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Meet Sam Mort of Mort Productions in East Valley

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Mort.

Sam, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was doing freelance graphics and web design for a number of years. I wanted to have more control and create better images than the stock images I was using. My cameras at the time weren’t cutting it. When I moved into DSLR cameras and realized I loved the process of taking photos more than graphics design. I’ve been doing photography ever since! It hits that perfect niche for me. Where most people are more left brain or right brain I fall in the middle I have a very tech savvy logical side and a very heavy artistic side. Photography feeds them both and I love it. I also love having satisfied customers many of who become my friends after shooting. To me photography is one of those great industries where the work we put out is a collaboration. It’s a body of work by, at the very least, photographer and model/client. Sometimes make-up artists, set designers, costumers etc. etc. It’s really great when you work in a business where you form REAL lasting relationships with your customers and peers.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s a constant struggle to find an audience and stand out. I’m also a father of 4 children with age ranges of 1 to 9 so I can’t always just do shoots at the drop of a hat, and out of town shoots are challenging. My current struggle is trying to find a better studio space without breaking the bank. I’ve outgrown my current studio and I’m involving liquids, smoke, and other messy materials a lot in my shoots lately that I just can’t even use in the studio I’m in now. Trying to find a larger space that will be more accommodating to messier shoots is becoming an almost daily need.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Mort Productions – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a photography company that specializes in studio portraiture work. We run the gamut from headshots, boudoir, and cosplay, to fashion and commercial. Some of my proudest moments lately have come from doing shoots for women who are breast cancer survivors. What really set’s apart Mort Productions from others is we always try to do our own take on trends. Art is derivative and subjective so when inspiration strikes I sometimes will combine two or three ideas that might be popular right now and put my own twist on them. For instance, with the breast cancer survivors I’ve taken the idea of “milk bath” photoshoots and turned the liquid of the bath gold instead of milky white. Then we are using body paint and body gems to make the client look like they are dipped in gold and gem encrusted.

This process allows us to cover up the scars with paint, glitter, and jewels. This method frees these women from feeling any insecurities, but still able to do a sexy, beautiful shoot where they are going to look and feel like a million bucks. I know some of the body positivity trends right now are focusing on scars and ‘mommy tiger stripes’ and that’s really awesome I love doing those types of shoots as well. However not everyone is as comfortable with showing off their scars or problem areas so this is a great solution I don’t see anyone else out there doing right now. I truly believe photography is therapeutic and the gold milk baths are a great example of how healing it can be. I have had people literally burst into tears of joy when they see the photos we’ve taken. I really love the process of getting inspired by others and saying “that’s really cool but what if we tried to do this with it too!” I think that really sets us apart

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Phoenix is a really great place for photography. When I am not shooting in studio I shoot a lot around Tempe. Places like the Tempe Center for the arts/Tempe Town lakes, Mill Ave, and Gammage theater. Papago Park is amazing! Downtown Phoenix has a few really cool nooks and alleys like Roosevelt Row. All the small towns surrounding Phoenix have quaint little downtown areas that make awesome shooting locations too. Not to mention a few of the parks are just beautiful all year round. There is just so many backdrops and opportunities. You can do an urban shoot, a desert shoot, and a forest shoot all with just a couple hours of driving. I don’t think there are very many places that offer that kind of diversity. One of the biggest challenges is the heat. Business like everything else dries up in summer. Another challenge I have in the Phoenix and surrounding areas is a trend to treat photography like a crime. A lot of places just don’t seem to care for photographers. I’ve had security at Tempe Art Center come out and yell at me to not get into the infinity pool waterfall feature even though we weren’t in it and had no intention of climbing in. I’ve been kicked out of Arizona Center during Comicon with 1000s of cosplayers walking around taking photos with their cell phones. It’s really an awkward and embarrassing situation when you’re taking photos with a client, or even a friend on a personal project and get harassed by security or some branch of law enforcement because you carry a camera bigger than a cell phone. It happens all too often and usually you can find another person taking pictures with their cell phone in the same location and not told anything. it’s just baffling.

Pricing:

  • I charge a flat $100 per hour for photography services for every hour of shooting I include an hour of editing for no extra charge. You get a digital low resolution gallery of your shoot adequate for social media sharing. I have a full catalog of products, gifts, digital copy licences, and services on my website.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
All photos by Sam Mort, Models: Freddie Nova, Tonia Antilla, Kodiak Darling, April Rhea, Saphire Gem, Kathy Shacklett, Mar D Caos

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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