Daily Inspiration: Meet Casey Raser

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Raser.

Hi Casey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Art and music have been a part of my life from day one. Starting out as a dancer, I learned that being creative and letting my artistic side run the show was the only thing I felt resonated with me. Being a dancer really opened up my mind to the possibilities of what I could do with all of my ideas and my imagination.

Dancing in front of hundreds of people and auditioning for reality TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew, proved that I was born to pursue my passion for music and art. As a dancer, we always had professional photographers take photos of our dance routines and competitions, and those photos were just stunning. The high-speed images of the amazing tricks and talent that my peers were able to perform, just blew me away. I would always run to the kiosk and look at the final photos of our performances and I remember thinking to myself “How in the heck do they do what they do?!” That was the start of the rest of my life.

My mom was always the one with the camera, taking photos every chance she could at birthdays, family gatherings, and every life event that our family would experience. She decided to buy an Olympus DSLR camera to really get those high-quality photos for all her fancy scrapbooks. With my new desire to understand photography and how to capture incredible images like those dance photographers, I decided to borrow my mom’s camera and give it a shot… literally. For the next few years, I had that camera in my hand every moment I could. Photographing my fellow dancers, capturing the bee’s pollinating flowers, and even following my dog around the house for hours and capturing every funny moment. I never realized the power and potential someone can have when you give them a camera and allow them to express their inner child and imagination, it’s something truly special.

I am in love with photographing people. I love to help my clients express themselves the way they see in their head, whether that’s with a start-up business, curating content for their next music release, or just holding on to memories from their favorite moments in life. Seeing the joy and accomplishments of the people I worked with is what gave me the drive to start up my own photography business. I set out to provide a service for people like me that wanted to take their art and music passions to the next level.

By providing a high-quality product with a quick turnaround time all while making people feel comfortable in front of the lens showed that it could set me apart from the crowd and really turn my love for photography into a career. Ten years later, I finally made the decision to dive in and do this full-time. I now work with an incredible business partner and the two of us are dedicated to fulfilling our dreams.

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?
I believe that following your passion and taking that scary leap, especially when starting a business is never a smooth road. The biggest hurdle for me was learning all the ins and outs of photography itself. From learning shutter speed, aperture, and white balance to knowing aspect ratios, editing techniques, and all the crazy equipment I would eventually need, it was a big hill to climb.

On top of that, how to interact with my clients in a professional way and helping them feel comfortable was a full-time job in itself. I am dedicated to making my clients feel at home when we do a session. I want them smiling big and feeling good the second I snap the first shot to the time we say goodbye. It has taken me years to refine those skills and to understand how I interact with my clients, but I feel that has been the main reason people keep working with me.

The rough road has made me the photographer/filmmaker that I am today. If you are not “failing” you’re not doing it right. I believe that those rough patches and tough times are what make you the person you need to be to run your business or follow your dreams, and I wouldn’t change my past struggles for anything.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a photographer/filmmaker and specialize in portrait photography, live music, and art. I don’t like to say I have a niche though because that makes me feel like my imagination has a stopping point. When I first started taking photos, I tried to photograph everything. Landing jobs photographing weddings, live shows, corporate events, food, and even golf tournaments like the BMW Championship, I stopped at nothing to capture those amazing moments.

About halfway through my photography career, I realized that you could take still photos a step further, so I decided to pick up filmmaking. Being a dancer for 10 years, I had an endless amount of content and people I could film and make cinematic dance and music videos with. Remember the rough road? Well, learning video and adding that to my arsenal opened a whole can of worms that I didn’t realize all was involved to just provide a finished product in the film. That didn’t stop me one bit and actually gave me even more motivation to do this for the rest of my life.

Being a dancer and music producer for years, I didn’t want to fully let that side of myself go when I started focusing on my business. So, I have made it a goal to keep working with fellow creators because that is where my heart has always been. I feel at home and so comfortable when I’m surrounded by like-minded people who also understand what it’s like to make something out of your passion.

I love seeing others succeed in life and I feel like when those people need photos or videos I can provide something that’s unique and special because I don’t give my clients an end product that I wouldn’t be comfortable using for myself. I am dedicated to being fast with turnaround times without losing quality so that my clients can have what they need as soon as possible.

I would say, I am most proud of the way I edit my video footage because of the musicality I have learned from being a dancer and a music producer. I want to captivate the audience with not only visual stimulation but throwing in that musical ear candy to bring the viewer into the experience as a whole. Music is the key to the soul and having that while being perfectly timed to eye-catching footage, its sure to get people to watch over and over again.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love podcasts and audiobooks, they help keep me focused on the information and It personally helps me visualize what they are saying. One of my favorite books that I constantly go back to is called, “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. This book is about all the forms of “resistance” faced by artists, entrepreneurs, athletes, and others who are trying to break through creative barriers.

Being an artist myself and helping others with their creative needs, this book helped me see my work in a different light and truly not let anything stand in my way. A couple of podcasts that I love and are more focused on becoming a leader, and not letting the bull**** in life get you down or stop you from achieving greatness are “Jocko Podcast” and “Real AF.” These podcasts are for people who need a good kick in the butt and a jumpstart to actually do something with their goals and aspirations.

For the fellow photographers, my last favorite podcast would have to be “Bokeh Podcast” because of the endless information on making your love for photography into a career. Last but not least, friends and family. They will always be there to help and if you have a solid circle of people that want to see you succeed, you can be unstoppable!

Contact Info:

• Email: casey@rasersharpproductions.com
• Website: rasersharpproductions.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/rasersharpproductions
• Twitter: twitter.com/rasersharp_CO
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHcZ-r8ELwoAJiFih2Fp_Q

Image Credits
Venceas Whipple