Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Szalinski.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The first time I picked up a camera was in the fall of 2007 for my high school photography class. I had just happened to take that class because it filled an elective. However, I soon fell in love with the process of creating images. I was lucky in that our school was the only one in the district with a darkroom.
Working with an image from the moment I clicked the shutter, through the development of the film and to the final print was a very personal and creative experience. Later that year I got my first digital camera for Christmas. From that point on I began exploring the endless possibilities of digital photography. No longer was my work confined to just a single physical print. Suddenly I could edit and share my photos with just a few clicks of a button.
Around that same time, YouTube had just started to become a mainstream phenomenon. Words like viral, streaming, and vlogging entered our everyday speech. Suddenly videos made by everyday people could be watched by millions across the globe. When most people ask filmmakers why they started, they will point to a particular film or director who inspired them to follow their passion.
I can honestly say that for me I had none of that, rather I was inspired by the thousands of online videos that I watched in the early days of YouTube. Instead of having an entire film crew and professional actors with a Hollywood budget, for the first time, normal everyday people could release their work to a worldwide audience. With this in mind, I took what I learned about using a camera and turned it towards making movies on a quest to make the next viral video.
While I never did become an internet video sensation, I did learn many important things along the way. One of these things was that I wanted to pursue a career in creative media. After high school, I became a student at DePaul University’s School of Computing and Digital Media.
During my time there I met many talented people and learned quite a lot about every aspect of film-making. One of the highlights was studying “abroad” in Los Angeles where I attended classes on a Hollywood studio lot and worked as an intern with the Hollywood Reporter.
After graduating in 2015, I did what any 22 years old with a degree in creative arts would do…get a job at Starbucks. During my time as a barista, I took many odd photographies and videography jobs on the side which helped me to see the many areas my schooling had prepared me for.
With the blooming of social media and online advertising, I see more opportunities than ever for content creators to find work. Currently, I am working for NBC at Cinespace Studios supporting the Dick Wolf series shows “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago PD”. In my spare time, I still work for clients on a freelance basis and explore the city’s many unique places taking photos along the way.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced as someone who spends their time behind a camera is competition from smartphones. In the past few years, smartphone cameras have come a very long way. It is now easier than ever for someone with very little technical training to take a photo or video that looks very good.
With the phone doing calculations of focus, aperture and shutter speed all it takes is a click of a single button to take a pleasing photo or quick video. While the quality of work taken by a talented professional will beat out an average iPhone photo any day of the week, it is harder than ever to convince clients of this. Now that every person has access to a decent camera in their pocket at all times, the demand for professionals has really taken a hit.
Why spend the money on hiring someone to shoot a product video, when it can be accomplished for a quarter of the price by having a tech-savvy co-worker shoot something on their phone? I wish I had an easy solution for this problem but at the end of the day this is the situation a lot of my peers and I find ourselves in.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I work as a part-time freelance photographer and videographer. I specialize in creating media geared towards the growing segment of online advertising and social media presence. What sets me apart is that I am proficient in all aspects of the workflow from pre to post production. I will assist clients in visualizing and planning their work on an individual basis and will be there every step of the way.
During my time at DePaul, I studied and emulated many of the visual styles from the rich history of cinematic art. This gives me a strong background of technique that can make your piece stand out from the everyday digital noise.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.mattszalinski.com/
- Phone: (630) 589-4744
- Email: mattszalinski@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattszalinski/
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