[EP40] Pushing Creativity with Christian Miran
Today I want to welcome Christian from Paper Bear Weddings. He’s doing some incredible things in the industry and has a lot of value to bring to other budding wedding photographers. I met Christian at a workshop and have since been mentoring him, helping him to expand his business. We cover how he got into the industry, finding his unique style and how he made the switch from corporate to creative.
Find out more about Christian
After finding school difficult, Christian looked for employment to give him something to do. Bouncing around from job to job, even training as a naturopath, he fell into call centre sales. It was here that he made many lifelong friends and also his wife. Finding his feet in the industry, at 1, he was promoted to a position where he had to train others. Giving him a foot in the door into the HR world. As his success grew, so did his paycheck and responsibility, working in a senior management position coaching leaders and other senior members of his company. In the meantime though, he started to fall in love with photography - shooting weddings from 2015 but never really backing himself. It was the workshop in Tasmania that gave him the impetus to quit his job and take on photography full time. Since then, he’s been trying to run his photography business in the heavily locked down Melbourne - and despite these challenges has found much success.
What we chatted about
An intro and how we met
Where it all started for him and where Paper Bear Weddings is now
Making the switch from a corporate environment into the creative space
How COVID helped speed up the process of taking the leap into full-time photography
His burning creative desire and how he unlocked it
Letting go of the system and ego that he was immersed in for so long
Starting his platforms and branding
The importance of rule-breaking for him and his clients
Taking risks early on in his career and how it’s paid off
How he experiments creatively
Unknown forms of procrastination and getting in your own way
What a creative vision means to him and how he delivers that to clients
His ‘hang out’ process and how it translates to planning shots
Key questions Christian asks on a ‘hang out’
Using popular culture to inform connection and light use
The importance of a ‘set list’ for a couple - helping them to understand the run of the day and see the creativity applied
How Christian invites feedback
Finding creativity on your own terms - no requirements to create
Sitting outside of the photography boundaries
Where to put your energy - not giveaways but really focusing on creativity
Immunity to change and noticing your own reactions or behaviours
Links mentioned
Paper Bear Website: /www.paperbear.com.au/
Paper Bear Instagram: www.instagram.com/paperbear.photography/
Paper Bear Facebook: www.facebook.com/paperbearweddings
My Website: www.ryanteague.co