Meet Stephanie Whisenhunt of 5280 Productions and The Denver Dish in Cherry Creek

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been taking photos and creating content as early as High School, but I’ve been making a living creating content my entire career. My first job out of college was as a TV news reporter, where I worked in both Grand Junction and Colorado Springs. After four years of dead bodies and mayhem, I went to work for High Noon, the Denver based production company that produces reality tv. I worked for shows on Discovery, TLC, The Travel Channel and The Weather Channel.

I then found an opportunity at a Denver start-up called “Craftsy”. I was intrigued by a web platform creating media content, because I know that’s the future of content sharing. After almost five years of working for that company, and seeing it purchased by NBC Universal, I was laid off. I had been creating content for other people for my entire career, and I thought, “I think I can do this on my own!” That’s when 5280 Productions was born.

I had no idea what I would be doing, I thought it would be mostly video production because that’s what I’ve been doing for most of my career, but as a surprise to me, photography also became half of my business.

The first six months, my rule was “say yes to every job.” I wanted to see what this business would become and because I’ve always had a passion for food and cooking, a big part of my business became food-centered. My little brother is a culinary graduate of Johnson and Wales and an excellent eater and writer, so we together also blog and share our food experiences through “The Denver Dish”.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh no, it certainly hasn’t been smooth… I mean, I started this business out of being laid off! It’s never a good day when a company you’ve worked for almost five years says, “Thanks, but we don’t need you anymore”, but I didn’t want to focus on the rejection. Instead, I took it as a sign that it was my turn to jump into that deep dark pool of entrepreneurship. The past year has been lesson after lesson in how to deal with customers, contracts, expectations, workflows and all the while trying to focus in on what I truly love to do, and those things that I really don’t love (Recitals, I really don’t like shooting recitals or performances) 🙂

I don’t think anyone gets anywhere without making huge mistakes, but mistakes are also how you learn the fastest! I was trying to prove myself on a shoot in Hawaii for a Travel Channel show. It was a great opportunity to be on location shooting for a show called “Trip Flip”. In addition to story producing duties, I was also given a camera to get some added “broll” or video. The first day I took it out on Waikiki beach and while I was shooting some gorgeous and cinematically beautiful shots of the waves coming up on the shore (no one will ever know otherwise) a big wave came in and doused the camera, completely frying it. I was sure I was going to be fired! That’s just one example of the many mistakes I’ve made during my career.

Please tell us about 5280 Productions and The Denver Dish.
I’ll break this into two parts, for 5280 Productions I focus on creating short-form video content for brands to use to tell the story of their brands. I also help create short videos for social media to help brands extend their reach. In the photography space, I specialize in branded headshots, product photography and families.

Under the umbrella of The Denver Dish, I am a food photographer and videographer for marketing companies and restaurants. They can use the content to gain their own audiences and interact with their customers. My brother and I also write about our food experiences out and about in Denver and inside our own kitchens.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I can’t think of anything… my journey has been a topsy turvy journey in and out of different companies and experiences and I think they have all led me here! And the journey is nowhere NEAR over! I’m still refining my voice and skills to hopefully continue to put great content out into the world.