STEADY, COWBOY #013

🗞️welcome, y’all

Really excited, I’m three months in on this newsletter and I feel I’m getting into more of a rhythm each week. Hopefully, it’s helped you in some way.

What’s on deck today: Today, I’m gonna detail a couple of key learnings on recent videos I’ve posted, go over some technical camera stuff I recently learned, and give away a free racing editorial mood board.

🛰️1: REPORTING FROM THE FIELD

🤠BUT FIRST - You wanna do something big in 2025?

🧘Here’s the deal: In July 2024, I took a class called Cut30 to learn how to make videos. Going into it, I was one of those frustrated, jaded photographers that stuck my nose up at Reels and TikTok, and for years, I’d struggled to build any sort of audience, to communicate ideas, to get noticed. I was languishing. The reason I was failing? It’s because I didn’t know how to make content that moves well on the internet. I was playing the game in 2024 like it’s still 2016. Finally, I just got fed up with failing at social and decided it was time to do something about it.

🎬Cut30 was that something. Here’s a video from October that explains my journey, and if you do one thing with this week’s newsletter, watch this:

garrettking.co

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Here’s the headlines of what’s changed for me since I took the class:

• 💪I turned a fear, and a weakness, into a capability that I’m continually honing and it’s become a fun, rewarding part of my life. Now, people I admire ask me for tips and perspective ten times more. It’s crazy.

• 📈It shows in the vanity metrics: quintupled my audience on Instagram, 10X’d it on TikTok, and built a newsletter from 0 to 940 subscribers in 100 days

• 💼Two of the coolest brand gigs I’ve ever gotten came directly because somebody saw one of my videos

• 🤝Made 20+ new creative friends all over the world that have a group chat where we give each other feedback + share resources (👋hi growth gang)

I’m not kidding. It’s been huge for me and it’s just the beginning. So if you’re thinking you might want to get more serious about content, here’s my challenge to you:

I’m going back into Cut30 for a second time when class starts January 7th. I’m not good enough at this yet. It’s time to level up again. 2025 = going cowboy mode.

If you want to take the challenge at the same time as me, I’d love to have some friends in the mix. let’s saddle up and do this thing. Here’s the link to get on the list.

It changed a lot for me. Maybe it could change things for you, too.

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled newsletter. 🫡

📈2: TRACKING MY PROGRESS & FREE STUFF FOR YOU

🔬EXPERIMENTS & LEARNINGS THIS WEEK

🎬Fashion videos: This video about the Alexander McQueen 2007 ready-to-wear runway showjust crossed the 10K threshold. Totally surprised me. I think that’s a framework that has legs. You’ll see me do more of this and let this be a reminder, sometimes the videos you’re the most confident in flop, and the ones you’re unsure about surprise you in a good way. The answer, as always, is keep testing.

📸Auto-white balance: Eight years in, and I still let my camera decide the white balance. I recently got schooled by Jon that it’s not enough to just trust your camera to get it right and hope to fix it in post. Going forward, I’m going to be more deliberate about getting it right in the moment.

🎞️STILLS

Let’s break down the work I put up this week, just one post (my first ever ‘all polaroids’ post, I felt super cool):

🎬VIDEOS

Okay, on to this week’s videos:

12/23: today I noticed - los angeles IG | TT: This one didn’t go too far, but I’m not gonna give up on this just yet - there may be something useful in this format yet.

📈AUDIENCE GROWTH

Instagram: 9496 followers, +70 vs. last post, +1% vs. last week
TikTok: 1090 followers, +13 vs. last post, +1% vs. last week
Newsletter: 941 subscribers, +2 vs. last week, +0% vs. last week

💬LINKS

📍_{Free mood board #06, racing editorial: LINK}
🆓_{Five free Lightroom presets: LINK
🛠️All the cameras + flashes I use: LINK}
🤝_{1:1 consult calls: LINK}

🔗SHARE

If you saw something you like or found interesting in today’s post - will you do me a solid and forward it to a friend or creator you think might like it?

Everybody have a great start to your week,

Garrett