Outer Frame Studio exists as a creative project dedicated to exploring photography, filmmaking, and the stories we can tell through them.
My journey with photography started long before I ever owned a camera. I grew up in a creative family surrounded by music, art, and adventure. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve family road trips, picnics, sunsets, and exploring the outdoors. I was fascinated by my parents’ old Canon film camera and would spend hours looking through the viewfinder imagining photographs long before I ever understood how cameras worked.
As I got older, that curiosity became a passion. I bought my first point-and-shoot camera so I could photograph the places I explored and the landscapes that inspired me. Hiking, road trips, and travel gave me a reason to bring a camera along, and photography quickly became more than just a way to document those experiences. It became a way to share them.
As my interest grew, I eventually moved to a more advanced camera and began taking photography more seriously. I spent countless hours learning composition, studying light, and developing the skills needed to turn an idea into an image. Along the way, photography led me into landscapes, travel, astrophotography, portraits, and countless other creative pursuits. Even today, I’m still exploring new styles, new ideas, and new ways to tell stories through photography and film.
Like many photographers, I eventually tried turning that passion into a business. While I learned a tremendous amount during that time, I eventually realized that the business side of photography simply wasn’t for me.
I found myself becoming burned out. The more photography became an obligation, the less I found myself enjoying it. Eventually, I stepped away from photography entirely.
For the next few years, my cameras sat untouched. I didn’t take photos. I didn’t work on projects. I didn’t have any desire to pick up a camera at all. The passion that had once driven me to spend countless hours learning, shooting, and creating had simply disappeared.
At one point, I started looking at selling my equipment and getting out of photography for good. As I began going through everything, something unexpected happened. The cameras and lenses weren’t just equipment. They were reminders of adventures, late nights under the stars, places I had explored, and experiences I had loved. Somewhere in the process of deciding what to sell, I found myself wanting to create again.
That’s when I realized I hadn’t fallen out of love with photography. I had fallen out of love with what photography had become for me. When I picked up a camera again, there were no expectations, no formulas, and no pressure to recreate someone else’s vision. It was simply about creating.
As I found my way back into photography, I discovered that the projects I enjoyed most weren’t the ones built around expectations or formulas. They were the ones fueled by curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to explore an idea just to see where it might lead.
The shoots where nobody knew exactly how things would turn out. The ideas that sounded a little strange at first. The concepts that required experimentation, collaboration, and a willingness to try something different.
Those experiences eventually became the foundation for Outer Frame Studio.
Today, Outer Frame Studio focuses on creative photography, filmmaking, visual storytelling, and collaborative projects. Whether it’s a character someone wants to become, a concept they’ve always wanted to try, or an idea that simply sounds fun, my goal is to create an environment where people feel comfortable exploring it.
You don’t need modeling experience. You don’t need a portfolio. You don’t need to know how to pose or have every detail figured out beforehand. Some of the best projects begin with nothing more than curiosity and a willingness to create.
More than anything, I want people to enjoy the experience. I want shoots to feel collaborative, relaxed, creative, and fun. I want people to leave excited about what we created together and eager to try something new again in the future.
Great photographs and films are always the goal, but I think the process should be enjoyable too. If we’re not having fun creating them, we’re probably doing something wrong.
If you have an idea you’ve always wanted to explore, I’d love to hear about it. If you don’t, that’s okay too. I have plenty of ideas of my own, and some of the most memorable projects begin when people simply get together and start creating.