Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Zamarron.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My initial professional background was engineering and I am a middle school engineering teacher today. About seven years ago, I bought my first camera used from a coworker of mine after hearing him and another photographer talk about photography often, mostly landscape/travel/wildlife. He offered me a great deal on an old Canon 40D and a couple of lenses to get me started. I piddled with my camera about a year or two before upgrading a bit. I mainly did landscape and some wildlife at the time my first few years of shooting.
In 2017, I took my first portrait class in Houston at everydayphotoclass.com. I was in love after that session. That was my first time to use off camera flash photography and learn how to dial in lighting for portraits. My first shots weren’t great and I really didn’t know how to edit all that much for portraiture. After that I got very much involved with learning how to shoot at group meetups and a few paid workshops. By the end of 2017, I was shooting some free work for family and friends, still getting used to posing and working with families and such. I did some group shoots for senior photography and weddings and I really found what I was most excited about from a portraiture standpoint: seniors and weddings.
In 2018, my new year’s resolution was to start Zam Photography. I chose the name because my last name is a little tricky for my students, so I usually go by Mr. Zam. My first gig was a house warming party and some family portraits. I read a lot about wedding photography and how difficult it was and scary, but that didn’t seem to scare me. I upgraded to a full-frame camera so I would have the equipment for shooting a wedding. By March 2018, I had my first wedding. I’ll never forget it. I was nervous, more than I thought I’d be. However, it went fairly well. I had a few issues to work on from a technical standpoint, however overall I felt pleased with my work. I really enjoyed working with the couple and having a good time with them. That part of the job went really well, so I continued to look into wedding work.
By middle of 2018, I was booking more seniors, family shoots and weddings. I had been mostly marketing on Craigslist and Facebook at that point. I’d get a few hits from my website, but not a lot. To boost my wedding marketing further, I ended up joining wedding wire after talking with a friend from Church. I have read mixed reviews even to this day on wedding wire, but I’ve had a lot of success and bookings from it. A lot of my paid work is currently weddings with some seniors and family shoots sprinkled in as well. I’m currently really enjoying my professional photography work. I didn’t start off with premiere equipment. I made do with what I had and have learned to maximize its use. I’ve been upgrading as I’ve gone on.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Things weren’t always quite so smooth as I’ve gone on. I’ve had to learn more about customer service and the business side of photography than I anticipated. It’s a lot of salesmanship and client relationship in order to book work. I’ve gotten better at it, but could always improve. From a camera and technical standpoint, getting comfortable with flash and lighting took a growth process at weddings, but I’m feeling very comfortable today with that. One of the bigger photography related challenges has been posing. I felt nervous constantly trying to move and manipulate my clients for poses and trying to match all the cool poses I’ve seen online. Since trying that way, I’ve really improved on letting my clients feel natural, especially my couples. I’ve learned to use prompts and be more freestyle about posing. I learn how my couples interact and base what I’m doing from there. This has helped me a lot. I don’t worry about posing so stiffly anymore. It makes for a much more enjoyable shoot. Plus, my fun interaction with my couples and seniors helps them relax and take better pictures.
Please tell us about Zam Photography.
Zam Photography specializes in wedding photography and seniors. Those two categories are my favorite things to shoot. I love getting to know my couples and try to make the whole experience as fun as possible, from engagements to bridals, to the big day! Seniors are just as fun. I love relating to them as much as possible since I taught High School previously. I also enjoy getting to be more creative in my shots and getting to use a lot more locations than usual. If I had one area that I wanted to grow from a business sense, it would be with my seniors. I’d love to double my senior business this school year.
I would say my style is clean and bright. I love having colors pop and having a look that will be timeless. I don’t get into fad editing styles as much. I also use both natural light and off camera lighting as well. My wedding shooting style is more photojournalistic. I really focus on capturing the emotional moments during the day and trying to have my pictures tell a story.
I’m most proud of the fact that I was a “2019 Couples Choice Award Winner” from wedding wire. That was the first moment where I stopped and realized I’m running a successful business. I also love seeing my work being displayed in print. I encourage prints as much as possible, which is difficult in this digital age. Everyone deserves beautiful pictures of them and their loved ones that will last generations.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That’s a tough question. If I had to start all over, the only thing maybe I would have done differently was practice on camera flash more before my wedding photography career started. In the end, I did fine, but it was one of my more stressful technical subjects to learn. It’s hard to master also because wedding venues are so different. What works at one location may not work at the next.
Pricing:
- Weddings: $950 and up for all day coverage, online gallery, engagement or bridal session
- Seniors: $300 for 1.5 hours, multiple outfits, 20 touched up images, online gallery and app
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zamphotographytx.com
- Phone: 281-783-4156
- Email: zamphotographytx@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/zamphotographytx
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/zamphotographytx
Image Credit:
Matt Zamarron – Zam Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston 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.
