Today we’d like to introduce you to Heath Fewell.
Heath, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up, photography wasn’t remotely on my radar. My interest in artistry didn’t spark until I got to college. Even then, my photography footprint was pretty much nonexistent to the public. The only source of my pictures came from a basic handheld phone.
What really initiated my interest was learning how to edit through the phone’s basic editing functions. Looking back now, the editing capability a phone has is very limited, but at the time I felt like I was recreating an entirely new image. As time went on, I could see the unintentional progress through those simple edits.
While attaining my Master of Science in Marketing, I moved to an entirely new city. A city full of artistic creatives, but empty of people I personally knew. Although buying a camera had been on my mind for a while, being in a city with so many different artistic outlets, I knew I was ready to finally take that step.
My mom graciously decided to invest in my art and gift me with a camera, and that is when I began taking pictures at every waking moment. At the time, landscape photography was my one and only passion. However, after taking some shots of a few close friends and family members.
I fell in love with all the different ways a photographer could edit portrait photos. A photographer’s editing/shooting style is what differentiates them from other photographers and developing my own editing style has become my favorite part of the process.
After months of shooting the closest people in my life, I decided to go public with my art. In order to attract awareness to my services, I created an Instagram page that would cater specifically to my photography versus a few mediocre edits that were temporarily displayed on my personal page.
Thus, the launch of Fewell Focal was born, and the business has grown.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Unfortunately, wanting to pursue photography can be a bit pricey. A good camera can cost you a pretty penny, and all the needed lenses & accessories can set you back a great deal, but it’s an investment into one’s craft. However, having certain tangibles definitely caters to each individual.
A camera or lens isn’t grounds for determining the difference between an amateur and a professional, as it’s the person behind the camera. The person behind the camera determines the angles, the creative style, and even the photographer’s specific edit that will bring the picture to life. From a photographer’s standpoint, a photograph is somewhat of an expression of the person who takes it.
With that being said, jumping into a photographically artistic craft does not derive from getting a professional camera. As I said, my journey started by taking pictures on my phone. Those meaningless yet fun photos got a lot of praise from my close friends, which helped give me a slight sense of validation toward this craft. Each photographer has their own style.
That means that with billions of people in this world, there is surely a vast group of people that will support the creative direction each individual photographer has to offer.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My craft is photography. Starting off, I dabbled in landscape and architectural photography, but you can’t necessarily direct and guide an inanimate object. Now, my main and most enjoyable source of photography is portrait photography.
When editing landscapes, it is easy to alter a photo, but what is so fascinating to me about portrait photography, is being able to completely erase all evident flaws. Sometimes people look in the mirror and see less than what they are, but with the help of a photographer, a picture can express the disregarded self-beauty in each model. Sometimes models need that creative help to bring a simple picture of the flare it needs.
As a photographer, I greatly enjoy bringing together the client’s visionary wants with my artistic touch to document these cherishable moments. Photography is a way of documentation, and I love being somewhat of a guide to help portray a story through my own visionary direction.
After a shoot, the greatest satisfaction is finding that first breathtaking picture and editing it to its fullest potential with the keen thought of knowing the client will be in awe after seeing the final edit.
Every now and then I will go down memory lane and view all of my old work and it really helps me see the growth in my work and makes me proud of the things I have learned and the people I have worked with over the years.
We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is a completely relative term and because of that, I try not to measure my success based on specific milestones. To me, if the client is happy with the outcome of their pictures then I would consider it to be a success.
As previously mentioned, when I go back and look at my old work, I have achieved more knowledge and skill than I ever thought I would. That alone is a factor that I would define as me achieving a level of success that I can continue to build on.
When I go into a shoot, I do my best to make sure the shoot is an enjoyable experience for the client. With that, it is easy for clients to exude this energy through a picture. Of course, my photography goals have changed since I first started, but I can easily say that I wouldn’t change a thing in my journey.
Pricing:
- Lifestyle/Portraits: Starting at $275
- Couples/Family: Starting at $300
- Events: Starting at $400
- Other (Product, Headshots, etc.): TBD
Contact Info:
- Website: fewellfocal.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/heathston
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@heathston?lang=en
