LET’S GET UP TO BUSINESS

Kadeem Stewart of Shot by 3D Photography

Orlando Photographer Kadeem Stewart

Images rule the world. A good photograph can capture more meaning and thought than the longest novel or blog post. Visually creative people are needed to make sure that companies and individuals can tell the stories they want to in a way that reaches their clients and customers and envokes a feeling or emotion.

Kadeem Stewart of Shot by 3D Photography is one of the people who captures the look that his clients are trying for. His unique eye and artistic nature are why companies like Lockheed continue to hire him to shoot their corporate events and on-location shoots.

In this week’s episode, Kadeem and partner Heather Trick sit down and talk about where he came from and how he got involved in photography. They’ll discuss what companies need in a photographer and how he can work in LA, New Orleans, and New York but still live out of Orlando.

Kadeem ‘3D’ Stewart, is a Jamaican-American, visual artist, originally from New York but now based in Orlando. He finds his inspiration in the world and all its beauties, from the innocence and nostalgia of 90’s cartoons to the raw and rebellious nature of graffiti and street art.

His Caribbean heritage and New York background have been instrumental in his development as a photographer. The “melting pot”  exposure drives Kadeem to capture the vast beauty the world has to offer.

Aspiring to inspire creativity through that of his art is one of the drives behind Mr. Stewart’s work. His aim is to be remembered not for the visuals left behind, but for the individuals that will bring about more art or world change after encountering his work.

Episode 8: Kadeem Stewart of Shot by 3D Photography – Full Transcript

Kadeem Stewart 0:00
I say the biggest mistake. I don’t even know if it’s really a mistake, but it’s still trying to find like balance. Because I because it’s my business. There’s not much like downtime for me because I always feel like okay, I could be doing something towards the business.

Narrator 0:18
Picture a world where costs down, profits are up, and customers are clamoring at your door you’re listening to. Let’s get up to business from Jordan Law. Our interviews with business owners, service providers, and area experts can teach you how to create a world of success and profitability. If you’re looking for an attorney to assist in your business formation, employment agreements, or other legal business needs. Contact Jordan law at 407-906-5529. You can also reach us on the web at Jordanlawfl.com. Jordan law, we protect you and your business.

Heather Trick 1:17
Hello, everyone. This is Heather trick with Jordan law. And I’m here with Kadeem Stewart, can you can you introduce yourself?

Kadeem Stewart 1:24
Hi, I’m Kadeem Stuart a photographer. Yeah.

Heather Trick 1:31
What’s the name of your company?

Kadeem Stewart 1:32
shot by 3d photography.

Heather Trick 1:34
And if I need photography done, where do I contact you? Oh, you can

Kadeem Stewart 1:40
Contact me at shot by 3d photography. com. I have a contact info page there. And then also Instagram is just my name Kadeem.Stewart.

Heather Trick 1:53
And we can check out samples of your work

Kadeem Stewart 1:55
Yep, all types.

Heather Trick 1:57
What kind of photography do you do?

Kadeem Stewart 1:59
I personally prefer fashion and fine art and lifestyle. But what pays the bills is weddings and corporate events? Just finished doing a picnic for a Lockheed last weekend. Yeah, I mean, I do pretty much anything and everything that pays.

Heather Trick 2:20
So corporate events, so businesses hire you to come out and take pictures

Kadeem Stewart 2:24
At their luncheons, Conferences, done a few What was it called? Is it conference center?

Heather Trick 2:38
Oh, yeah, the conference center, the Orange County conference? Do you recommend that businesses hire photographers for their events?

Kadeem Stewart 2:48
Um, yes. Just for documentation. And also, I mean, photos are the best way to market themselves, whether it’s to new hires, or just have content to put somewhere whether it’s the website, social media, everybody uses social media nowadays, whether it’s their Facebook page Instagram page, so just like, you can never have too much content.

Heather Trick 3:09
Do you try and focus on the happy employees?

Kadeem Stewart 3:11
Um, yeah. When it comes to corporate events, I kind of take a photo journalistic approach and just kind of get more people in the, in the moments of them being where they are. Because like, at these conferences, you have people who are extremely happy to be at these conferences. I did one for the company to that they do all of the, like the parking meters in America. And I thought it was such a

Heather Trick 3:44
hate those guys. I thought

Kadeem Stewart 3:45
it was such a weird place because they were so happy to like learn about like the new meters coming out. And I was like, all these people really love this.

Heather Trick 3:57
Well, they’re very excited to find out new ways to take our money for parking spot, I’m sure. So how long have you been a photographer?

Kadeem Stewart 4:05
I’ve been doing photography seven years now.

Heather Trick 4:09
And how did you get into it?

Kadeem Stewart 4:12
It was therapy. At first I went to UCF and I was studying engineering for three years

Heather Trick 4:17
Go nights.

Kadeem Stewart 4:18
I was miserable. Like I’m really good at math and science, but like the passion wasn’t there. So growing up, I drew and whatnot. But by the time it got time to go to college, like being an artist wasn’t a career path to really go into. And then I’m a first generation American, my family’s from Jamaica. So trying to tell Jamaican parents, hey, instead of being an engineer, like I want to be an artist, like wasn’t really much of an option. So I started doing photography as a hobby, fell in love with it. People kept asking me to take pictures, and they’re like, we’ll pay you. And we’re like, okay,

Heather Trick 4:54
That’s fantastic. And now you have a business.

Kadeem Stewart 4:57
Yeah.

Heather Trick 4:58
Do you have any employees?

Kadeem Stewart 4:59
No, I contract help. With weddings. I’ll get like second shooters from time to time. But right now is just me.

Heather Trick 5:07
What is the business biggest challenge being a business owner with no employees?

Kadeem Stewart 5:13
Everything falls on you. Like my lack of employees stems from my lack of trusting other people, especially like with my brand, and like the quality of my brand. I know, eventually, I’m going to have to be able to like train people to be able to, like, uphold my brand when I can’t be around. But I just haven’t gotten to the point where I trust anyone enough for it.

Heather Trick 5:36
What is your five year plan as a business owner?

Kadeem Stewart 5:39
Um, I really want to get into freelance projects for big brands, whether it be like Adidas, Nike’s but creative directing their campaigns and like shooting their campaigns, like throughout the year.

Heather Trick 5:56
Do you plan on expanding and hiring employees?

Kadeem Stewart 6:01
Eventually, I mean, the photography aspect, I really enjoy it. So like, I don’t mind doing it myself. But I know there is going to be a day when I kind of have to delegate more work. As the brand builds and clients get bigger, projects get bigger and more expensive.

Heather Trick 6:24
What do you think is the best decision that you’ve made as a business owner in growing your business and making it successful?

Kadeem Stewart 6:36
Honestly, just starting it, I feel like a lot of times people wait for wait for the perfect, the perfect climate to do whatever it is to make the next big, big step. Like I need to save up to get this equipment or save up to buy this building or whatever it is. But like, all that time wasting, waiting for the perfect time is past time that you can start to experience just experiencing the things that you need to do to be successful at what you’re doing.

Heather Trick 7:06
That’s great advice. I always tell people, there’s never a good time for a big life change. Yeah, never get married or to move to have a baby to switch jobs. You just got to do it. So true. So what then, on the flip side, what do you think is the biggest mistake that you’ve made in your business?

Kadeem Stewart 7:23
Oh, the biggest mistake.

I say the biggest mistake, I don’t even know if it’s really a mistake. But it’s still trying to find my balance. Because like because it’s my business. There’s not much like downtime for me, because I always feel like okay, I could be doing something towards the business. I have edits for a client, but then trying to figure out when to take time for yourself. Because if you burn out, then there’s nothing you can really do for anybody, yourself or your client. So trying to find that balance. It’s still difficult. So that may be I mean, it’s not really a mistake, I guess not hiring people. Because I guess if I had hired people already, it would be easier to find that balance with my time.

Heather Trick 8:16
The interesting thing about your industry is that you can work from anywhere, if you have the jobs have you had Have you focused on trying to maybe book some jobs and other places where you can also vacation? Um,

Kadeem Stewart 8:30
yes, that’s kind of one of the reasons why I’m still in Orlando. Cuz when people find out what I’m doing, they asked why I’m not in like a bigger market like New York or LA. I do a lot of work in LA. And it’s extremely expensive to live there. And if you’re good enough at what you do, your clients will fly you out. So in 2016, I had a financial firm hire me to do all of their video and marketing material for their for the upcoming income tax season. So they were based out of New Orleans, so once a month that fly me out. And I would do work for them for a week, come back home, I was still in school at the time. And it just kind of worked out. And from that experience, it made me realize that I don’t necessarily need to be in those bigger markets, as long as like my skills are good enough to warrant me being flown out somewhere that I could live somewhere else cheaper to stay.

Heather Trick 9:31
That is a very interesting perspective on a way to keep the overhead low so that it’s cheaper to live here and travel around the country for those photo shoots than it is to live there. And be immediately near the market that you’re working in. Now, I see. So you said that you you take jobs in California and New York, New Orleans all over the country, all over the world. How do you as a business owner adapt technology to make your business run more smoothly.

Kadeem Stewart 10:06
Um, I know a big thing for me was just automating as many things as possible. Especially like, because I use Instagram so much for my marketing, automating posts and like writing captions, I’ll take like my Sunday, I’ll take like four hours and like plan out all my posts for the week. And there’s a few different apps like buffer and things like that where you can set up the times they’ll post for you. And you don’t have to worry about that during the week. So you’re still being active on social media, people are engaging you all that. But you’re not there taking 40 minutes out of your day trying to figure out the witty caption to peak people’s interest.

Heather Trick 10:52
Do you did you use any sort of training or books or podcasts I’m learning how to properly use Instagram because I find that a lot of business owners don’t know how to maximize their social media use. And for example, I don’t know how to time Instagram post, but I’m also not the person in charge of that. For my business. I’m

Kadeem Stewart 11:15
somewhere I’ve watched a lot of videos and then just talk to other entrepreneurs in creative fields, whether it’s other photographers, painters. And there’s like the peak times like before people go to work after they come home from work, like after nine before they go to sleep like those times to kind of like position some of your stuff.

And then

just really figuring out what form of social media is the best for you. Because not everybody is for Instagram. Some people prefer Facebook, Twitter. And each platform has a very, like, different type of user, like the same people that you use Instagram don’t necessarily use Twitter, like I can’t stay on Twitter. I never on it. But like I live on Instagram, but I’m a visual artist. So it makes more sense. I don’t utilize Facebook the way I should. I literally only keep it up for a family to ask me questions. But like, doing post paying for advertising on there, I never do. And people keep on telling me I need to and I keep on telling them I will. But I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Heather Trick 12:26
Do you get a lot of good return from your Instagram interactions?

Kadeem Stewart 12:32
Oh, yeah, I’ve been doing photography alone for four years on full time. And I’ve survived off of mainly referrals, I don’t pay for much ads and stuff like that, which I feel would only really benefit me. But in my head, I feel like as soon as I started doing that, then workloads going to get too big too fast before I have somebody that’s like working under me as an assistant or anything like that. Because another reason it’s been kind of hard for me to find good help is because everybody’s trying to do their own thing. So I’ll find talented people to my trust. But then I don’t want to like start their growth for them to just be working under me. So like some people that I’ve worked with in the past move somewhere else and things like that.

Heather Trick 13:20
Interesting. Do you have advice to business owners who want to put out some marketing materials, what kinds of things should they think about in the marketing materials that they’re presenting visually, because you’ve got a very different aspect as a visual artist. Um,

Kadeem Stewart 13:38
I would tell business owners to think about the narrative that they’re trying to sell. We live in a time where as much as you may have an amazing brand, if you don’t have a story behind it, people aren’t necessarily going to buy into it. Like take Apple, for example, is not necessarily the best product on the market like spec LA. But because there’s this lifestyle that’s tied to Apple products and Apple users. Like even if you don’t like it, you’re just like, well, I don’t want to have those green bubbles. So you know what, let me go ahead and get the apple. So just kind of figuring out the narrative that you want to push, and then committing to that and create content that

Heather Trick 14:22
I can relate my my firm is all about the blue text. Do you have Do you when you are hired on a job? Do you give pointers and to crafting that narrative? Is that something that you offer as a service?

Kadeem Stewart 14:38
Yeah, I consult as well. I don’t do it as much as I would like to. But I try to I try to ease out the process as as much as possible. Just because as much as I may want, like a returning client to keep on coming back to me. If it’s something that I can save them money in the long run that like they can learn how to do it themselves, I find them being extremely grateful for that and referred me to a lot of other people for that reason. And a lot of times they’ll find other reasons to hire me even if they’re not hiring me for the initial reason they these first sought me out.

Heather Trick 15:17
That is great business advice, to provide the best value and the best service so that you may shortchange yourself a little in the short term, but in the long run, you’ve got a very loyal client base. Now, I deal with a lot of small firm owners, small business owners who are really just trying to get a website put together and throw up a few headshots. So if I hire you to do some headshots, what are some recommendations as far as styling, time of day location? That, you know, if I’m showing up, what do you think is going to be the most appealing? Look for a firm photo? Yeah,

Kadeem Stewart 16:01
So with firm photos, I typically depending on what type of business it is, I, I prefer shooting like on location at like actual places, just because one, shooting on like a black backdrop sometimes gets kind of stuffy. And like as great as a picture it is it’s not necessarily that exciting. And something as simple as like shooting in a park where you may not see the foliage in the background. But you see like the greens and the browns and whatnot as a little bit more life to the picture gives that person a little bit more like a personable inviting feel for like whoever is seeing the image. But a lot of times I just tell people to try and like keep it as simple as possible. Don’t overthink it. A lot of my clients don’t necessarily find themselves in front of the camera often and get really stiff and really uncomfortable. So being a photographer kind of turned me into an on hire comedian, Josh trying to like get people to laugh and like my go to was fake smile until the real one comes out. I can get like an actual smile. Because just if it’s to pose and just to thought out, like that translates into the actual image and like, that’s not necessarily what they’re trying to give off.

Heather Trick 17:29
Do you make everybody look 10 pounds thinner?

Kadeem Stewart 17:32
I try my best. That’s what the natural light does.

Heather Trick 17:36
Okay, that’s, that’s a I’m sure that that’s mostly your skill? Because that’s what I’m looking for in a photographer. What do you think sets you apart from from your competitors? Um,

Kadeem Stewart 17:49
I think one of the big things that sets me apart from my competitors, is I refuse to let how fast social media has made life dictate my quality of work. So if something’s going to take me a long time to do and I know it’s taking me that amount of time because I focused on the quality versus just trying to stay relevant or current. I think that’s something that sets me apart.

Heather Trick 18:19
What do you see? What kind of mistakes Do you see other businesses making? Um, whether they be your competitors or just businesses in general?

Kadeem Stewart 18:29
I feel like oversaturation is a big issue with businesses nowadays. Kind of going back to letting social media dictate like the rate in which you see the the rate in which you put out content, because everything is so fast that the average consumers attention span is only like 15 seconds. A lot of these people who have these businesses, either China convert convert their business model to keep up with the times. And they come from a time where internet wasn’t a thing. And they like they were there for the transition. So now it’s just them trying to stay relevant. But then also you have all these people that were all these young people that want to be entrepreneurs and are trying to go the path less traveled and creating their own thing. And a lot of them because their attention span is so small, they just turn things out. And I feel like it’s like spam, like we consume so much information between our social media and just the news and everything. And it’s just, we’re in a constant state of overload. So I try not to add to that overload.

Heather Trick 19:49
So you think that pacing, your marketing materials is more effective? Yeah,

Kadeem Stewart 19:55
it’s, I feel like it’s more effective. Because, in a sense, it there’s there’s two ways you can look at it. In a sense, it leaves people wanting for more. And it as long as you have a quality service or product, you don’t have to spam everyone. But then you have people who put out content, like radio stations play songs. So even though you may hate the song, you always think about it because you hear it constantly throughout the day. And I don’t think that’s necessarily the best because they’re going to out of kind of like frustration, it’s just like, you’re on my mind. So I’m going to end them, as opposed to like, Oh, I really want to come here for this reason.

Heather Trick 20:40
So you said that you ideally want to focus on fashion and fine art? How do you tailor your marketing towards getting those jobs. Um,

Kadeem Stewart 20:53
so for a lot of the personal shoots that I put together, I creative, direct everything. So if I’m not styling it myself, I’ll find a stylist. And whatever brands were using, whether it be like clothing jewelry, I approached a shoe as if they had already hired me and create content that would go within like a campaign if they did hire me, because one that shows them your appreciation for what they create, and your vision in regards to what they create. And then other people that see it don’t necessarily know that that company didn’t hire you to do that thing. So a lot of it is creating this narrative that other people are going to see like you’re building your own hype. And

that’s on like the fashion side. The fine art side is tricky, because

like to be

an artist is like a delusional lifestyle to because you’re pretty much making a living, like selling things you create, like came up within your mind. And you’re just hoping that your ideas are good enough to. So a

Heather Trick 22:10
lot of times the artists don’t become famous until after they’re dead. So that doesn’t really help you much exactly.

Kadeem Stewart 22:18
Cuz like a lot of the images that I’ve sold, were months and months and months after actually took the picture. And it wasn’t necessarily my intent to sell them. But someone saw that art show and it was like, hey, how much is it? I give them a price. And they’re like, oh, okay, I’ll buy it. I’m like, Oh, great. This is perfect. So I’m still trying to figure out the best way to go within fine art because fine art is so polar opposite to like commercial work.

Heather Trick 22:50
Do you use your engineering background in your current industry at all?

Kadeem Stewart 22:54
I think so. Because I feel like engineers are problem solvers. And onset like all you’re doing is trying to solve problems. And then even in the creation of new ideas. There’s not many ideas that haven’t been photographed that haven’t been seen in some way, shape, or form. So trying to adjust it as just adjusted enough that it sets you apart, what still execute the vision that you’re trying to execute.

Heather Trick 23:26
What motivates you to succeed in your industry,

Kadeem Stewart 23:30
um, honestly, my mom,

my mom’s my both my parents are from Jamaica, they came to the States in the late 80s. And before coming here, my mom was a teacher in Jamaica for 14 years. And then when she came here, she had to start completely over. And like her first job in the States was as a maid in Brooklyn. And most of my childhood, she worked two, three jobs, she went back to school, and she said, she loves school, she stayed in school, but she earned her doctorate. And just like seeing how hard she’s worked, any problems that I face, I’m just like, it’s not that bad. Like, suck it up, figure it out, like, so just kind of making her proud. And also, because I am Caribbean, like being an artist is still not like a career. Um, last year, I did my first international wedding, and I shot it in Mexico. And honestly, the week after I was treating my mom to dinner, and she asked me when I was going to get a real job. So

it was kind of just like to prove her like, Hey, this is a real job.

I’m doing okay.

Heather Trick 24:42
Yeah, if it pays the rent, it’s a real job. She come around yet? Kind of like

Kadeem Stewart 24:51
she, she seems proud when she talks to other people about what I do. But then like, when you’re going to get like a real job.

She has her days.

Heather Trick 25:02
Look, mom could be on a podcast. It’s not a real job now. He’s made it big. Well, I hope that she sees that soon. It does she is she a huge fan of your work?

Kadeem Stewart 25:17
Um, she does.

Heather Trick 25:19
Have you styled her for a shoot?

Kadeem Stewart 25:21
I honestly hate shooting. why she’s so picky. And then like, she rather me shoot her on her iPad, and my actual like, $3,000 camera

just gets annoying.

And she’s like, don’t I need to be facing the sign on my mind? I got you. I kind of do this. I know what I’m doing.

Heather Trick 25:44
You know, and that that is one thing that is constant across industry is that, you know, my parents won’t won’t contact me about a legal issue until far past the point of when they should have and then you know it and then afterwards, they’re like, oh, but I did it all myself. And oops, I didn’t quite do it. Right. This is kind of what I do. People pay me to do this. Let me just help you. Well, one day, maybe she’ll maybe she’ll let you style her and maybe she’ll win you the biggest photography job of your of your life, hopefully. And then you’ll be like, Look, Mom, it’s all because of you. So she gets a credit. Do you so you talk a lot about the influence being from the Caribbean being? Were you born here in the United States? I was born in New York. Okay, and do you think that your, that your culture has any impact on how you run your business or, or on your drive as a photographer, I’m

Kadeem Stewart 26:51
definitely

make jokes about how many jobs Jamaicans tend to have, they’ll have like four or five jobs. Um, and I think like, that’s something that I’ve kind of taken into my business and just like how I approach life. Most photographers find their niche, get good and stay with it. Because I enjoy photography as much as I do. Like, I’m always willing to try something new because I never know like, if that might become like, my new love.

So I think my culture

plays into how I approach like businesses, but then also how I approach like my actual work life creating is like make a statement like, there’s so much of this out there. How Will someone remember this over someone else who’s done it similar?

Heather Trick 27:48
What is the craziest wildest photoshoot that you’ve done? photoshoot. I watch a lot of America’s Next Top Model. So I, I know the bounds of the crazy photo shoots.

Kadeem Stewart 28:03
So I did a new shoot four years ago. These two girls, I painted their bodies completely black, through, like splatter white paint on them and kind of like turn their bodies into like a galaxy Solar System type thing. Um, I had a rough premise in my head, but I wasn’t really sure how I was going to execute it. That day, I had a fever of 104. And it took me roughly three to four hours to paint them. By the time it came to shooting them, I was pretty much delusional by just like I can’t reschedule. This is my first time working with people. I just have made a good impression making good impression. I’m one of the shots from that shoe was one of my first big sales and I sold for $585. And that kind of made me look into fine artwork more and kind of made me realize that whatever issue is going on, like there’s a way to figure your way through it. Because some people just not feeling good. We’ll do this another day. And if I wasn’t so determined to like, make a good impression and stick to the day that we booked, it may not have came out the same way.

Heather Trick 29:27
Wow. Do you do a lot of photography like that.

Kadeem Stewart 29:31
Um, I kind of doubt back on doing nude shoots. Because at first I like I had a few ideas. But then like, everybody was like, Hey, I’m gonna do a new shoes. Like I don’t do them anymore. But I think a lot of the work that I was doing was like Caribbean events like Miami Carnival, in Miami, and in Hollywood Carnival in LA, doing like festivals like that. And so far throughout my career, I’ve kind of gone through waves because like I started off doing things like that. The last three years has been a lot of weddings, and like maternity and family stuff. Which is fun, because at first I hated weddings. I couldn’t stand it.

But my best friend got married. I’m like, Oh, this is beautiful.

Looks cool.

just kept it open.

Heather Trick 30:25
Do you have a business plan?

Kadeem Stewart 30:28
Oh, my girlfriend asked me that? Um,

yes and no. Like, are there certain goals that I have set for myself, but how I necessarily get there isn’t mapped out. And

I think it’s

throughout my life, I’ve just I’ve tried not to plan too many things out just because I feel like it helps me manage with disappointment when things don’t go to plan. And one, the one constant that’s been in my life is change. So I tend to set a goal or destination, and periodically check if the things that I’m doing are still moving me along towards that destination,

Heather Trick 31:17
you are a complete opposite to most of the business owners. Most most business owners are very type A have everything planned out. It’s going to go from here to here, this is how we’re going to do it. And do you find that adaptability has worked well for you and your business?

Kadeem Stewart 31:34
It works well for me.

Because of my culture, and even being from New York, like the hustle and bustle of like the city like New York always has you on a pivot. And in my business, a lot of times if things don’t pan out the way I necessarily want it to I kind of look how can I create this for myself? Like I wanted to get into doing brand work, but I wasn’t finding enough brands like reaching out to me to do brand work. So I created my own brand and started doing product photography for that started making camera straps and Apple watch bands out of power cord, and would do staging product photography for that. And now I have work. Oh, have you done product photography? and was like, yeah, here it is. Because a lot of times, people are looking for the opportunity to show their work. And if that opportunity never comes, then what happens? You just stop trying. So just like I try to create whatever it is that I’m looking for, as a job. Do it. And now I have that in my portfolio to be like, Hey, I know how to do this. And here’s the proof that I know how to do it. Because there’s a lot of photographers that know how to do things. But they haven’t necessarily done it to show like, Hey, this is what it is. This is why you should pay me this much to do it.

Heather Trick 33:03
So you create your own opportunities.

Kadeem Stewart 33:06
Yes.

Heather Trick 33:09
If you were to give one piece of professional advice to somebody who is sitting in that classroom at UCF hating their engineering classes, and wants to do something in the business of art, what is that one piece of advice you would give them?

Kadeem Stewart 33:29
I would say the piece of advice is kind of twofold. Fake it till you make it and then charge more. Just because I know when I started out, people would ask me like, Hey, can you do this type of photography, of course. And leading up to that event or that client, I’m on YouTube, googling all type of tutorials and teaching myself and making sure that I’m at least equipped with the knowledge to execute this thing that I said that I I can do. At first like that kind of scope of not knowing whether or not I could do it kind of pushed me to make sure that I’m doing it at the best of my ability. Because if it goes bad, then that’s one person that’s going to be like, hey, never hire him again. So trying to keep those to a minimum.

Heather Trick 34:23
And what do you mean by charge more

Kadeem Stewart 34:26
artists, the art as a profession is very difficult because most artists are not business people. And because they’re not business people, they don’t have the business acumen to understand the value of their time their materials.

Unknown Speaker 34:41
And

Kadeem Stewart 34:43
like your, when you pay for something you’re paying for convenience, and the fact that you can’t do it yourself. Like I go to Flemings and pay $60 for a fillet because I’m not trying to make that fillet at home. And it’s the same with art, like people pay with photographers, because they don’t have that either. Take the picture in this way in the light and all that type of stuff

Heather Trick 35:06
and make them look 10 pounds skinnier.

Kadeem Stewart 35:09
And a lot of times, artists will not charge enough. And they’re doing themselves a disservice. And they’re messing up the market. Because you have other professional artists that have kind of figured out like okay, this is the going market rate, I can charge a little bit more because of my talent, I’m going to charge a little bit more, a little bit less, because I may not have the confidence to charge that extra. But a lot of times you just have to charge more. And then if it doesn’t work, bring it bring your prices down a little bit. Because the very first wedding I shot I charged $700. And like now I’m charging four grand, and I’ve only been doing weddings for four years. And it really took me taking the leap of like, oh, how much are you charging 28 and Oh, okay. So charging more because like yes, there’s going to be people that don’t hire you. But there’s a market for the people that will hire you at the rate that you’re asking.

Heather Trick 36:09
Fantastic. So fake it till you make it charge what you’re worth. Yeah. Well, thank you so much. And once again, please let our listeners know how they can find you for all of their business photos, wedding photos, fashion photos and fine art photos

Kadeem Stewart 36:25
everything. Um, you can find me at shot by 3d photography. com and my Instagram is Kadeem dot Stewart. That’s k d to ease m dot STD w AR T

Heather Trick 36:42
and two teams mom, he’s the big deal now. He’s got a real job. People are paying him lots of money. Thank you so much.

Narrator 36:55
You’ve been listening to let’s get up to business from We hope you’ve enjoyed the podcast and would consider sharing the show. We would also love an honest five-star review through iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or whatever podcatcher you use. If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, please contact Producer Mark through email that Mark at Jordan law FL com. Use this subject line podcast guest in your email. Thank you. We look forward to speaking to you again soon.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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