Meet Aidan Hicks | Photographer & Videographer

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

Hi Aidan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk-taking to me isn’t an option but the foundation of who I am from my work to simple everyday tasks. Being diagnosed with Autism, my normals the feeling of having to work 10x harder to be on par with everyone else, even when people don’t notice. Everyday thoughtless things like casually meeting people or independently sorting business weigh heavily on me. Getting into my head if others notice it or if I can handle this especially stands out when sudden inconveniences or times of stress arise where you wish life can be simpler. Despite that, I believe risk taking is what got me to this point I’m at now. From when I started shooting, photography put me into environments I’d never associate myself with yet find balance in getting to connect with people yet find isolation in getting that perfect shot. That balance & risk-taking is what motivated me to eventually start my own business in ’17. It’s been a endless road of more cheap shoots than I can count, sleepless nights editing photos & rearranging webpages, tossing business cards to anyone who asked, months I couldn’t buy groceries from photography equipment swamping any money, trying to balance classes & business, and endless hours of stalking other creatives social media aspiring to be on their level & questioning if I could ever be at that level.

This all came to a head through the pandemic when I told my family I’m taking a gap year to focus on my mental health & business full-time. The pandemic forced me to isolate myself from most to focus on business which destroyed my mental health to a point of considering suicide and the school system was a mess from the sudden change to online and I didn’t wanna be apart of the rebuilding process. I always felt if I had the window to fully focus on my photography, I’d be able to reach new horizons and up my game. Despite their disbelief in it working, they supported my decision and before I knew it, I’ve been hoping between shooting Red Rock concerts and traveling up mountains to shoot weddings almost every week for the entire summer & fall. Goin’ from being lucky if I could get paid shoots in a year ago to basically it becoming my day-to-day has been a rollercoaster of trials that I wouldn’t want any other way and so much from taking those risks and just staying true to my vision & process.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I always had a interest in cameras growing up running around with my families camera to shoot whatever caught my eye. It never really stood out to me until I joined my high school’s yearbook publication where I was given a camera and a variety of things to check out. I wouldn’t say the photography itself was easy or hard but a interest to keep trying that only challenged & grew on you more overtime. The most challenging was dealing with my Autism in connecting with people and growing into myself from who I was then.

While I’ve learned a lot over the last six years, the biggest standout’s been trusting the process and believing yourself. If I walk into a shoot feeling I mind as well not have a card inside, that negativity shows in your art & work ethic. At the end of the day, it’s your vision and you gotta find balance in what works for you & everyone else.

I want the world to know that despite the 20 years of doubt, negativity, and battles I’ve endured, I’m here to stay and prove my worth. What I do isn’t just work but what you see is my life, my perspective, and my vision. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunities and challenges I’ve been given up to now and know the possibilities are endless with what’s to come.

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?
Downtown Denver is the perfect city to do that! While It’s easy to go to the tourist sites like Union Station and 16th Street Mall, I’d hop between the RiNo Art District for all creative enthusiast to check out local artist’s work and the variety of places to check out and Capitol Hill being the go-to for venturing to clubs like Church and solid local food, overall enjoy festivities going on.

From there, there’s also the new Van Gough and Meow Wolf exhibit that I’d highly recommend to try something upcoming & unique, especially if you’re a aspiring creative. To top all that, I feel like it’s only right you scratch off the bucket list item of visiting Red Rocks Amphitheater and hopefully experience a concert there, one of the best places to see shows In my opinion.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I can easily sit here all-day shouting out people who’ve gotten me to the point I’m at now. My first is my father, Alfred Hicks, for being the foundation of who I am. When I started, he believed in me when nobody else did and helped build up my passion from being in similar fields. Spending thousands to get the best equipment coming up to long hours waiting for me to wrap up events in parking lots and just being an amazing father, I wouldn’t be here still if not for his love & belief in my art.

I wanna thank my entire family for working around my crazy life, my friends for giving this random kid a chance to prove himself artistically, the Summit Yearbook for putting a camera in my hand, life for giving me all I have up to now, and Stevie Wonder’s music for motivating me mentally & artistically.

Website: http://www.aidanhicksproductions.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/aidanhicksproductions

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidan-hicks-012201201/

Image Credits
The copyright for concert photos belongs to IMPRINT ENTERTAINMENT ©
The copyright for portraits & wedding photos belongs to AIDAN HICKS PRODUCTIONS ©