Nick Barnes shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Nick, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Each morning I set aside about 90 minutes for training and courses. I’m currently expanding my skillset for AI content generation to add as a service for my agency. The goal with this masterclass is to not just learn more about AI tools, but how to incorporate them using a proprietary workflow to create polished images for brands.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Nick Barnes and I am a commercial photographer and videographer. I am the founder of 51st & Eighth, a creative agency based in Austin, TX specializing in production and creative strategy. The unique aspect about my agency is our focus isn’t in just the creative production, but also the strategy and intention behind the media. In a world full of exciting images and endless attempts at scroll stopping content, we emphasize the importance of media placement and strategy to make sure the production lives beyond a social media post. A lot of the small businesses we work with don’t understand how far media can take their brand and the avenues in which they can use the content for years to come.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
In 2023 I won a bid to photograph the Summer 2023 campaign for Party City. I had shot tons of campaigns before, but most of my crews would be between 2-5 people. I would manage everyone well and handle both the production and the clients, however with this shoot we had over 50 people on set. It was an incredible feeling having so much say in the schedule and creative, and it was the first time I was responsible for so many people and such a big production.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Pretty much every day of the first few years of being self employed I wanted to give up. I actually interviewed for jobs when I was living in New York City because I couldn’t handle the stress. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t land anything so I kept going. It was through all of the rejection that I became stronger, and now I couldn’t imagine being anything else other than a business owner.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is absolutely the real me. There’s so much tension in the world and too many creative people that take their job too seriously. I always describe production days as a field trip for the clients we work with. For them its exciting and new and just because we work in the creative industry daily, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fun and exciting for our clients.
The assistants that work with us often describe my sets as fun and relaxed with intention. More often than not I’ll be crying laughing with clients, invited to their home for dinner, or invited to their soft openings for their new locations. In a single day, we go from strangers to friends.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
With social media, I’m slowly working it back into my business as showing people who they want to work with is important. By showcasing the agency’s work, behind the scenes, tips, etc, its a great way to give clients a look into what they’re signing up for. Working it back into my routine has been difficult as we’ve been busy with client work, but we’re working on prioritizing it the same way as client work as its crucial in not just growing our agency, but in showing people who we are. I imagine this will take some time for us to see the return on it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.51-8.com
- Instagram: @51andeighth
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/51-8/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/51andeighth
Image Credits
Nick Barnes, Nick Barnes LLC, 51st & Eighth
