Meet Matt Pendleton | Photographer

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

Hi Matt, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in the Miami Shores area from when I was adopted at 6 weeks old until I left for college at the University of Florida. While Miami Shores is a very affluent part of the Miami area, I was raised by a single-mom who worked almost every day to support myself and my two younger brothers. This upbringing greatly impacted who I am today. We had very little and many times had to go without or share amongst us brothers. I was very fortunate to have very important benefactors in my life (my neighbor, my scholarship sponsors at St. Rose of Lima School and Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School, my computer teacher, and countless others who gave their time and talent to improve my life.

I truly value hard work and the benefits it brings. Experience matters a ton for me and I look to gain working experience whenever I can. I learn best hands on alongside others who are much better than me. I love surrounding myself around the best. I started working when I was 10 years old teaching senior citizens how to use Microsoft Office (back in Word 1.0 days) and that really shaped my entrepreneurial spirit.

Nothing is more true when it comes to my photography business. I love learning from others and most of what I’ve learned is from mentorship from others. For the business side of things, I love creating a business out of an idea and really making an impact on my community and my clients.

Hard work. Strong business ethic. Caring about my clients. Looking ahead towards the future and staying current. Those are the traits that help me stand out.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I love creating images that help tell a story. From individuals to businesses to sports teams or large corporations, if there is a story to tell, I’m ready to use imagery to capture it. Nothing brings more excitement than watching my photos show up on social media, website, marketing, or in a store that help someone else accomplish their goals.

Getting started in photography is not easy. The startup market is saturated with many others trying to find their footing. That creates a ton of competition and in some cases, others not truly knowing their worth and value. I learned early that in order to survive I have to provide something better than just the lowest price tag.

I learned that what set me apart was my ability to relate and work with others no matter the circumstance, tell a story even when you’re not asked to tell a story, think and plan ahead to get images and scenes no one even knew were there (details, details, details!). Finally, the ability to say or accept a no. If you know your value and worth,then you will never compromise it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Sundays I would take them for Versailles buffet with cafe con leche and NFL all day Mondays – beach
Tuesdays – intercoastal on a boat
Wednesdays – cuban coffee for breakfast, Tap 79 for dinner
Thursdays – dinner at Shuckers on the patio
Fridays – people watch on south beach from Wet Willies or similar then
Saturdays – chill at the sports bar

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Mike Mathews (taught me all I know about computers) Jeff Eisenhower (taught me the business side to computers and taught me how to teach others)
Dr. Robert Butler (gave me one of my first jobs as a computer repair tech)
Vinnie Taranto (taught me about servant leadership and taking care of the client)
Tim Casey (helped me get started with photography and still mentors me to this day)
Kathy Cafazzo (gave me my start in sports photography, trusted me at an early age to produce content for her team)
Steffi Sorensen (my first fitness photo client)
University of Florida and Florida Gators (allowed me to meet so many talented photographers and content creators)

Website: https://mattpendleton.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/MattPendletonPhoto

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattPPhoto

Facebook: https://facebook.com/MattPendletonPhoto

Other: My visual stories at https://s.mattpendleton.com/

Image Credits
Photo of me – James Gilbert