HI! I'M ADAM!
I'm a photographer, entrepreneur, and influencer based in Langkawi Island, Malaysia.
My photography journey began amidst the infamous Pandemic, in 2020. A friend of mine had told me how he'd recently begun photography using his phone, and how it'd become a new hobby for him. I found this eye-opening as my mind flooded with questions. Till that time I'd always thought that without a camera, you can't do 'photography'. He then explained how that doesn't actually matter. Finding this extremely shocking, I had a spark of interest light up within me. I'd occasionally watched videos of famous photographers like Jordan Matter doing photography with models and dancers etc. I'd always found the results incredibly mesmerizing. Hearing that shutter clicking sound and seeing the dancing subject frozen in frame, never failed to satisfy me. Upon hearing my friend's words, I went home that day excited, thinking I'd unlocked a new part of my mind.
I'd like to note that at this point in life I didn't really have a hobby that stuck with me. I tried new things to "find" a hobby. Eventually, my hobby was literally learning new things and skills. I learned video editing, Photoshop, 3D modeling, and drawing. I really enjoyed drawing at the time as well, but my interest was fading as I realized how important having blessed hands was. There wasn't much you can learn about drawing if you aren't "a natural". That was what stopped me from reaching my artistic goals and mind. Having a super imaginative and creative brain since childhood, I took interest in creating art. At the age of 10, I started a YouTube channel which I still use to this day. However, it wasn't much of a hobby. What I mean is, I WANTED MORE. I wanted something else too. One activity was too boring. It got repetitive -fast. Record, edit, upload, repeat. It became more of a job. Plus, I hated the editing step so recording many videos became stressful and annoying later since editing work was piling up.
This led me to leave my house one day and take random photos with my old Samsung A8 phone of whatever I found interesting or, well, "photo-able" if that makes sense. I came home and used the app my friend told me about, "Adobe Lightroom". I edited these photos on the Android version of the app. This "photo shoot" led me to research photo ideas to get a sense of what to do, how to do it, etc. I eventually learned about DNGs, and pro-mode. Concepts were easy to learn but MAN! Actually implementing and getting used to the exposure triangle, rules of composition, and such rules were hard to implement. At this point, I familiarized myself with multiple famous photographers whose styles I liked: North Borders, 7th Era, Peter Mckinnon, etc. This allowed me to get an idea of what I was doing and allowed me to brainstorm on my own more.
Hard work Pays Off: My Journey Before Photography
At the age of 12 years and 10 months, I got the determination to find a way to earn money without having to spend money (aka capital-free). Being a young child, the main reason for this was to buy things I wanted. Thankfully, however, my family and I were in a good place and didn't 'NEED' money. Alongside this, to a very good extent, they could already get me what I wanted. I just wanted to get whatever I wanted without any limits. So that the only reason I don't get something is that I don't want to get it. Now I know that the proper term to describe what I 'wanted', was "Financial freedom". and yes, I'm aware of how strange and childish that sounded. After much research, I learned about Fiverr and how it said you only had to be 13 to join. I asked my mum's permission. Since she had experience with freelancing and worked with a colleague on this platform, she allowed me. Knowing this was a trusted platform and that I'd gotten my mom's approval, I signed up for an account. Fast-forward after some research, I learned what gigs were, and how freelancing worked -how you had no boss and could basically sell/provide any service online (in the case of Fiverr). Eventually, this led me to think about what service I could offer. This is when I realized how I knew basic video editing because of YouTube and how most adults didn't know editing yet took interest in it. So, I offered services to teach video editing on the basic software, Filmora9. I later made more gigs about editing videos FOR the client, etc. I only got around $20 the first year and worked WAY TOO HARD for it. However, I got straight 5-star reviews which boosted my status on the website. In the following years due to Covid-19 and older people working from home, demand for digital services grew like wildfire. One may call this "right place, right time". My gigs blew up as I got almost at least one gig a month or sometimes, a week. Around the middle of 2020, a Canadian company, STEERus reached out to me on Fiverr and asked me to be their editor. Since they were in need of competent editors who were equally young, I was the right fit (STEERus aims to provide content for the youth primarily, helping them teach life lessons such as about taxes, exam stress, soft skills, etc. So hiring a young person with a similar mindset would help create more relatable content). I eventually hit it off with them and got out of Fiverr to work separately with them too. This greatly helped as in 2022, Fiverr changed their T&C to 18+ instead, causing me to lose my account, despite being a Level 1 Seller with over 40 5-star reviews if I'm not mistaken (Being a Level 1 seller is quite a big deal...) and could've caused me to have potentially lost STEERus as well. Thankfully we worked separately and continue to do so to this day. (I genuinely am obliged to work with them so HUGE SHOUTOUT TO STEERus!). Working hard part-time with ups and downs due to school, holidays, etc, I managed to reach a point in life -specifically, in December 2021, where I decided it was time to switch from my phone to an actual DSLR.
I'd been saving 90% of the money I'd made the past years so I could easily afford a good camera. Long story short, I got one of my dream cameras, the Canon90D, along with a decent lens, the 50 mil f/1.8. Sure it wasn't a crazy expensive camera like the A7riv, but it was what I could comfortably afford without blowing up my savings completely. -In my opinion, learning how to save, and how much to spend is a key stage in entrepreneurship. I also didn't need a camera that expensive. However, the camera sparked my interest in photography even more as I took more and more photos and got more and more ideas. Of course, I only bought the camera because I knew how madly in love I was with the art of Photography. To this day, I will definitely say that one of my best achievements is buying my photography gear and dream camera with money I EARNT! Not a single penny from my parent's wallet, EVENTHOUGH THEY COULD AFFORD IT, I WORKED FOR IT! Alongside this, balancing school with work and photography was something I think I balanced quite well too. Achieving 4A*s and 1A in my IGCSE exams and having great scores in school overall, is something I managed to do as well. In summary, one should never blame his fate for not getting what he wants. I started photography with a cheap phone, and did so for 2 years and didn't complain about not having a camera whilst people YOUNGER than me walked around with camera bags filled with 2 camera bodies and numerous lenses. Also, for those saying I ruined my childhood by doing what could've been avoided (eg my parents could afford the camera, etc), here's my answer: When I'd play video games or watch Netflix all day I'd get bored and sick of it fast and I'd have nothing to do. It ruined my brain due to the intensity of blue light and waste content and wasn't benefiting me in any way. However becoming an entrepreneur not only made me learn about many life lessons such as those I previously mentioned (taxes, how to save, spend, etc), but it also gave me something to do, increased my knowledge, experience, productivity, and of course, counts as an extracurricular for uni and college. Lastly, working hard at home etc is NOT an excuse to do badly at school. If I, a normal human like you, managed to do it, then so can you! Hence, hard work pays off!! (hope you found this inspiring XD).
"EVERY PHOTO TELLS A STORY"
I believe that every photo tells a story. There is always a backstory to the photo a photographer takes. A meaning. With context, a viewer actually understands the image and the art behind it. The story doesn't have to be something super poetic and deep, nor does it have to be dramatic, like a fictional thriller novel. The story could be what inspired the artist to take this photo in the specific angle/pose/model he used. There could be a memory of the artist attached to the photo, or perhaps the hard work he put into it, or how the photo was simply a "Lucky Shot". Perhaps the artist had a specific intention in taking the photo he took. For example, in my case, for "The Fake Smile", I had the intention of showing how people portray themselves towards others whilst inside they're totally different and going through a wide array of emotions contrasting what they show to others. The backstory was how I was going through a somewhat similar phase and that inspired me to take this photo. Likewise, many other photos I've taken, even basic landscapes such as of Burj Khalifa, have a "STORY". The events that led me to take the photo, the process of deciding what photo to take, from what angle, at what settings, etc, all make up a story. That is what I aim for -getting out of my comfort zone to make meaningful artwork.
