Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Berry.
Hi Drew, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My interest in photography started pretty naturally. My mom took film photography classes when I was younger, and she would always use me and my sister as subjects for whatever she was working on. I think being around that made photography feel familiar to me before I ever thought about doing it seriously myself.
A little later, I used to take pictures on an old iPod Touch of random things that meant something to me or just caught my attention. I even had an old Facebook album where I would post them. They definitely weren’t anything special technically, but I liked taking pictures and having something to look back on.
Once I decided I wanted to take photography more seriously, I got my first real camera, a Canon Rebel T7, and just started grinding from there. I shot whatever I could, learned through a lot of trial and error, slowly picked up more equipment, and eventually started branching out into working with clients.
That eventually turned into Drew B Photography. I’m based in South Jersey and shoot throughout South Jersey, Philadelphia, and the surrounding areas. I do a mix of portrait sessions, couples, families, pets, events, and live music. I like having that variety because every type of shoot makes me work a little differently. Portrait sessions give me more time to work with someone and figure out what fits them, while concerts are almost the complete opposite where everything is happening fast and you have to react to whatever is in front of you.
I’ve also learned pretty quickly that running a photography business involves a lot more than just taking pictures. I’ve had to learn the website side of things, reaching out to people, putting myself out there, figuring out how I want my work to look, and just trying to keep improving as I go.
I’m still building Drew B Photography and I don’t really look at that as a bad thing. I’m always trying something new, picking up different equipment when I can, taking on shoots that push me a little outside of what I’m used to, and figuring out what direction I want to keep taking things. When I think back to taking pictures on an iPod Touch and compare that to photographing clients, events, and shows now, it’s pretty cool to see how far it’s come.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. A lot of it has just been figuring things out as I go and learning through trial and error. I’m mostly self-taught, so there have been plenty of times where I’ve looked back at older work and thought, “yeah, I’d do that completely differently now.”
The money side of photography can be a challenge too. Gear gets expensive fast, so I’ve had to build things up slowly and be realistic about what I actually need. A lot of my equipment has been bought used or has been “new to me,” and I’ve tried to make the most of what I have instead of feeling like I need the newest thing every time.
I’d say one of the bigger challenges for me has been self-doubt. There are definitely times where I’ll finish a shoot and overthink everything, compare myself to other photographers, or wonder if my work is good enough. I think that’s probably one of the hardest things to get past because it’s not really something you can fix with a new lens or better camera. I’ve just had to learn to push through it, keep shooting, and remind myself that I’m still growing.
Putting myself out there has been another big one. Taking photos is the easy part compared to reaching out to people, promoting myself, finding clients, building a website, figuring out pricing, and getting comfortable saying “this is what I do.” There have been plenty of messages that went unanswered and opportunities that didn’t work out, especially with events and live music, and at first I definitely took that more personally than I should have.
I’m getting better at accepting that not everything is going to work out, and not every shoot is going to feel perfect. I try to take something from each experience and keep moving forward. I still have moments where I question myself, but I think learning to work through that has been just as important as improving technically.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
With Drew B Photography, I shoot a little bit of everything. I do portraits, couples, families, pets, events, and live music. I like having the mix because I get bored pretty easily if I’m doing the exact same thing over and over.
With portraits, I try not to make people feel like they have to know how to pose or act a certain way. I’d rather talk to them, keep things relaxed, and work off their personality instead of forcing the same poses on everybody. I want the photos to actually feel like them.
Live music is kind of the opposite. Everything moves fast, the lighting can be all over the place, and you don’t really get to control anything. Sometimes you only have a few songs to get what you need, so you just have to react and catch whatever moments happen.
I’m probably most proud of how far I’ve come from when I first started taking it seriously. I started out with a Canon Rebel T7, was learning everything as I went, and just kept shooting and upgrading when I could. Now I’m working with actual clients, shooting events and portrait sessions, and getting chances to photograph bands and live shows too.
I also feel like I’m pretty good at reading the vibe of a shoot and carrying that into the edits. If something feels softer, darker, more energetic, more relaxed, whatever it is, I’ll usually lean into that instead of trying to force the same look onto everything.
I don’t know if I’d say there’s one single thing that sets me apart, but I do like experimenting a lot. I’ll try different lenses, older gear, vintage lenses, different edits, different ways of shooting, whatever makes sense for what I’m working on. I don’t really want every shoot to look exactly the same. I want it to still feel like my work, but also fit the person, band, or event I’m photographing.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think photography is going to keep changing pretty fast over the next 5–10 years, especially with how good phones are getting and how much AI is starting to get mixed into everything.
I don’t really think that means photographers are going away though. If anything, I think it makes the personal side of photography more important. Anybody can take a decent picture on their phone now, so I think people are going to care more about the experience, the creativity behind it, and having photos that actually feel like them instead of everything looking overly perfect or polished.
I also think there’s going to be more crossover between photography and video. Social media already pushes that pretty heavily, so I can see photographers having to be a little more flexible and being able to grab short clips or other kinds of content along with photos.
AI is obviously going to be a big part of it too. I’m not against using new tools if they make certain parts of the job easier, but I still think there’s a difference between using technology to help with your work and having it replace the actual moment. For me, a big part of photography is that something really happened in front of the camera and you were there to catch it.
I actually think that’s part of why people might start wanting photos that are a little less than perfect too. The little imperfections can kind of prove that it was a real moment and not something that was generated or cleaned up so much that it doesn’t feel real anymore. With AI getting better, I think that kind of authenticity is probably going to matter more, not less.
I could also see people getting more into film, vintage lenses, prints, and stuff with a little more character for the same reason. When everything starts looking too perfect, I think people naturally start wanting things that feel a little more human.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dbnjphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewbnj/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dbnjphoto
