Today we’d like to introduce you to Weston Carls.
Hi Weston, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was never supposed to be a photographer, but somehow it found me. After graduating from The University of Texas with a multimedia journalism degree I set off to work in the magazine business. Seven years into being the creative director for the local fitness magazine, I was mistaken as a photographer by a local gym. They wanted me to take their staff portraits. I never took a professional picture, I just helped the photographers that I hired. My job was to produce and design the magazine cover-to-cover.
When this call came, I was personally at the lowest point in my life when I was inquired to take photos. I said, “to heck with it!” and I bought a camera the next day. I utilized my magazine experience to create the photography I’d like to see that would fit with how I would end up designing the story in print.
I quit my career as a magazine creative director just three years after that inquiry. Fast forward today — 8 years later — and I’m an internationally-published yoga book author, have clients like lululemon, taking photos of gold medalists like Gabby Thomas, and have won “the best fitness photographer in Austin” the past four consecutive years.
And for that I’m so grateful to the people who encouraged me to take this on.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. I left my career job in 2018 and was actually not really pursuing running my own business as a photographer. I was searching for other jobs in the journalism field as I scraped by.
This lasted for a couple years and then Christmas Eve of 2019 I ruptured my achilles playing flag football. I couldn’t walk for 9 weeks and thus couldn’t work. Then about 4 months late the 2020 pandemic hit in March and I was ABSOLUTELY out of a job. I was applying to anything and everything. I thought that this was the end of the photography experiment. I ALMOST took a job in a small town called Fort Collins in Colorado. Thank goodness I didn’t because once 2021 came around, my business took off.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work can be best described as energetic candids. I specialize in fitness & healthy lifestyle branded photography. I learned a lot from personal trainers and all the group classes I took during my magazine career. It’s this energy exchange where you’d only push that hard if someone was encouraging you to. So when you’re on one my shoots, you can count on one thing: fun. We’re going to move and we’re going to have fun doing it.
I think that’s what sets me apart is my personality and ability to make people genuinely laugh and smile along the way. When you’r on one my shoots, we’re not only taking photos, we’re taking videos and perhaps even drone photography too. It’s a content creation session!
I’m most proud of all the people out there that may have been motivated to move their body, generate endorphins, and live a better life through my work.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
They can find me online at www.westoncarls.com or www.thefit.biz as well as on social media @westoncarls.
Pricing:
- Pricing starts at $499 and is custom tailored to your needs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.westoncarls.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westoncarls
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westoncarlsphotography
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@westoncarls
