116. How Posting Instagram Reels led to Photo Campaigns for Converse & Vogue

What's up Rock Nation, today we welcome Josh Aikan to the show! Josh is a fashion and portrait photographer, who's love of shooting film started from a young age. Josh originally moved out to LA for acting, but once the pandemic hit, he decided to completely change career paths and go all-in with photography. Over the last few years, Josh has really found his style as a photographer, and is now shooting massive campaigns for brands like Converse and Tilly's. Josh's laid back and humorous personality leads to a episode filled with great vibes. Check out Josh here:https://www.instagram.com/joshaikin/https://www.joshaikin.com/The Creator Pricing Guide - The No BS Guide to Pricing Your Creative ServicesCoupon Code: ROCKNATION10 gets you $10 off at checkout for the bouldershttps://courses.thecreatorcoach.com/pricing-guideCollab with Artlist and get 2 extra months for free here:https://artlist.io/artlist-70446?artlist_aid=the505podcast_2970&utm_source=affiliate_p&utm_medium=the505podcast_2970&utm_campaign=the505podcast_2970You definitely need to cop some Lexar Memory Cards and Portable SSDs:Lexar ARMOR 700 Portable SSD: https://bit.ly/4ckNVhzLexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SD Card GOLD: https://bit.ly/3KHgSbMLexar Professional CFexpress Type A Card GOLD: https://bit.ly/3XpUICtLexar Professional CFexpress Type A / SD USB 3.2 Gen 2 Reader: https://bit.ly/3Vda36kJoin our Discord! https://discord.gg/xgEAzkqAvsKostas’ Amazon Storefront:https://amzn.to/3GhId2515% OFF Prism Lens FX with code: KOSTAS15https://bit.ly/42sNdejCOP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE: https://courses.thecreatorcoach.com/BFIGGYSFXPACKTimestamps: 0:00 - Trailer1:28 - Intro3:00 - One Handed Crack4:13 - Shooting Thomas Rhett’s Album Cover5:48 - Why Josh loves shooting film6:43 - How much film josh shoots on set7:09 - Large set hierarchy7:56 - How Josh builds report quickly on set10:57 - Forming relationships on large sets12:02 - Navigating between the photo and video team14:55 - Going with the flow on set16:18 - How Josh landed the Thomas Rhett album cover shoot18:04 - Talking rates as a photographer20:03 - How to raise your rates as a photographer 21:52 - Increase your value by working with a team24:20 - How important lighting is in Photography28:55 - Planning out shots before getting to set30:40 - Still having a run and gun approach on set32:29 - Gaining 140k followers in 2 months on Instagram37:22 - Manifesting the work Josh is shooting today38:54 - Working with Converse40:32 - Your one post away41:41 - Josh’s outreach strategy44:03 - How to shoot what you want to shoot47:08 - Become known for art you actually like to make48:07 - Josh’s decision to take his camera everywhere changed everything50:29 - Licensing Photos53:01 - Josh’s go-to gear setup55:18 - Lighting film photography56:11 - Film Photography nightmare58:01 - Differences in shooting Artists vs Clothing Brands1:00:28 - Dealing with Imposter Syndrome1:03:09 - Being competitive as a photographer1:04:14 - Switching schools every year growing up1:05:55 - It’s never too late to try something new1:10:39 - Going all in with Photography1:12:56 - Finding your style as a Photographer and niching down1:16:34 - Shooting Stephon Diggs clothing brand1:20:12 - Getting featured in Vogue America1:21:07 - The notoriety a Vogue feature brings1:22:43 - Shooting NYFW1:26:06 - Getting international opportunities1:28:47 - Shooting Tillys x NASCAR collab1:30:47 - Brayden’s gambling addiction1:32:20 - Kostas gives Josh his flowers1:32:52 - What Josh hopes to improve on in the next 6-12 months1:35:23 - Advice to your 18 year old selfIf you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@kostasgarcia/featuredDM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/ Chase: https://www.instagram.com/chaseronii/ TikTok:Bfiggy: https://www.tiktok.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.tiktok.com/kostasgarcia/