The “Photographer of the week” series is dedicated to highlighting photographers within the SCAD community that demonstrate unique abilities behind the lens. This week, Nick Coleman (or TechNick), a first-year photography student, shares his recent project and personal insight.
When did you start your photography journey and how significant is photography to you?
I started photography in 2018 in my senior year of high school, just trying to pass the class and get it out of the way, but then I began to really enjoy the art of photography. The ability to capture all of the wonderful and amazing things in the world with a camera was an amazing feeling and since then I have never put the camera down. After that, I continued shooting for my father and his brand @kiashine_online, shooting for his merchandise and daily posts. As my skills grew, I continued my career in photography, shooting for great brands such as Pandora Music, Wale, Young Dro and so many more.
As a photographer ideas are sometimes hard to unearth. Where do you attain inspiration for your work?
For me and my work, the inspiration comes from the people around me. The help of family and friends and hanging around with others who share the same creative goals as I do really inspires me to do better and work harder every day. As for my creative process, I think that the most important thing is to plan out EVERYTHING, from the gear you are using to the people you work with. Planning is key to success. If you don’t plan, you won’t succeed. Whenever I plan, I think about a quote from Abraham Lincoln, “If you ask me to chop down a tree in 7 hours, I’ll spend the first 5 sharping the axe.”
What kind of impact does “TechNick” want to have in the industry?
For me, the only impact I want to have on the world is that I was here to help inspire others to create something awesome. Whether that may be in photography or any other interest, I wanna help you grow and succeed in that field. This world is full of so many creative people, but it is up to us to help each other reach our goals.
What current projects are you working on?
As for right now, the projects I’m working on are, of course, school — got to keep those grades up — but besides that, I and my friends just started a YouTube called TechNickInc, a place where we can help others learn more about photography and filmmaking. If you are not subscribed, then you definitely need to. It’s awesome. And we also are working with a few companies, shooting product photography and a few videos, but I can’t disclose the details.
Do you have any advice for any students that are aspiring to be photographers?
One piece of advice I could give to you guys is to keep practicing. Never stop even when things get difficult. A career isn’t built in a day. It takes time, so keep working it. You believe in it, it will happen.
To see more of Coleman’s work, you may visit his Instagram and YouTube.
