.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sandia Photography. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We specialize in commercial and business photography especially for small businesses. Because we are a small business, we understand many of the struggles that small businesses have in getting the word out about who they are and what they do. What we are getting known for is helping to get small businesses the content that they need to about a month for social media and email marketing. Many of our clients find that having quality still images showing off their products and/or services, owners and staff helps to increase engagement on social media and can draw in more customers. While we have our base packages and pricing, we do like to meet with the client and see if we can better tailor our services to what they need and a lot of times work more within their current budget. That is what sets us apart a lot of the time from others that offer the same services and one of the things we are most proud of brand wise. We do offer a wide range of services from social media to images for website and email marketing. We also offer headshots, and events such as grand openings, fundraisers, special sales, live performances, etc. We do also offer services for real estate, both commercial and residential, including drone and matterport.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
One of the big trends that we have seen is people using cellphones for their photography and video content. Phones are great and can get you pictures/video for especially something in the moment. As a business, once people see or find out that you are using a camera phone then we see a trend that the business is perceives as being cheap. It is difficult for some business, specially if they just started, to afford professional quality images. Typically however, once people see higher quality images being used then they perceive the business as having more of a quality product/service. Camera phones, even with computational photography still do not have the fidelity or high quality that professional cameras have.
Another trend is the use of AI, even in real estate. AI has become very popular and is a legitimate art form. As a business though, if they use AI then people can become very turned off since none of the content can trusted and everything seems fake or fabricated.
A really cool new trend is android systems being put into higher quality cameras which will drastically help their user friendliness. It will also help professionals like me to transfer images or share them just like you do on smartphones and further refine the work flow. This technology is very much in its infancy though.
The biggest trend and also the oldest the ability to tell a story in the images. Which is why, especially in the current political and economic climate, having some one like me that can take images that tell a good story can greatly boost your presence as a business.
Pricing:
- Headshots $100, includes 5 processed images.
- Social Media/Event: $350 for 2 hours or $175 for one hour.
- Real Estate: $175 for one hour shoot or $100 for 30 min shoot. Additional time $150 per hour.
- Matterport starting at $80
- Product Photography: $15 per edited image.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sandiaphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandiaphotographynm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandiaPhotographyNM/
