Today we’d like to introduce you to Gavin Sims.
Hi Gavin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always loved photography growing up. Going on vacation and traveling was a great opportunity for me to see things I had never seen before and I was fascinated with what the outside world looked like. I wanted to capture the things I was seeing, so down the road, I could look back and reflect on my adventures.
For my 17th birthday, I asked for a DSLR camera. I planned to use the camera to take pictures of our family’s Spring Break vacation to San Francisco. Once we got there I fell in love with taking pictures of the beautiful mix of cityscapes, landscapes, and the interaction of both. From there, on I took my camera with me everywhere I went.
As I returned home to the Minneapolis area, I continued to capture scenes that I found interesting. The iconic Minneapolis skyline, St. Anthony Falls, and the Stone Arch Bridge were areas I loved to photograph the most.
I captured these images and practiced editing them with the help of YouTube videos. I eventually wanted to display them online in some way. That was the moment I thought of starting a photography Instagram account. Soon after, @meinminnesota was born. It was the perfect way to display the images I was capturing, show some love, and display images of local Minnesota-based photographers I was inspired by.
I started the account in December 2017 and the community has been built into something I never thought would be possible. A huge hub of local Minnesotans and beyond that includes local photographers, local businesses, realtors, real estate properties, hotel companies, restaurants, chefs, local celebrities, local news stations, sports teams, workout facilities, etc. all interested in the beauty that Minnesota has to offer.
Something I thought was just going to be a photography page has turned into something much more. I have done paid partnerships with numerous hotels and apartment complexes such as Loews Hotel Minneapolis, Hotel Crosby, Moxy Minneapolis Downtown, Radisson Red, Forte on the Park, HQ Apartments, Donegan St. Paul, Luna Apartments, Enger Lofts, and many others. These photoshoots consist of me coming into the property and photographing all that the space has to offer from rooms, and amenities, to the surrounding area. From there, I advertise and promote the space on Instagram Stories.
I have recently reached out to local restaurants around the state as well. The original thought was to come into the restaurant spaces and photograph the latest and greatest dishes and do somewhat of a food review/experience. So far, it’s been a smashing success! I have now come to love food photography just as much as I love landscape/cityscape photography. It allows me to bring friends on the photoshoots, indulge in great food, and feature local restaurants with the @meinminnesota community. As of now, I have featured restaurants and cafés such as D’Amico & Sons, Abang Yoli, R Social on Main, Tavern Grill, Blue Barn, French Meadow Café, Wuollet Bakery, and many more to come.
The relationships I’ve built and made from this page and its community have made me overwhelmingly joyful. The places I’ve gotten to see, the people I’ve gotten to meet, and the events I’ve been invited to wouldn’t have been possible without the ones who support me and what I’m doing.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The @meinminnesota page was not an immediate success. It took almost 5 years before the page started to gain real traction within the Minnesota community. It wasn’t until I was determined to stay consistent in posting that the page really started to take off. In 2022, I had different ideas for the account to be something other than just a photography page. I had a fellow University of Minnesota, Duluth student, Meghan Staples, design a logo for my page. That was when I knew I could leverage the page as more of a professional entity.
I immediately felt more confident in reaching out to hotels, apartment complexes, and restaurant owners through Instagram DM and asking if they wanted to partner up on a creative piece they could use for social media and their overall marketing.
In the beginning, I got turned down a lot. With great persistence, however, I started to get more and more calls and emails back with ideas. As I worked on various social media campaigns, I tried to make my Instagram Stories series as professional as possible and make them stand out. I believe that is why more and more businesses want to work together.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work at Pulse Products in Minnetonka, MN. My position is Marketing and Sales Development. Pulse is a lighting manufacturer’s rep that specializes in the latest and greatest lighting and control systems.
Pulse has numerous lighting projects around Minnesota. Everything from car dealerships, houses of worship, industrial warehouses, hotels, condos, offices, sports facilities/fields, multi-purpose spaces, etc.
Part of my job in the marketing field is to photograph different lighting projects that our agency has worked on and send the photos to our manufacturers to use in their marketing materials. I use those same photos in Pulse’s marketing material as well. Lighting application photos are essential to showing clients what our agency can do for them in architecture’s lighting and control spaces. They show real-life shots of the lighting in action and its performance throughout the day. This was a perfect opportunity to develop my skills in photography in a new and interesting way.
I am most proud of having photography skills in a position like marketing. Part of marketing is capturing content for digital and physical use and making the content consumable in the correct way. Not having to hire photographers for our projects has been a great asset for Pulse to have, especially when projects are being completed so often. The value that I bring to Pulse is equaled by the number of learning opportunities they provide for me to grow as an employee.
What sets Pulse apart from any other lighting agency is its ability to have a friendly staff that is responsive and attacks challenges head-on.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Once I started to really get into photography, my family and friends helped by providing support, feedback, and encouragement. I started to feel validated in my photography talents when I would hear the enthusiasm from those closest to me. People around me started to take the photographs I was producing and use them in their social media profiles or would re-post one of them in a different forum. It was this kind of support that helped drive my interest in photography and push me to enhance my skills.
The Pulse staff members have also been great supporters of my photography jobs/journey. They have allowed me to build my photography skills by providing me with the latest camera gear and equipment. They also accommodated my schedule when I was an intern when and had multiple photoshoots in a day or week.
Pricing:
- Story Series: $20 per story post (may vary based on a number of stories in a series).
- Website Shots: $60 each (image rights for website use).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gavinsims.myportfolio.com/work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meinminnesota/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-sims-843935204/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@me_in_minnesota?lang=en
Image Credits
Meghan Staples and Gavin Sims
