Meet Dustin Spear | Street & Lifestyle Photographer

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

Hi Dustin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve been a hobbyist photographer for quite some time and I love everything about the process and activity. I wanted to spend more time with it and extend what I could do with it. Stepping out of the hobbyist space and into the professional space felt like the best next step.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think some would brand me as a “street photographer” but I’m not sure the term really works. I love to photograph anything that I find interesting, which honestly includes pretty boring stuff sometimes. This is especially true when doing lifestyle photography shoots. I think my taste for more candid and unposed moments help me create something unique in the space. Starting a photography business, on paper, is a terrible idea. My style of photography is basically 99% failure because so many photos will just not live up to my expectations. Deciding to try to make money on your 1% success rate seems futile. In reality, clients are going to be critical but not nearly as critical as self review. The bar for successful photos on a shoot is a bit lower than I might hold for myself.
Ultimately what I am trying to do with my work and my clients is deliver rich content for their brands and products that feels real, that people can picture themselves as a part of, rather than feel like they’re being advertised to. If it isn’t authentic, I don’t want any part in it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Short answer: Westside Bestside baby! Long answer…get ready for the Dustin Spear Brewery Tour, cause we’re doing some drinking. I figure we can hit Firemaker, Steady Hand, and Scofflaw before we tap out.

Guaranteed stops include morning coffee at Bellwood in Riverside, lunch at Pijiu Belly, and dinner at The Works food hall with after dinner beers at Bold Monk Brewery. I also love to take folks to the west midtown area on Howell Mill. Games at Puttshack, late night fun at Ormsby’s, and drinks at L.O.A. Plenty of lively people to meet (and photograph!) in the area, it’s really a can’t-miss stop.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to so many people who encouraged me to actually pursue photography further. My folks, my colleagues and friends, hell even everyone who stopped to give a “like” on an Instagram post. I have always thought my art and my craft is not something worth paying for and it took quite a few people telling me I was wrong before I made any changes. Specifically, I want to shout out Miles Sager at Bonus Family Garage (@bonusfamilygarage) for giving me artistic freedom to create content for his brand and helping me boost my confidence in my work.

Website: www.dustinspear.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/oh_no_moto/

Image Credits
All rights – Dustin Spear Photography