Meet Thomas B Nelson III of The Fat Photo Pro in East Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas B Nelson III.

Thomas, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
“The Fat Photo Pro” is actually the alternative side of “The Fat Photo Guy”. Since the last time I spoke with Voyage Phoenix, I have grown pretty substantially in my art. Diving deeper into my creativity created a rift between my artistic base and my more conservative supporters. So for me, the only logical step was to separate my two dynamics. PhotoGuy would remain the artist, but I needed to also have a professional persona. Thus, PhotoPro was born. As simple as it may seem, just a simple change in name to some was a crucial distinction to me. It was important for me to maintain the branding I had already established and still stay true to my overall personality, but I needed a way to share my work with the clientele that was looking for Graduation Photos or a Wedding Photographer, not experimental concepts. Just under a year into it, the growth has been steady and meaningful and has opened up various opportunities and connections with people that my previous branding did not allow me to reach.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest struggle in this entire process has been starting from scratch with building awareness of the brand and the work. Some people were under the impression that I had completely changed direction. There were others that thought that I was being impersonated. It took a bit of work and explaining to people that I was still me and this was just a secondary outlet for the business.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Fat Photo Pro story. Tell us more about the business.
Fat Photo Pro is a way to bring my artistic eye to more common shoots. My clients that need Family Portraits or their kid’s graduation photos done or even wedding images captured still look for me to be the creative I have always been. I’m happy to be able to bring a nontraditional eye to traditional photography services. It’s a point of pride for me when reviewing photos with a client and they are floored by “how cool” they look in after a session where they just expected to take stiff, almost boring, pictures because they didn’t think that there could be a conceptual aspect to what they needed photos for. And to top it all off, I am able to provide a premium service without an outlandish pricepoint. That’s always been really key for me. I believe in working with people’s budgets and still giving them the same experience that my higher-end clients get. No, they may not get all of the bells and whistles that come with a big-budget project, but they don’t walk away feeling any less than. A lot of the time, that’s the reason for them to come back.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
This answer may have been completely different two years ago (or even six months ago). I don’t know that “luck” is a factor. My successes and failures in business and in life are entirely my own. I mean, I’m definitely lucky to be alive. Some days, I have to remind myself of that and it pushes me forward in whatever it is that has me stuck at that moment. But overall, I believe that everything happens in its own time and so I take a step back when something goes sideways or jump fully in when the correct opportunity arises. I’m exactly where I am supposed to be now and will get exactly where I am supposed to go. It won’t be because of luck or some happy coincidence, it’s going to be because I forged a path forward, learned from every failure and was thankful for every win.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thefatphotosite.com/fatphotopro
• Phone: 2038366852
• Email: thefatphotopro@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefatphotopro/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFatPhotoPro

Image Credit:
All Photos by Thomas B Nelson III (The Fat Photo Pro)

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