Meet Jesse Haswell of Untapped Potential Studios in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Haswell.

Jesse, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started out with a cellphone and concert tickets. I would try to find a location where I could take good pictures while only being part of the audience. Shortly after, I began writing to the Marketing Directors for local venues asking to take photos at local shows. I received a lot of “No” answers or never received a response at all. The one venue that did answer me was Hodi’s Half Note. Once I got stage access at that venue, I began to formulate how I was going to stand out from the multitude of other photographers vying for a spot in the pit. I took a look at the local acts and saw how no one really cared about their performance. One or two photographers would take a couple of shots and then pretty much leave until the bigger acts got on. This was my chance. Untapped Potential Studios has always been about providing professional photography services at affordable costs. For these musicians that meant free work. They needed help marketing themselves and I could provide that help.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing in life is easy. Getting turned away by venues time after time hurt. It meant that I could only shoot at one venue all the time and provide different artists with similar-looking pictures. The only opportunity that I had to shoot elsewhere was when a group of artists invited me down to Aggie Theater to take photos of their performance. I can also get access through FOCOMX which is a non-profit concert series that helps local acts get stage time with bigger acts from all over Colorado. FOCOMX takes place once every year so it’s not a reliable way to gain exposure. This minimum exposure has been the real struggle. As with any business, I don’t want to keep operating for free but I know that the local acts just can’t afford quality photography services which means I have to essentially work two jobs for the time being. I have a long-term goal but there is a lot of work left to do.

Untapped Potential Studios – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I run Untapped Potential Studios. That is my photography brand. I have operated it in some fashion since 2012. Mostly my work has been done as a trade for other services. I have made it my mission to help local artists market themselves at little to no cost. In the near future, I hope to have the details hammered out for how I can establish my company as a not-for-profit label and marketing service that will change how emerging artists enter the music industry. I hope that I can find like-minded individuals who will help me promote and market artists in their respective genre to larger more established acts which will help the local artist get noticed by bigger labels and have access to a larger audience.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Compassion. Hands down. As a small business that really isn’t turning a profit, I know how hard it is to get noticed by anyone outside your group of friends and family. Compassion is what is needed to help artists meet their goals.

Pricing:

• Prints for Family/Friends – $100 flat cost for a digital negative with no watermark.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 970-232-6225
• Email: jdhaswell@gmail.com
• Instagram: @untappedpotentialstudios
• Facebook: Facebook.com/UntappedStudios

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