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

Hi Sam, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have worked dead end jobs since I was 13 years old. Working for someone else was always a bother to me, I just didn’t know it till I was in my 30’s. Sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours a day, not making enough to live a life outside of going home to get ready for the next day was causing me to have depression and anxiety. When I bought my first camera everything changed. When I got paid for my first shoot, the light bulb started blinking.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Nothing is easy about starting and growing your business especially in the creative arts market. The discipline has to be there because when you run out of motivation, thats all you’ll have left to keep going and pay the bills.

I think the growth is to me not saying “no” to things at the beginning. I was always told “find your nitch and stick with it” but with the over saturated market of content creators I knew I had to be different. So I focused on both learning photography and videography at the same time to offer more than just photos.

I started with Events, night clubs/bars, portrait and fashion, boudoir and nude art, music videos, weddings, now I’ve added product photo and video, food and interviews to the services and they just keep growing. The more you can offer the better. But each thing takes time to get good at, thats where others fall off they dont want to put in the work. I think thats what sets me apart, I stay up late nights and wake up early mornings to accomplish all my goals ahead of schedule.

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 am new to Atlanta since I work in both Charlotte NC and Atlanta GA, Im the wrong person to ask but obvious ones are Atlanta Breakfast Club, Brash Coffee, Blue India & Edgewood Pizza are my go to eating spots. The shopping is great there as well as far as clubs and bars I dont venture out much since I am always working haha.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mentor, Tristan Means helped me with my mentality and to grow as he gave me my first opportunity in the wedding photography business. I think the list is too long though, when you think about it there are so many people that believed in my vision before even seeing any of the work I could provide for them. The people that gave me my first chances are the ones that I want to recognize. They will know who they are by reading this.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samvargas_images/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCia6oIkizteOm3oefVl0wAQ

Other: Websites are in the works But you can see more of my work at @VargasMediaGroup and for my Boudoir work @hisviewz

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.