Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Serilla.
Hi Evan, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up, I had never been an “artsy” person, I always had a passion for cars, and that was about it. One day in high school, my best friend asked me if I wanted to go hang out with him and some others and go shooting. I showed up with just a phone and saw what they did. They looked at the town we lived in with a different set of eyes. Shortly after, I got my first camera, this became a thing we do, and soon we branched out to other towns, cities, and cool spots from Detroit to Port Huron to Lansing and anything in-between. These would become all-day events, leaving early in the morning and coming home well after the sunset.
Once I entered college, I started expanding more; I started photographing weddings with a friend and getting paid to do automotive photos. Anytime I go somewhere new, I would always have my camera on me. I eventually wanted to try film cameras and fell in love with the process, as it felt so refreshing.
I continue to push myself to improve my framing, methods, and editing skillsets.
I mostly find myself at track days taking pictures of racecars and providing these pictures to capture the experience of the owners as a memory they can look back on. On the other end of the spectrum, I gravitate towards shooting both Urban and landscapes that I look at and see hanging on the wall in my home, almost along the lines of “fine art” in terms of styles.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t know if I can say either way to be honest. I love to take photos and find some aspects easy and smooth. But I also struggle with so many aspects. As a more introverted person, I always struggle directing people and asking them for photos. I often find myself looking at the photos I took and not liking any, and putting a lot of “what if’s” in my own head. On top of that, I often struggle with finding my own style and being able to create a look that is mine. I will edit, re-edit, and re-edit photos for weeks sometimes and still not be happy. I might see a vision in my head, or the outline of one, but be unable to grasp it and make it a reality,
I am sure I am not alone when I say getting clients has been a struggle, especially given my location living more so in the countryside of Metro Detroit; there are less people and clients that would have cars they want photos done of, so I often find myself traveling to other areas to get projects done or meeting for cool locations.
I have been pushing myself and my work more lately in order to achieve more, stand out more, and create work that makes me happy.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Oddly enough the types of photography I find myself doing don’t really appear to be related. I mostly do 3 different types; Automotive, landscape/urban, and weddings…
As a car enthusiast, the automotive field is the one, I am easily the most passionate; I love doing car photo sessions, racecars on track, etc. Being able to capture the essence of a car and owner is my goal, and being able to have that told through the photos I take. A lot of my friends are car enthusiasts, and often am being asking to come get photos of a recently finished upgrade or build.
Something more of a passion of mine that I have started to turn into somewhat a professional one is my urban/ landscape photography. This is what I started out with my friends back in HS. I never liked directing people too much, and would often have them just stand backwards or sideways if I wanted to add a subject or provide scale.
When I go to new places I will take my camera, take photos of new perspectives, buildings, architecture, and more. I love symmetry in architecture and will always look for it wherever I go, and there is no shortage with the architecture in Detroit. I have recently been looking through the archives and have been retouching and selling them as Prints on my website.
I often like to take what I learned shooting landscapes and am able to transfer those skills when I take clients for automotive photos. I look for new, fresh, and interesting angles, backdrops, and styles. I make the surroundings just as important as the car itself. Then I tie that all together when it comes to editing and create a tone that considers both the subject and surroundings.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Communication. Doing photos of cars, and meeting the owners, learning their stories and journeys help me get a better idea of who they are and what their cars mean to them. Being able to talk to the owners and using that to put together a plan for photos has been easily the most important thing I have learned. Some owners have even expressed or shown me a photo of how their car used to look or a loved one’s car from before, and I will use that as inspiration as that means a lot to them. Being able to connect to others has improved my photos, and feels like they get life or emotions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://endstarphoto.godaddysites.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/end_star_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090095415426
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/end_star_
- Other: https://eserilla.darkroom.com/
Image Credits
Evan Serilla
