Conversations with Brendan Stouffer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brendan Stouffer.

Hi Brendan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
For me, my photo & video career all started with an interest in preserving life’s memories when I was in middle school. At first, I would occasionally carry my camera around when hanging out with friends, but once we got our driver’s licenses we constantly started taking photos of our cars.

Blending my newfound passion for photography and my longer-lasting passion for cars made it effortless to be naturally motivated to get better at this craft. I spent most of my nights throughout school on YouTube learning about how to shoot with manual settings, the gear that I should be using, and anything else that could educate me on how to get better.

After years of being my passionate hobby, others started to take an interest in having me shoot their vehicles, and this is where it all began to turn into something bigger for me. Fast forward through lots of freelance shoots in college and I finally have built a name for myself in automotive photography in the Denver area and beyond.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
While I have greatly enjoyed the journey that I have been on, my passion often becomes my biggest struggle. Part of producing great work is also being your best critic, which isn’t a fun side of yourself to live with. At times I find myself struggling to enjoy what I create because I hold myself to such high standards when comparing myself to the best in the world.

I am constantly trying to determine how to elevate my work, so I can forget to enjoy where I am already. That being said, one of my favorite things in life is being able to reflect on the great visual pieces that I have accomplished so far.

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?
While I have done work in various industries, my specialty is automotive photography and videography. Leveraging the unique Colorado landscapes, I have been able to photograph various rare and collectible cars in typically unseen circumstances such as winter snow storms and on top of mountains at 12,000 feet.

What seems to separate me from the rest is the eye I have for the details, including everything from staging the car to the post-processing. For automotive photography, there are a lot of details, such as having wheel center caps upright, that can make an image that much better. In addition, I have worked hard over the years to understand how to naturally and artificially light cars in ways that make surreal, better-than-life, images. I still am challenged by automotive photography, and photography in general every day, but nothing feels better than being able to craft images into the vision that I have.

At this point in my life automotive photography has become a part-time gig for me now. Over the past few months, I have been focused on applying my skills in the healthcare industry, and towards growing our new company, Highland. With a focus on being an all-natural, sustainably packaged haircare company, I am honored to bring my talents to our team as we establish the brand and grow the business.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is a combination of things for me. In photography and videography, success comes from a feeling of fulfillment in what I produce. It’s important to me to feel like what I am doing is beneficial to the world and is something that can be enjoyed by others.

Being able to meet client’s vision and goals is what bring joy to my photography, and knowing that I can offer something unique and special. With that, success also comes from being able to see personal growth in what I’m doing. Being a person who will show up on time, pay attention, and work hard towards bettering my life is how I view success.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b_stouffs/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/StouffsMedia
• Other: https://www.highland.style/

Image Credits
Classic 911 & Silver Ferrari and Blue Chip Denver