Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Sleeper.
Ethan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Ethan Sleeper, I’m 24 years old, and I live in Austin, Texas.
I was born in California and moved to Austin as a kid. I grew up in West Austin and went to high school at Westlake High School. I played football there and got really into performance optimization in fitness, health, and subsequently, in all of life. My father was a pastor at a church in Austin, and my mother was a labor and delivery nurse.
After high school, I moved to Eugene, Oregon, to go to college at the University of Oregon. There, I studied Human Physiology with the goal of opening up a functional/holistic fitness gym and doing specialized fitness training, recovery, and nutrition consultation. I eventually got burned out on the health and fitness field felt it was time for a change in direction.
After two years, I decided to leave Oregon and come back to Central Texas, and I transferred to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. There, I studied psychology and minored in business. This is also where I took my first formal photography class to fulfill an art credit. This class was where I first learned how to use all of the manual controls on my camera.
I took a semester off of college while I was transferring in the Fall of 2019, and during that time, I started my first business with a friend. We painted address numbers on curbs for houses around Austin. All of our sales were from door-to-door sales.
I began doing photography as soon as I first got a phone with a camera. It was purely a hobby at first, and I usually wouldn’t even show anyone my photos, but over time I began posting them on Instagram and people started to take notice. A friend gave me an old DSLR camera that they didn’t use, and I began to take my photography a bit more seriously. My very first paid gig was some graduation photos that I did for a friend in 2021. At the time, I was still only looking at photography as a hobby and had no idea that it would be such an integral part of my future.
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?
Many of my challenges as they relate to my career have been around, knowing what to do next. We only have a limited amount of time and energy, and so making sure that that time investment is spent on the best opportunities possible is incredibly important to me. It’s also easier said than done. I’ve found it’s very hard to tell whether something is the right decision or not and that you have to just have faith and dive in and see what happens. This is a continual challenge in entrepreneurship.
With a business, there is a seemingly infinite decision tree for where to spend your time and resources. Books and educational resources can provide a framework for where to direct attention, but every business venture exists in a unique context and market, and every entrepreneur has a unique set of aptitudes, skills, and experiences. In the end, there is no one who can tell you the right path. All you can do is use your best judgment, try to mitigate risk, and ultimately take leaps of faith. It can be extremely stressful and scary sometimes, though.
We’ve been impressed with Fresh Image Photography, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We live in a digital age where more and more of our social identity exists online. Because of this, it serves us well to represent ourselves well online. In the same way, we use flattering clothes and a good haircut to represent ourselves in the physical world, good photos help us to look good in the digital world.
Men especially, never take photos of themselves. For my first service, which is dating profile photography, it’s very common for guys to not have any good photos of themselves from the previous one or two years. Since online dating is such a visual medium, this presents some obvious challenges for guys who are trying to put themselves out there in the online dating space.
Many of my clients are experiencing life changes. For my dating profile services, that may mean a breakup, a move to Austin from another city, or a change in appearance. My clients are looking to show off their “new self.” I see it as a way to reclaim their identity. They’re planting their flag in the ground and say to the world “this is me”. It’s both an assertive and vulnerable decision to get in front of the camera and put yourself out there like that.
But this is why I named the business Fresh Image Photography. My services give people a change to get a fresh start and elevate their image. “Image” references their photos, but it also references the identity they project to the world.
I started out only focusing on men’s dating profile photography, but I’ve expanded to graduation photos and professional headshots for men as well. Eventually I want to also open a photo studio.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I was always entrepreneurial and wanted to have my own business, even as a kid. I would play a game as a kid where I owned a shop and would sell my toys to my siblings. I love the whole process of setting up the shop, selecting what I had for sale, creating the signs, and selling the items.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://freshimageatx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freahimageatx?igsh=cmhlbGtkaG5yMW93&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Nico Guarin
