Meet Marcus Thompson | Photographer & Videographer & Editor

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

Hi Marcus, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think taking risks is extremely important and can be incredibly beneficial for anyone. There’s a saying that everyone knows, “high-risk high reward”. And that saying plays into challenging yourself with harder tasks that you may be unsure of. At the end of the day, you always take risks when you challenge yourself. I 100% agree with taking risks if you are confident that good can come out of it. One of the biggest risks I’ve taken in my life has been making the transition to photography. I went to college to pursue videography. Halfway through, I tried out photography and fell in love with it. I was scared to take that seriously and put video in the back seat. Now that I look back at it, it’s the best choice I’ve ever made. My passion absolutely lies with photography and I still am able to do video alongside it. I have now graduated from college with a degree in TV and Film production and a minor in Photography. That risk completely changed my perspective on my career, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is photography, I look at photography as a bridge to the way that I view the world, and my camera is the door. As I look through my eyepiece I am able to see the world that I want to create. I am able to compose, light, and manipulate that world however I want. Ultimately the images that come from my camera are my art. What I love most about photography is the art of telling a story. When you look at an image, you think one of two things most of the time. One, wow this is a really nice photo. Or two, this photo is not that good. If your image is compelling enough to get someone to spend time to look at it, that’s how you know you have created a successful image. I want people to look at my image and be able to derive a story from what they see.

I feel as though my creativity and drive are what sets me apart from other people. As I mentioned earlier, I use photography as a way to create my own world. Because of this mindset, I challenge myself to create interesting compositions when I take a photo. For example, I might take a shot of a mountain but I’ll through a bush in the foreground that’s out of focus just to add some depth to the image and make it interesting. I also like to play with light, light makes or breaks a photo. Without light, there are no photos. So with that, I try to use light in unique ways that complement what I am shooting.

What made me the photographer that I am today is simply practice and lots of time learning more and more about ways to master my craft. By all means, I am far from mastering it, and it was not easy at all. There is so much more that I want to learn and try. With that being said, I have enjoyed each step that I’ve taken on this journey. Photography is something that I love, so I am happy to spend hours a day working on bettering my skills. When I take photos or edit and pitch them to a client, I do not feel like I am working at all because of how much fun I have overall. The biggest lesson I have learned along the way has been to take a photo of everything. Whenever you look at something and think, “Will the shot be worth it?”. Yes, it will be. There have been plenty of times when I pass up on a photo either because I was tired or just lazy. And then I regret it later, never again.

What I want the world to know about my brand and story is that you can create your own world and destiny. You don’t have a follow a script and do what someone expects you to do. You choose who and what you want to be in the end.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend is visiting my area and I wanted to show him around there are definitely a few spots I have in mind that will definitely make his trip worthwhile. My city would be New York City so everyone knows there’s plenty to do there. I would definitely take him to see time square. They’re amazing food spots all around but I would specifically take him to Dallas BBQ. It’s an amazing American food restaurant with good drinks as well. Time Square during the day and then at night I would take him up to the top of the World Trade Center so we can see the beautiful lit-up city at night. Another place I would definitely take my friend to would be Central Park. Central Park is an amazing experience because of how open and beautiful the sights are. You get a wide view of the city skyscrapers as well as the unique rocks along the walkway. You get to see the New York crowd as they walk their dogs through. Another personal favorite of mine would be the Museum of Natural History. It’s the perfect balance of knowledge and fun so it doesn’t feel like you’re back in school. The animal statues are amazing and set up beautifully. It’s not too crowded which allows you to walk through at your own pace. In terms of food, I would definitely recommend them to try one of my personal favorite Chinese restaurants ever, Ollie’s. I would specifically recommend the soup dumplings and the Sesame chicken. Also, a day just to walk through the city and sightseeing is always a necessity when you travel to the city of New York. The last spot I would recommend is visiting the Statue of Liberty. Not only do you get to take a boat to the island which is an amazing experience on its own. You get to see the Statue of Liberty up close which is something you will always remember. With these activities, I believe me and my friend would have an amazing time!

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?
I would like to dedicate some of my success to my dad. Throughout my life, he has always wanted the best for me and always has given it his all to make sure that I am in the best position possible to succeed at whatever I am competing in. Whether it was a basketball game when I was younger, or advice on how my photo or video looked, he always gives me support like no other. When I was younger, I used to think that he was too hard on me and I was frustrate me at times. Now that I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that his intentions were always genuine and he just wanted to push me to be the best that I could be. He always tells me the truth about something, no matter how harsh because he knows it’ll benefit me in the long run so that I know what I need to work on. My dad definitely deserves a shout-out.

Website: https://marcustphotography.squarespace.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-thompson-626158244

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@marcusthompson8

Other: The website listed above is my portfolio which includes a collection of some of my best photography as well as videography. I would greatly appreciate it if you would please take some time to check it out, thanks!