Biography: DeMarco passionate about photography

DeMarco Miller is passionate about photography. He always liked it, but his passion crept up on him during a trip to Spain, and his enthusiasm for it has been growing ever since.

The marvels were so captivating that he had to capture it all on camera.  Show-and-tell would be far more credible back home with his friends and relatives.

Besides, who knows if and when he’d make it back to Spain? Photography, to him, seemed to be the best way to document the world and to record history at the same time during his many adventures and journeys.

Young and exuberant, he was always moving around, doing things, and going to exotic places. A life filled with rich memories and serious photography goes hand-in-hand for DeMarco.

While a freshman in college, DeMarco had his first serious brush with photography. It was some years later that it lured him into making it a career.

Here is the blow-by-blow.

A friend invited him to an event, so naturally, DeMarco took along his camera and took pictures as a hobbyist, not expecting any financial gain. However, the friend was so pleased with the pictures that he offered to pay DeMarco for them.

Two other times, friends invited him to weddings, but when he showed his handiwork to his pals, they raved about his pictures and offered to pay him cash for them. Those experiences were eye-openers, but he was still reluctant to make photography a full-time business.

The final push would come later following the real estate collapse. Although a college graduate, DeMarco found himself without a job, and he had to do something to generate income.     

Realizing that he needed to improve his skills and build his confidence, he learned all he could from photographers, books, and YouTube. Determined to succeed, he taught himself how to fully use PhotoShop, a multifaceted and complicated software program.   

Alert to accept his big break, he got a job with a photographer who did shoots for a large hotel chain. They provided three weeks of extensive training and a guaranteed paycheck. Classroom and field training was 16 hours a day. After several years of working there, he was bold enough to open his own business.

It was impossible to build a portfolio while working for a hotel chain because your work belonged to the corporation, not him, so he had to make a strategic plan to break away and start his own business.

He was 35, and the time was right.  So he broke away and never looked back.

It made sense to upgrade his photography equipment and practice, practice, practice. DeMarco recognized that he needed to work with confidence because clients often observed him on the job. Doing the shoot in such a professional and confident way compelled clients to recommend him to others.

The quality of his work also recommends him like nothing else can. He grows his business largely by word of mouth.

There is no substitute for patience, good taste, artistic development, and a good eye.

To DeMarco, good pictures are not always spontaneous but are sometimes set up or staged. Lights must be positioned, adjusted, and fine-tuned. I don’t always place my camera at the same level.  I plan, rethink, experiment, test, and execute.

Now he has clients by taking pictures for REALTORS, restauranteurs, merchants, interior architects and designers, builders, musicians, and others.

Technical knowledge can take you only so far, he says. You must also feel your way. That’s why he prefers a Nikon camera. He likes their lenses, especially the Legacy series. He laughs and says, “It’s old-school thinking.” Nikon is better for stills, but Canon seems to be better for videos. He adds that Canon used to be ahead with digital features, but now Nikon and Canon are neck and neck.

At age 47, he still never forgets the fundamentals: composition, lighting, and energy.

For DeMarco, the act of taking pictures is his safe place. He can retreat into his haven and reset, find his inner calm, grow strong, and face the world from a position of strength.

Goal

DeMarco longs to build his business by hiring two other photographers and an editor. Scaling up his business would allow him to delegate and accomplish more personally and professionally.

For DeMarco, there is something about photography that speaks to his inner self.