Meet Nikki Haney | Photographer & Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikki Haney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
A couple of things really. The most important one i think was that i never give up and i listened to myself above anyone else. I’ve been doing photography/videography my whole life and i was constantly told throughout my younger life that it wasn’t possible as a career or i couldn’t make any money doing it. If i would have listened to a lot of people in my life at that point, i truly don’t think i’d be where i am today. There was also so many times and still are so many times where i truly have just wanted to give up, but its always right after those moments i find the next biggest leap in my success with it. Lastly, i think people. I’m incredibly lucky to have a network of people in my life now that have given me the opportunities that have put me where I’m at today with my career and believed in me sometimes more than i believed in myself. It’s through those people and opportunities i’ve been able to learn and grow so much with my career in doing photography/videography. Also – NEVER underestimate the power of a cold email – you’d be surprised how many things you can do by just simply asking haha

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’ve been doing photography / videography since I was 7-8. I remember getting my first camera from the toy section of Walmart for $50. I used to make YouTube videos regularly and would burn some of them on CDS and sell them to my neighbors. As I got older, it was always something that I just did and enjoyed learning about. I never tried to pursue anything with it when I was younger but it was something that always kept coming back into my life even when I tried to give up. In college I decided to do it again for fun, I made a film for a film festival and it ended up winning every category of the festival it was eligible for.

When I moved out to California, my neighbor was doing freelance videography, he was the first person who made me believe I could do it as a career. I learned so much from him and ended up doing some free work for brands in exchange for products. I built up my portfolio doing this and shooting pictures of my friends. I ended up switching to doing concert photography after having a conversation with a legend in the scene Gabe Tiano, and having him tell me about what he did/ his path to getting into it. This was one of the most pivotal conversations I had in my career and wouldn’t be where I am today without that conversation I had with Gabe. I ended up shooting my first festival by emailing a marketing team of Wonderfront Festival and begging them to let me shoot with absolutely no portfolio in concert photography. After a handful of no’s and email’s begging, I convinced them to let me shoot a couple smaller shows for free. After shooting the shows, they ended up asking me to be on their official media team. Ever since then, things snow balled for me in my career. I did festival after festival after festival. Then a friend of mine, Maddie told me about this band Stand Atlantic who needed a photographer/videographer to tour with them. I owe a lot of my touring success to her and our old tour manager, kenny.

Since then, I’ve done about 10 tours going all around the world with multiple artist , worked for brands such as the Pepsi company + Journeys. There’s been so many moments while doing these gigs where I’ve looked around and just shed a tear of gratitude for the sheer fact that I feel so incredibly lucky to get to do what I do everyday. I’d be lying if I said this whole process was glamorous, easy, or there hasn’t been multiple times, even still, where I’ve wanted to give up. I’ve found tho to always remind myself it will always work out because its what I’m meant to do, especially if you continue to put in the work and always strive to be better. You’ve got one life – you can either do what you want and work incredibly hard at it or do what you think you should because its easy and it’s the same path as everyone else, at the end of the day you get to choose!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I say this to everyone but San Diego is one of my favorite places in the world. If i was visiting San Diego for the weekend i’d recommend these things – Id tell them to start off with some good breakfast at breakfast republic in one of the many locations,
– Rollerblade/skate on the boardwalk in PB
– Ride the rollercoaster at Belmont Park
– Enjoy the beach in PB
– Check out the seals (at a distance) in la jolla or even snorkel with them
– End the day with the sunset at sunset cliffs
– Eat some pho at OB noodle house
– Then go out for a night out on the town in either PB, Downtown, or North Park for a more relaxed vibe.

But you really can’t go wrong with anything you do in San Diego!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d have to say pretty much everyone who’s closest to me in my life has contributed to my success.I hate listing it all out because I know I’m going to forget someone. I try to express gratitude daily to my these people just so they know how important they are to me, so they know who they are. I say this a lot but the only thing that matters to me in this world is the people I get to surround myself with and the moments we get to share together. It has and always is what has made my life feel so special and inspired me to share the stories and moments in life I’ve got to experience with others through my photography and videography.

Website: www.nikki-haney.format.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikki_haney_/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-haney/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NikkiHaney/

Image Credits
Images are all taken by me