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Brayden Hall & Chelsea Mealo
@braybraywoowoo & @chelseamealo
Creative team
Introducing Chelsea Mealo and Brayden Hall
What started with modeling as a fun hobby eventually got Chelsea being the one controlling the camera. Two years ago, she left her job at Nasdaq PHLX to concentrate on her own business. First she focused on portrait photography and shooting for the music scene, but with every trip she made in her free time, lifestyle and travel photography became a bigger part of her work. Chelsea explains how this journey has been for her, what actions she took to grow and how challenging it was: “Hundreds of emails reaching out to brands and only about 1% do you even hear back from.” She strongly believes that the essential strategy is being kind and genuinely interested in others, relating to people and building meaningful relationships with businesses and photographers. “It is community over competition”, she mentioned.
Shooting together or in a team has many advantages. When Chelsea and Brayden met in Costa Rica, they decided to extend their trip and work for a hotel together. Since then, they have been traveling and working for brands, until they stranded in Mauritius during the lock-down. “Our equipment and experience helps to balance each other out on the technical side and our personalities and creativity balances out our approach in our work.” Together you can achieve much more, split admin work and double positive energy! Luckily for us, they shared some useful tips about what is important when creating with a team.
In this regard, keeping a balance in your work is something Brayden and Chelsea value. Both tried to take on any job to gain experience and stabilize their finances, but that doesn’t always result in the best outcome, Brayden even got burned-out: “I’ve also gone through phases where I haven’t wanted to go anywhere near my camera for weeks which results in a large creative block and a lack of income.” According to both, it is essential to know your value and make time for “passion projects” besides other work.
There is no manual on how to be a freelance photographer, but Chelsea and Brayden provide some very valuable and useful insights that may help you! You can read the interview below!
Interview
Welcome guys!
To start with Chelsea… What triggered your interest in photography and travel? Where did it all start?
My interest in photography didn’t really appear until after I graduated college! I studied Energy, Business and Finance and ended up working at the Nasdaq PHLX as an Options Surveillance Analyst. I fell into modeling as a fun hobby the summer after college. It was an incredible way to make creative friends and get exploring in a new city. As time went on, I found myself wanting to be in control of the camera and arrange my own compositions. I began to experiment as a photographer with my new found friends. I’ve learned so much from my friends throughout my journey as a photographer and I will always be grateful for them. Traveling is something I always loved and I was sure to maximize my vacation time at my full time job. I saved up for a full-frame Sony camera and began to take it on my trips!
When did you realize that becoming a visual creator was attainable as in making a living out of it? And why is creating visual content a passion of yours? What do you enjoy the most?
When I first began to shoot I mostly photographed cities and portraits. It was rewarding to me whenever my models were really excited about the images I delivered to them. The process of creating art and having results we were happy with really inspired me. As I built up my portfolio and shared images on IG, I had some individuals reaching out to me and asking me for my rates. I had no idea how to respond at first. I really just photographed my friends for fun. The fact that someone wanted to pay me for my creative eye was an entirely new idea to me. Slowly, I began to build a client base from individuals, to musicians and bloggers, to event work and so on. I explored almost every avenue of photography picking up any job I could get. At one point, I realized I couldn’t balance the side business along with my full time job. I had enough saved up to support some exploratory months as a freelancer. I knew I could always go back to the finance world if I needed. So, I made the jump … and I still haven’t gone back to the finance world over 2 years later! I would say that now, I am driven by bringing my imagination to life and eternalizing moments in images.
"Photography is a way to create a more ideal version of life. My images seek to energize the viewer, spread positivity and instil a sense of connection."
In 2019 you began to share more landscape photography content on your socials and you have been going on that direction for more than a year now. You have shared some beautiful landscape photos by the way, the warm colors are super appealing 🙂 What motivated you to keep improving your photography in this direction?
I quit my full time job during the summer of 2018. At this point a majority of my work consisted of event work; concerts and music festivals. About the time I quit, my friend was establishing a production company. I am so grateful that he pulled me onto the team and I was able to take part in a bunch of videography and photography throughout the year in the music world.
Since about four years you are not just shooting, but started modeling too; we can find you on both ends of the lens. What do you like about combining the two and what advantages does it give you to know what to do either in front and behind the camera?
Being on both ends of the lens gives me a better understanding for both roles. From modeling, I understand what my subjects are likely looking for. I can help my subjects pose, give direction in a way I wish I had when I began, give words of encouragement that I know helped me in the past, and pay attention to the small details that are more relevant to the modeling role. From being behind the lens, I better understand my angles and how my poses will appear in frame. I can judge lighting, composition, movement and imagine what it looks like on camera and adjust my modeling to account for different situations and perspectives. I think being on both sides of the lens is an incredibly useful way for both photographers and models to get a better grasp on their role and what they can do to better their work. It also helps to understand what you are asking of one another while shooting.
You have worked with recognized brands worldwide, either as a model or photographer. What do you think was/is key for you to be able to achieve that? Why do you think that particularly led to success?
Being open and kind! I truly believe that having the right mindset will lead to success. There is no manual to tell you how to be a freelance photographer. The path is clouded… but it is there! You just have to keep stepping forward and eventually you will realize how far you’ve come. It is a grind. For years, I was putting myself out there, meeting new photographers and models to collaborate with to build our portfolios and practice new skills. Hundreds of emails reaching out to brands for work and only about 1% do you even hear back from. I’ve spent thousands of hours trying different editing tactics and learning software.
"I’ve reached out to professionals in the field for guidance and put myself out there to be hired as an assistant or second shooter. I went to events and met tons of new people."
Talk to people. I’m not talking about asking people to give you handouts or talk people’s ears off about how IG works or incessantly ask travel photographers how to do what they do as if it is simple. There isn’t a single way to get there and by no means is it an easy process. Every photographer has spent years of discipline, risks and trial and error to get to where they are. Talk to others about who they are, what their interests are, genuinely relate to people and build meaningful friendships. Many of my jobs have come from the friendships I built in the industry along the way! People will need to pass up jobs for many reasons and will look to refer their friends, people will often work on production teams and need to bring others onto the job.
"So I guess long story short is it truly is community over competition. You will grow together with your peers in this industry."
I think we can assume that you will keep creating content for clients and for yourself. What is the photo/project you are dreaming about doing somewhere in the future?
This was my second year as a full time freelancer. My first year was incredibly challenging and I made less than half my salary at Nasdaq. My second year was starting off strong until the pandemic hit haha. So even though I am stable now, my main goal is to consistently make more money than I made at my old job. I feel confident about this next year. As my work stabilizes, I want to take on more passion projects.
"I would like to directly work on sustainability projects and incorporate my photography in a way that can give back to the environment and to communities."
So far you have traveled to some unique countries and experienced many different cultures. Looking back now in time, what is the most beautiful thing that travel has taught you?
I have always been open-minded. But traveling has exponentially broadened my horizons. As you travel, you find so many differences in the cultures around the world. However, with all those differences you will also realize the commonalities between all the places and the peoples. There is a level of connection that I have been able to hoan in on; a fundamental sense of what’s important on a global scale. Sometimes it can feel like a burden. With more beauty you also see more pain and more issues. It seems that when people stick to their own little corners of the universe they can forget about the bigger picture and take things for granted. Traveling has brought me so many friends from different backgrounds.
"I celebrate these differences, recognize what I have to be grateful for from my background and focus on how I can spread love and what the world needs to progress forward together."
When did you guys meet for the first time and at what point in time did you decide to travel and create content together?
We actually met in Costa Rica! Not a bad first date haha. In Costa Rica, we both decided to extend our trip and work for a hotel together. We had such an amazing time. A few weeks after Costa Rica, Brayden had a job in French Polynesia that he needed some help with. He brought me on and we worked for the Tourism board in content creative. Our trips began to build one after the next and it’s been working for us so far!
You guys have traveled together to Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Bora Bora, and now Mauritius, to mention just a few! What is going on in your life right now and how is it to be creating content in these idyllic locations together with someone else close to you?
Well, right now we are currently stranded in Mauritius, a small island country off the coast of Madagascar. We came here in March just before travel restrictions unfolded. Then the airport abruptly closed here and has been closed commercially ever since! However, we’ve fallen in love with the country and have made loads of friends so we’re really making the most of it! We were in an incredibly strict lockdown for over 2 months where we couldn’t leave our home except to get groceries on our assigned grocery days (2 days a week). We had our ups and downs for sure. While the lockdown was strict, it was successful in eradicating the virus from the island. Now, we are able to get out and explore without fear of contracting it! We have been adventuring as much as we can from the beaches, to the mountains and waterfalls.
On these travels, you have been capturing a diversity of wonderful landscapes. What has been one of the most impressive moments/landscapes during your travels and what made it so special?
While we were in Bora Bora, we were working for Tahiti Tourism and they put us on a Helicopter ride high up over the island. Bora Bora from the sky looks absolutely unreal, like a floating, lush oasis from some fantasy world. That was my (Chelsea’s) first helicopter ride and it was so thrilling and rewarding. We captured some epic shots.
How has creating content together enhanced the results and leveraged your creativity? Can you mention an example of something you have been working on together that you couldn’t imagine realize all alone – being surprised by the result of joining forces?
Together we can create just about anything. I, Chelsea, can model and shoot a range of things. I tend to focus more on details, portraits and action. Brayden has experience in landscape photography and the outdoors. We can both model for each other or even model together with the help of a tripod. Further, we are both experienced in editing. We often split work for jobs. One of us may handle the client communication/administration processes while the other might handle the back end editing after photographing and modeling a job together. Realistically, almost all the projects we take on aren’t a one-man/woman job. We understand how to work together and are always eager to take on projects as a team. We are currently working with @Corona on a video project. This video project requires us both to film and model. It requires us to location scout together, style the scenes, create the narrative and edit the video. Technically speaking, using our combined gear made us most equipped to take this job on seeing as I (Chelsea) have a gimbal stabilizer and underwater housing and Brayden has a Drone and a few more lenses offering greater variety in focal lengths. Our equipment and experience helps to balance each other out on the technical side and our personalities and creativity help to balance out our approach in our work.
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Among the work you created together, what is your favorite photo? What makes this your favorite one? We are curious about the story behind!
One morning we captured this incredible sunrise image in Bora Bora. It was our last morning on the island and after a jam-packed week of activities it was tough to get up. However, we forced ourselves out of bed and were rewarded with an epic sunrise in a location we stumbled upon. The location looked like a landscape out of Jurassic Park. This image was one of the first images we were really proud of together. It captured such a powerful mood and became THE image that represented our trip through French Polynesia that neither of us thought we would ever be fortunate enough to go on. This image is still one of our favorites to this day.
For all those who are starting out and start collaborating with other content creators as well to create visual content, what advice would you give them in order to achieve the optimal result out of the collaboration in the most efficient, pleasant and fun way possible?
Know your value, respect one another’s time and efforts and remain open to ideas. Many times the best work is completely unplanned! I (Chelsea) often get together with a model and figure out how to use my environment and the conditions to create a dynamic image with the model. Listen to the model’s ideas as well! Make sure to respect all the creatives that you are working with. If you plan a collaboration with a model make sure you will deliver the model some images in a timely manner, don’t waste the model’s time by never giving them anything to show for their dedicated time. If you are a model and plan a collaboration with a photographer don’t flake on them last minute without good reason because that’s an opportunity loss for the photographer. I always suggest collaboration between models and photographers for the sake of creating art, practicing skills and experimenting with new styles and tactics. If you are either a photographer or a model DO NOT give away or sell any images that you created together to third party entities (i.e. brands and companies)… you do not want to exploit one another’s efforts. This will end up rubbing someone the wrong way.
"Photographers and models should always be clear with one another on how the images are intended to be used and one party shouldn’t be profiting or receiving goods behind the other’s back."
The creative world is a business and we all must understand the value behind our time and efforts because it is often not recognized. Once you get to work, I highly suggest talking to multiple other creators in the market about how they value their work. The market is very subjective and you quite literally have to ask the market itself to understand what it is you should be charging and what is worth a trade. Don’t be the person that undercuts the market. Brands and companies should always be paying to use images in their marketing materials. There are times where a trade may make sense if the value of what is offered is comparable to the value of licensing an image or two or whatever. However, I stress that brands and companies will often try to exploit smaller creatives into making a bunch of content without paying them and only offering inadequate merchandise. Know your value and know what is a comparable trade if at all. Work with your fellow creatives. The goal is to have the entire team eating good!
What are your future plans together? Any special project you guys have in mind?
First things first, we have to get off this island haha. However, currently more jobs are coming into our presence as our network on the island grows. We may stay here a while if the work is promising enough. The future remains to be seen….
Good to catch up with you again Brayden! Since the last time we spoke, besides the COVID-19, what has changed in your life? 🙂 What has been your most remarkable experience during the last two years?
Great to catch up with you too! It certainly has been a wild ride. It’s hard to pinpoint one experience in particular. However, over the last two years my photography career has definitely started to pick up and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. It has been a “remarkable” experience being able to travel the world, work with some amazing clients on some wild projects and to be able to make money from my passions.
Quite often we see that you are creating content with other fellow content creators. What is the most challenging of creating content together with others? How do you overcome these challenges?
99% of the time creating content together with fellow creators hasn’t been a challenge for me. The biggest challenge that I have personally faced when working with other creators would be making small decisions while in a group like, “Where should we eat?” or “Where do you want to shoot sunrise?” hahaha. Usually these kind of decisions are settled by everyone talking about 100 different ideas at the same time until we can all finally settle on something that most of us want to do.
Related to that, how important is it for you to maintain a balance between personal projects, shootings/content creation for a client, and work you create together with other photographers? What do you do to divide your energy correctly among these different approaches?
Balance has definitely been a huge struggle for me and is very important in this lifestyle. I have gone through phases where I have tried to do everything and anything all at the same time and that typically results in some serious burnout. I’ve also gone through phases where I haven’t wanted to go anywhere near my camera for weeks which results in a large creative block and a lack of income in my bank account haha!
I try my best to balance all of my shoots by really only saying yes to things that interest me. Especially when it comes to clients. In the early stages of my career I would say yes to every opportunity in hopes of getting more work and making more money. Now, I am very picky about which projects I say yes to. It all comes down to the amount of work, time and effort I will put into them… And obviously how much the client can pay in return. This ultimately has me saying no to a lot of projects and only saying yes to the ones I am passionate about and make sense. Which, funny enough, has helped me make more money and have more time for the important stuff like taking time for myself and working on fun photography shoots with my friends.
Recently you shared a wonderful photo from Mauritius. Congrats for that one! You mentioned: “Mother Nature really just decided that she wanted to trip everyone out with various water depths and textures of sand…” 🙂 In general, what surprised you the most about Mauritius? What makes this remote island special in your opinion, besides its beaches, lagoons and reefs?
Ahhh Mauritius. My new home that was not supposed to be my home for the last 5 months hahaha. The thing that surprised me the most is how much this tiny little island has to offer. It is so much more than just beaches, lagoons and reefs. It has wild mountains that you can climb, waterfalls on waterfalls on waterfalls, and an abundance of wildlife. The people here are some of the most friendly in the world, which has helped me make some lifelong friends. Also the food is DELICIOUS and the country is so rich in culture that I don’t even know where to begin.
I guess what surprised me the most is that I have been able to spend over 5 months on this island and I have not yet gotten bored and haven’t even come close to running out of things to do.
Is there any particular project you are looking forward to realize in 2020? 🙂
2020 has probably been the most interesting, challenging and strange year of my life, as I’m sure it has been for everyone else as well… But I do have some fun projects I have been working on. Chelsea and I are releasing another video that we have been working on in Mauritius with @Corona which I am excited to show the world. There is also a lot up in the air with more projects lined up over the next couple of months that I am excited for buuuuut I don’t want to spoil those just yet.
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