Meet James Stevens | Photographer

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

Hi James, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Essentially growing up with a camera in my hand I knew I wanted to do something with photography full time at some point in my life. After working underneath a full time photographer for several years I felt it was time to finally branch off and start my own business. Having the opportunity to work with so many amazing clients and use my creativity every day is exactly the dream I hoped for. I get to be out and about in a new location almost every day, no two shoots are alike and it allows me to see some of the most beautiful and unique properties Colorado has to offer.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are incredibly proud of not only the work we do but the efficiency we do things. We not only provide high end photography that showcases any property and its highlights, but we do this incredibly quickly and with ultra fast turnaround. We feel this is a huge factor in what we do, especially for realtors knowing how valuable their time is. Getting to where we are today was a long road and definitely not an easy one. I had been doing photography for ~15 years in various industries (automotive, weddings, product photography etc) and while I enjoyed them all, none of those felt like they had to be the potential to be my full time career. While it is possible to make a full time career with photography in those industries it didn’t feel right for me and what I was hoping to accomplish. As I got older I started to waiver, and for several years in college actually began to look at photography as more of a hobby, rather than a career. After several years of following a biology major, it was the kick I needed to know that I have to do something I am passionate about and not something for job security. I switched my major to business, finished school and immediately began my plans for starting this company.
Along the way I’ve learned several important lessons. One being related to how I got here, I think it’s important for people to pursue their dreams and look towards a job they truly enjoy day in and day out. We spend far too much time working to do something we don’t enjoy. It takes time, it takes work and it takes support but even attempting to pursue whatever dream you have is worth it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Personally, as much as I love Denver and the city I came here for the mountains and wilderness and that is what I tend to show off to friends! I love taking people down clear creek canyon in Golden, hiking in Evergreen or other nearby front range trails. If they were here for a week, the season would play a factor as well of course. Skiing in the winter is always high on my list, with river tubing and swimming in the summer and camping if their up for it! There are some exceptional places to get food, Woody’s pizza in golden as well as Manning’s or Simms steakhouse. The Golden Moon speakeasy is a fantastic place to get drinks in Golden. Red Rocks is always worth a visit, with or without a concert, and Roxborough State Park is such a cool area for how accessible it is.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The absolute biggest form of support I’ve received not only with starting my business but throughout my life would be my parents. They have always pushed for me to be the best I possibly can regardless of what I’m doing, fully supporting me through both the highs and lows of whatever I was working on. Both working in the medical field that was an obvious direction they pointed me in, but once I told them my true passion for photography and the desire to do it full time they had zero hesitation in supporting me and offering whatever advice they could. There is no way I would have ever felt supported enough to take the risk of leaving a standard career and perusing this dream without them. Secondly I would have to mention my old boss/mentor Jonathan, who truly showed me the ways of real estate photography and what it takes to run a business like this. Despite me telling him from day one of employment my intentions were to eventually leave the state and start my own company, he brought me on and showed me all the ins and outs of not only providing the best photography specifically in real estate, but also important things such as business management and client acquisition. He is another form of support I had that was crucial to my confidence and knowledge in getting things started and running smoothly.

Website: https://www.frontrangemedia.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrange.media/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/front-range-media-golden

Image Credits
Front Range Media LLC