Dreamy tones, wild landscapes and serene destinations – we have been long time fans of Chasewild and are excited to get a little more behind the brand today.
Cameron Thorp is the co-founder of Chasewild – an adventurous and emotive wedding photography company based in New Zealand. Beyond shooting weddings and elopements, he also equips budding photographers with the knowledge and skills to grow their businesses through workshops, editing presets and one-on-one mentoring sessions.
We are excited to have Cameron as an Industry Legend guest for our Wild Hearts Creative Master Class and before he jetted off to Germany, we sat down with him in New Zealand for a catch up!
How have the last few months been for you?
Unprecedented, challenging, calming, inspiring and heart-breaking. You know, just the standard mix of emotions and experiences I’m sure many of us have been through recently. Though, I feel that the New Zealand wedding industry was incredibly lucky that all of this happened at the tail end of the wedding season, after the majority of our summer weddings. After coming to terms with lockdown and the disappointment of having all plans for overseas weddings and travel thrown out the window for the year, this time has been incredibly calming and inspiring. We’ve slowed down, pushed the reset button, reconsidered what we do and why we do it. There’s no more ‘business as usual’ and I think our only choice is to look at that as a good thing. It’s time to get creative and intentional about our business strategies, to push the boundaries of our art and to stop the motions of ‘going through the motions’. Don’t get bitter, get better.
What inspires your work?
I feel like we all often run creatively on the fumes of our own intuitions and are rarely truly intentional about inspiration. I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the last few months. If you had asked me two years ago, I would have said I was inspired by the amazing landscapes and weather moods we have here in NZ – seeking out adventurous and unique locations to shoot. I now look back and feel this is a bit weak. More recently, I’ve been getting intentional with increasing my photo book collection, analysing photographers in other genres, reading books on architecture themes, watching movies and being blown away by the sheer brilliance of the cinematography. Basically, stuffing my brain full of as much gold as I can find and then willing that out each time I shoot. Some of it works, some doesn’t and I evolve.
What do you love most about your job?
Being a wedding photographer means you’re always encountering something new. New people, new places, new inspiration, new business challenges – and I love that. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Of course there’s a certain amount of anxiety in the unknown of every job, every new season, every evolution in the industry, but that’s what’s so exciting and captivating for me. I love that I get to meet amazing new people at each wedding, experience new places when travelling, and be part of such a supportive and inspiring community.
Biggest lesson you’ve learnt over your career?
Creatively, I’ve learned that creativity is not a level you can complete or a game you can clock – and that’s a wonderful thing. The spiral goes deeper, so push the boundaries and don’t just rest on what you’ve done in the past. Whatever field you’re in, there’s so much to know, learn, explore and find. Business wise, I’ve come to learn that you can make it what you want. You’re in control and there are so many opportunities to grow, move sideways, or just design the kind of business you want.
What would you say to small business owners struggling in the face of covid-19?
Again, don’t get bitter, get better. Keep your head up and look at all of this an opportunity. As the saying goes – it’s better to work on the business than in the business. We’ve been put in a situation where we have no choice but to work ON the business – so do that! This could mean getting serious about your marketing efforts, developing another income stream within your business, renewing your website, or digitising products. Whatever it is, you’re not alone, so let’s get into this together.
Any exciting things coming up for you this year?
I’ve taken some of this time to organise shoots, plan new locations and put together some stuff that pushes me creatively. I’m also working on some new things around editing and colour grading that are exciting. We’ve always had presets available but we want to take these to another level and help facilitate some conversations around editing better, faster, and more accurately. We’re also looking at refreshing our workshop offerings and doing something online there too.
Quick fire
Tea or coffee? Coffee. Those who know me dislike my snobbish obsession with it.
Biggest fear? (1) Waking up and being out of coffee, and (2) Not doing something great.
Any pets? I lived a deprived childhood void of pets. One day when I settle down I’d love a dog friend.
Summer or winter?I normally chase the summer – thanks to Covid I need to buy a jacket ASAP.
Fav town/city in the world? Going to go for Copenhagen. I’d love to live there for a while one day.
Want to know where to find more from Chasewild? You can find their dreamy photography work on Instagram at @chasewildphotos and to book Cameron to capture your love story, buy their presets, or book a workshop head to www.chasewild.com
You can also find Chasewild on our exclusive Wild Hearts Vendor Collection here.
