Meet Ric Stovall | Photographer / Director / Podcast Host

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

Hi Ric, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Honestly, it’s the only way I know how to do it. I like the freedom of working on things I’m interested in working on and being able to set my own schedule. Sometimes that schedule is full of balance, and includes spending lots of time with my family, pursuing other hobbies and interest, etc. Other times I might be completely underwater with a work schedule that’s way overbooked. But either way, it’s a decision I made on my own terms and not a decision that was dictated by someone else. I have no qualms about working hard and dedicating myself to a project, but I have little patience for the busy work, pointless meetings, and other expectations that seem to make up a lot of today’s job force.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I make my living as a professional photographer and commercial director, and also the host of the podcast “Visual Revolutionary”, where I’m fortunate enough to have long biographical conversations with some of the most well known photographers, filmmakers, and visual artists in the world. As a photographer and director, I specialize in architecture, interior design, and hotel and resort work. I’ve been inspired by architecture and design for many years and it’s a niche that has been good to me professionally and financially and enables me to have clients and form friendships with other creatives in a field that I very much respect. The podcast was started as a side project when I was getting fairly burned out on the job I just described above and wanted the opportunity to try and build a creative community that I could talk to and be inspired by, and hopefully inspire others who might be facing some of the same challenges. Over the years of doing the show I have been constantly re-inspired to chase after personal creative projects, and reinvigorated by some of my younger guest who are still so passionate and hungry about building their career. I’ve also been reminded of the similar obstacles and adversities we all face as creatives, like imposter syndrome, creative burnout, financial struggles, etc and that a healthy dialogue about those issues helps others know that they are not alone. I’ve received so many extremely kind emails about what the show means to some of my listeners which is obviously an amazing feeling, and helps me continue to keep moving forward with it when I’m sometimes overwhelmed by all the things I have going on. Trying to carve out a career in a world like photography and filmmaking is no easy task. You have to be patient, persistent, and willing to put in some serious hours of work. If you love it, it’s worth it. But if you are thinking it would be a fun job that pays well, it’s probably not for you. The amount of rejection you sometimes have to endure in order to finally get the validation of a big job can sometimes be soul crushing, but it’s part of the process and can be a harsh way to keep your ego in check. There are a lot of highs and lows in this world. So save your money, be a good person, and be grateful for those that believe in your work enough to want to pay you to create it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many amazing spots to visit in this place that I’ve called home for 24 years. The caveat to that statement is that I don’t want to share any of them because they are all getting overrun by people. It’s not that I don’t want you to be able to enjoy the scenery in my favorite backcountry spots, the food at my favorite restaurants, or the music at my favorite venues, but you’ll have to find your own way there. So quit tagging all your favorite locations on social media and let people stumble into their own magical spaces.

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?
Big Shoutouts go to so many people in my life, that it would be hard to include them all here. I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with people who motivate and inspire you and am fortunate enough to have a ton of people in my life that deserve a shoutout for helping to inspire me to keep evolving. I hate to even try to list them all, as I’m sure I will forget some, but I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to say that without the support of my wife and two teenage children, none of this would have happened. It’s somewhat cliche to say that they’re the reason I work so hard, but they are a huge driving force of my willingness to continue through the inevitable hardships that come with trying to succeed as a professional creative. It’s not just wanting to provide for them, but to show them that through hard work and persistence, it’s possible to succeed in goals that others would consider a bit “lofty”. But to the rest of my family, close friends, inspiring podcast guests, favorite authors and creatives, I also give a big shoutout to say that you keep me inspired, able to face and overcome burnout, and driven to keep bettering myself as a professional and a creative.

Website: www.stovallstudio.com AND www.visualrevolutionary.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stovallstudio/ AND https://www.instagram.com/visualrevolutionary/

Image Credits
Kevin Banker, Daniel Milchev