Meet David Emery | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Emery and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Photography always allowed me to express myself in a creative way. Being creative helps me appreciate life and the world around me. In high school I used to set up my phone and a lamp in my room with a blank wall and come up with self portrait shoots and concepts. From there I knew I wanted to dive into photography and learn more. I used Youtube to teach me everything I know. From mobile photography, DSLR, point and shoot, nature, landscape, and street photography. I didn’t even give portrait photography a chance because of my social anxiety and the fear of disappointing somebody. Never would’ve thought I would be owning my dream camera and calling myself a portrait photographer today. People telling me that I inspire them makes me love what I do today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I never know how to describe my art. I like to think of it as simple, candid and dreamy. I always want people to describe how they feel when they see my portrait work rather than explain how/why I took and shot the photo.

I think what separates me from the others is that I rather support others more than myself. I appreciate all the support I get but I want to be able to lift others up. My mom always raised me with kindness and to be nice to everybody. Throughout my years of photography I had to learn everything on my own. I had to find out the hard way I got a lot of no’s and I still get them. It wasn’t the greatest feeling. I felt alone. Something I will forever stand by is I will always use my platform to support others, share work, share advice and be kind to people. I will put others and their work before mine in a heartbeat. It’s all about community. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful work on social media but not a lot of genuine people behind the work. I’m not saying I’m the only one like this but we need more. There are people up and coming in this community and could use help and maybe just some advice. Or even a simple thank you. Again I will forever continue to spread positivity with my platform.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take my friends to all the little spots I like to shoot. And just like my work it’s very simple. I live in a small town so I make do with whats around me. Walks around the block, walks up to the dollar store, McDonald’s, gas stations or even walks to the local bars are how much shoots usually happen. None of my shoots are ever planned to a T. It’s always spontaneous or thought about for no longer than a week. I’ve gone to large fields and even the city for shoots. But it feels like home hanging out and walking around when it’s nice out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be where I am without the support of my mom, my close friends who have seen all sides of my creative abilities, my social media following and especially the ones that have reached out and helped me, and of course my husband Greg. Greg has always vouched, gone the extra mile to support and share my work, talk about my work to random people and be there for my creative ruts and has seen some dark days in my creative journey. Without someone like him I wouldn’t be where I am right now.

I was never really consistent when I picked up a project. When it came to photography my mom even said “I’m proud of you but you need to stick with this and you can’t just give up in a few months” well I did that a lot thought the years. So she was right as moms are. Since I’ve been more consistent with the work I’m putting out she always calls me suggesting I take photos of the moon, or pictures of my little brothers or something random that she finds. I love it because it shows she cares and she knows it’s what I love to do. My husband is the same way he actually cried the day I was featured in an Evan Ranft Youtube video. That alone means a lot. I came from a relationship that wasn’t as supportive as him and didn’t believe in me. Having someone have my back keeps me going whether I’m having a creative block or a week full of success.

And finally I have to give it to my social media following. Over the past year I’ve been posting my work consistently on Twitter and Tiktok. I’ve definitely built my own little community on there and found people that I would love to be friends with IRL. The amount of support I’ve received in the past year on social media makes me feel like I have a second family on there. There’s so many names to name but they know who they are and I appreciate them all. They are the reason why my work is being seen and shared and talked about. They are the reason why I have a story to tell on those platforms.

Website: dmeoptics.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/dmeoptics

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/dmeoptics