Today we’d like to introduce you to Robb Davidson.
Robb, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had a point and shoot camera in college to just take pictures of what was going on at the time. By no means was I one of those “I was ALWAYS taking pictures and doing things so creative that it’d make you itchier than a rainbow.” I just liked documenting my buds. One day it got stolen, and I have this goofy “go big or go home” mentality… so naturally, I bought an SLR camera thinking I’d get better pictures.
First of all, that’s never the case. It just … exposes… how much you don’t know about photography. Eventually, I was geeking out, learned how it worked, the college saw that I was shooting some fun stuff and asked me to shoot for the college. I started with Events, staff, and moved my way through brochure work and advertising.
One day a buddy asked me to shoot his wedding and I agreed to make it happen. After that, I was hooked. This was amazing. I graduated and tried applying for financial jobs while being a trainer at a gym. At that point I didn’t shoot or feel like a pro photographer, nor did I think it would work out.
As time went on, I shot more, got busy, and couldn’t even make interviews because of the photography work filling up the schedule. As I got more organized, treated it as a business, and put more effort into it, I gave up trying to do anything else except photography. And years later, here we are still being a professional creeper and full-time party crasher.
Has it been a smooth road?
Obviously, there is no promise in pay. There’s not even any kind of direct correlation to how hard you work will get you jobs. The first few years when I was investing in a LOT of gear and building up the studio, I absolutely sacrificed meals and social life to just make ends BARELY meet. I lived in a fairly junky apartment and kept all my expenses at near poverty level.
Even time for me was so limited. I was scheduled when I showered, answered emails, and allotted time for hanging out with people. Thankfully I was self-aware enough that being an extrovert I needed some hang time with friends to stay sane. I literally started my week by thinking “okay, I have 168 hours to work with, if 40 goes to training, 35 hours to sleep (true story), that leaves 93…averaging 90 seconds an image to edit this 800 image wedding will take me roughly 20hours, ETC.”
Thankfully what HAS helped things be more smooth than ultra rocky would be living in a community with people that care. There’s the power of the word a mouth here that really carried the team at times. So grateful.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a people photographer that focuses on Weddings, portraits, Corporate Identity, and families. Creating an environment for people to not feel pressured to be something they’re not, and really even bring out who they truly are is something I work hard to accomplish.
Either by being my ultra weird self or showcasing what it’s like to be open and honest, I think people can relax quicker around me to allow their story to be effectively told. I love bringing lots of energy, ideas, and force to the table. I think that is a big difference that I can honestly say is something that will be a part of me and this business for all my clients I serve.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
When it comes to photographing weddings, families, portraits, and corporate identities, this area is great for people coming together in the midwest. People actually get married here, they do business in the great city of Chicago, the midwest is all about family, and I think it’s a great spot to be.
Now I would say our state is struggling and we are experiencing a slight shift in population, but people will still always do business here and get married. I feel as though our city can improve by how we are represented. Sometimes there is laws/legislature being done that really doesn’t seem like it’s in the city’s best interest.
Not just passing certain types of laws… but in general making the government a larger and more pivotal role in how we live our lives and run our businesses. When we can’t make decisions on our own, or the government thinks we can’t, we pay for that both in taxes and in creative freedoms.
Pricing:
- $175 for individual studio headshot session
- $375 half hours 25 images Portrait session
- $3000 Starting a collection of Weddings
- $ 275-hour coverage for corporate event/general office fee
Contact Info:
- Address: 1811 N. Main St. Wheaton, IL 60187
- Website: www.robb-davidson.com
- Phone: 847-997-1399
- Email: robb@robb-davidson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robbdavidsonphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobbDavidsonPhotography/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/robbdavidson
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/robb-davidson-photography-wheaton
- Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/robb-davidson-photography-wheaton/9817d0ec26b95444.html
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
