Photography related!
Who are you?
Michael Warren Fulton I am umm how old am I, 37 I guess this year. Born and raised in
Southern Brazoria County, which is directly South of Houston Texas on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Graduated in 1989 from Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas , and received my first College
Degree (after many many college hours of partying and chasing women, from the Univ. of
Houston in the study of Criminal Justice. Worked as a Crime Scene Investigator for almost 15
years where I fine tuned my photography and related techniques including speaking and teaching
in the field.
How did you get started in photography?
I got started in photography around the age of 10 when I found my dad’s camera which he bought
while in the Navy. A Canon (don’t remember the model to be honest, and just figured out how to
make it work. By the time I did figure it out, I loved the art, though never did much with it until
years later.
Did you study photography or are you a natural born creative?
I have never had any photography related schooling, but I have had general art courses in High
School. While I do not have any natural talent in drawing, I do paint and enjoy it a lot and made
money with it in College to pay the bills, but what I did learn in art school I rolled over into the
medium of photography.
Tell me about your style? How did you develop it? How long did it take you to realize your style?
I don’t know if I ever realized I had a style but more just a passion to figure out what I like. In time
people told me we had a style and looking back I can see it, but while “figuring out” where I was in
the art of photography I had no clue. It just developed over many years of finding myself and
always trying to get better.
Do you specialize in a particular field? Weddings, Kids, Newborns, Black and White only?
Weddings for sure, but we also enjoy High School Seniors.
What camera and lenses do you use?
Canon boy – would have a tattoo on my butt if I could, umm come to think about it I actually
could. Well looks like I need to find a tattoo artist now ☺
Favorite Glass: 16-35L, 24-70L, 70-200L and the little 50 f/14 love this non-L in the studio
What can you never leave home without?
Cell Phone honestly, when it comes to cameras and photography I feel time away is just as
important as time spent doing it. So I really try and separate my time and enjoy life in all aspects,
not just in photography.
What are you working on right now?
Business taxes and a bridal session and wedding from the month of Aug.
Where is your fav locale to shoot?
Grunge in the city of Freeport and Lake Jackson or wildlife out on the coastline shooting
waterfowl and fish in the bays. I love getting out in my boat away from people and just enjoying
life.
Do you have a favorite prop or pose?
Anything fashion I guess. Not really into props unless they are naturally in the area we are
shooting in, be it a tree or flower bed or a table or wall at the coffee shop downtown Houston. I
find the challenge of making the surroundings look good fun and exciting to me.
What is some good advice that you received when you were just starting out that you can share
with other photogs that are just starting in the business?
Be true to yourself. Take advice from anyone but always be true to yourself and trust your “gut”
feeling. Be ethical in this business, too many photographers are not, I can think of many right
now as I type this, and they cut-throat other photographers to make a name for themselves.
Finally learn light and shadows! In today’s age of digital photography we have so much more
control over our final output giving us our unique style and look. However too many
photographers simply do not understand light and how it works with shadows on our subjects.
When working with people we need to have shadows in our work, without those shadows, our
work is simply flat boring lighting. Due to this, it seems photographers love to take a snapshot of
a client with horrible lighting then do a fancy processing to it, mostly cross processing now-days,
and make it a decent image. Of course this will make money and is not a bad thing, but if you
want to take your work to the next level learn how to apply light and shadows to your subject and
then process those images with those fancy processing skills and you will find your work will truly
stand out above the rest of the digital photographers in your area.
How do you get your clients to relax and have fun with their portraits?
Well I think TriCoast is unique, it’s a two man team 100% of the time. We each have our part of
the business we excel in. For me it is post processing, business end of things, for Cody it is client
relationships and building them. So normally Cody is the one that contacts the client, sets up the
sessions, etc. So when our sessions start we have the clients always look at Cody as the “main”
photographer. The clients already have a bond with Cody so it sets them at ease a little more to
begin with. I usually roam in the background finding the off angle shots and checking out how the
light falls on the subjects. As the session continues and the client relaxes we might switch off
main and background shooter and we are always interacting with our clients with jokes or other
aspects to make them relax and laugh. As one of us talks the other is always ready with the
camera to capture the natural smiles and laughter which always makes the images stronger.
Also I feel most of our clients are already at ease when we start the session by our personal
connection we create with them. We turn away more clients than we accept and those who do
work with us, simply “get” TriCoast so it makes the events go by much easier and more fun!
Do you travel out-of-state to do photography?
When it comes to Weddings over 50% of our business is out of State and the Country. We love
traveling and enjoy the world, I find people are people no matter where you are. While we might
have different colored skin, different colored hair, worship different Gods we are all just one race,
the Human Race. We all have the same problems and worries and traveling around the world I
feel has made me a much better person.
What do you enjoy photographing the most?
You never stop learning. Until the day I die I will be a photographer and still learning. To me that
is pretty cool!
Anything else you would like to share? Hints, tips or everyday wisdom?
My goal when shooting outside is to never blow out the sky. For me I want to capture an image in
camera as the human eye sees it. Full of color both in the foreground and background. Over the
years the best way I have found to do this is to under expose in my camera approximately a stop
and use wireless flash (one flash only) to expose my subject. Its what I have done for years and
what I truly have a passion for when shooting.
What motivates you to do what you do?
Without a doubt my three girls in my life. Meghan my daughter of 7, Dakota my niece of 12 and
Suzy the love of my life
For us, TriCoast, the key to keep ourselves motivated and unique is to simply do what we want
and feel is right. At every session we push ourselves to create something we have not done
before. This can be as simple as a different flash angle or camera point of view or more outside
the box using multi-wireless flash units or other techniques. While sometimes these experimental
captures do not work we study them afterwards and keep shooting the basic idea until we get
what we want. Many of the TriCoast standard shots we capture in our sessions today started off
by this method. Also since we already capture the needed shots during our session, our clients
will never know we are experimenting while shooting their session. Honestly I do not get inspired
by looking at wedding photography, I shoot this subject every week and I simply do not want to
look at things that I work in. Inspirations come to me by so many places, for photography it would
be fashion work, especially since that is one area I started out in many years ago in the studio.
Nature is a big one for me be it fishing, hiking, camping or just sitting in my backyard. Several
lost friends which I have met throughout my life, who had a passion for this amazing art form.
Teaching and sharing with other photographers who truly care about the ethics and love for
photography. However, my greatest inspiration is hands down my daughter, Meghan, who truly
showed me what life was all about. Her smile and simple outlook on life always brings me back
to just being a daddy which is what I truly love being.
Do you believe that “A picture is worth 1,000 words”? Tell me why or why not…
Not all pictures, some I feel are not worth the paper they are printed on, but overall yes I feel a
good strong image, one that hits emotions with the viewer is worth more than a 1000 words. It’s
a moment in time, a spit second of reality, something that we are giving our clients that will last
their lifetime and their children’s lifetime. It gives people a chance to experience emotions they
might not had before: hope, passion and love, anger, hate – you name it a good photograph can
do it.
Now for some fun stuff!
What do you do outside of the photography world? Do you have a Side Business?
Nope Photography is my fulltime job. Though I used to play with dead people as a CSI Law
Enforcement Officer, Of course depending on how you look at it, I still play with dead people,
just the couple getting married do not know they are ending their life when they say I DO ☺
What is your favorite food?
Sushi for the most part but I do love some Korean food which recently I have learned through
Suzy of Suzy Min Photography.
How about your music? What’s on your iPod right now?
WOW everything but right now I am listening to Ian Moore (www.ianmoore.com) an old college
friend of mine and Kevin Fowler (http://www.kevinfowler.com/) a Texas Country Singer who sings
quite unique and funny Texas songs.
What is your favorite outfit to shoot in? Do you prefer jeans? Do you have a shirt with your name
on it?
When I shooting a client I dress down, since I am always sweating here on the Gulf Coast and I
get down in the dirt, mud, streets and anything else to capture the image. When shooting a
wedding I always wear a suit, I feel to be a professional you must look like a professional and
TriCoast simply has worn suits from the start.
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t shooting?
Spending time with Suzy to be honest, but I do enjoy fishing and spending time out in my boat
If you could be on a tv show, what would it be?
I would love to be one of the Monty Python crew. Truly some of the best humor I have ever seen
and well I love every show. Also the Mighty Boosh (http://themightyboosh.com/) a current British
Comedy is not bad either.
What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate? Soaps? Football?
Picking my nails and Sports in general but yes I do love Football, played baseball most of my
younger life so I enjoy going to see baseball games and watching football games on TV. Tampa
Bay Bucs RULE in my world!!!
Weddings: www.TriCoastPhoto.com
Seniors: www.TriCoastSeniors.com
Workshops: www.TriCoastWorkshops.com
Thanks again to Mike Fulton! Please feel free to leave some love below!!
Happy Birthday Gary! You guys look great in this pic - so happy, in love and gorgeous!!