Original Hustle

Cane Sampson, a senior, sports volume, and school photographer, often gets recognized as he travels from assignment to assignment throughout the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, area. He could almost be called a local celebrity. Why? Because, as proprietor of CL Photoz, he is known as a “rapping photographer” whose goofy personality has elevated his business. His high-production-value marketing videos, outside-the-box sports hype videos, and unique volume sessions bring clients back season after season, and pique potential clients’ interest nationwide.

The key to his success is embracing his uniqueness, Sampson explains in the “Professional Photographer” podcast episode, “Originality and Hustle: The Secret Formula with Cane Sampson.” While it’s important to learn from the greats and emulate some of their business practices and techniques, each photographer has their own brand and identity, he says. “Who can I be? I can be Cane,” he says. “I bring my edginess, my creativity, my goofiness, and my personality to a shoot. And everything I do is about sharing laughs or other talents that I have that help propel us rather than just trying to be like someone else.”

One of Sampson’s biggest talents is producing the videos that pepper his website and his marketing emails, including a parody of the popular Lil Nas X song “Old Town Road” that has almost 4 million views. “I wanted to do something to grab people’s attention,” says Sampson, who had been rapping for years already when he came up with the idea. “At that time, that song was the biggest song out. And I said, ‘I know, if I remix this and turn this into a photographer song, this is going to get [clients].’” Though he continues to create new content, that video remains a testament to his philosophy. “That just came from my personality in doing what I know best, you know?” he tells podcast host Pat Miller. “So that just shows you, you have to be you. If I would have never done that, I don’t know what trajectory our business would have been at this point. But that right there … it was a turning moment for us. It showed me, ‘Cane, just continue to be you.’”

What Sampson is, he says, is a keen observer who takes best practices from his favorite businesses and creates his own systems. For example, he tells Miller, he watched how employees at Chick-fil-A use tablets to take orders to prevent long lines, and how Costco offers samples to customers to entice them to buy new products. From those ideas, he has created efficiencies to keep his own business running smoothly. “It’s like everything that I’ve done, it’s drawn out to a tee. Whenever I set up my lights, that’s a tee. My camera, that’s a tee. Everything has measurements to it,” Sampson explains, which meant he was able to onboard his cousin, “fresh off a plane from New Jersey,” to help with a photo assignment within a few hours. “I believe that having that strong system is key … not just watching the industry but watching other things that attract you and making that part of your system and everything else.”

The more processes in place, the more brain space you have to be artistic, he adds. “I think when you start trying to do too many things, that becomes a distraction. You have to hone down on what you’re good at. I always tell people this when I teach,” Sampson says, calling himself “the Five Guys [burger restaurant] of photography. You can’t come here and get a chicken sandwich, a fish sandwich, anything. We do burgers and we do them well. In photography, we do photos, composites, and we do them well with efficiency, and that’s because of the system. And being able to do that well allows me to focus and be more creative on the other things.”

Those other things include additional videos that young athletes clamor to be part of, as well as his high-energy volume sessions. “The parents had never seen a photographer in my area do anything like that,” Sampson says. “It’s always been the, ‘One, two, three, smile, move on to the next.’ So, when you come in and you’re fun, they’re like, ‘This is who I want my kids around. They’re not just snapping photos. They’re actually having fun.’” That fun is real, he adds. “It’s just us being us. While I’m in that passion mode, it’s just like, yeah, I’m fulfilling my purpose. I’m bringing smiles to kids without even touching the camera.”

Part of Sampson’s purpose is what he calls his hustle, which is crucial to growing and maintaining his business. “You get up every day and you go after it,” he says. He often drives around neighborhoods, stopping at sports fields to hand out postcards with his images and information, his own Costco samples. He also attends tournaments and other events, and talks to parents and coaches constantly. “It’s so important to the business, and you have to do it,” he advises. If you are an introvert, you can use social media, emails, and other marketing materials. “If you’re not a hustler, this photography stuff right now, it’s survival of the fittest at some point. You’ve got to get up and you’ve got to go get it.”

Originality and hustle come naturally to Sampson, who says eventually he would like to transition into being a keynote speaker and coach for photographers. He has advice for more introverted or cautious photographers he meets at workshops and conferences: He reminds them to think about who they are outside of photography. “Don’t be scared. Sit down, find what you really like, get out there, and attack that thing,” he says. For example, were you a bartender who had to interact with a lot of people and be friendly to secure those tips? Those are skills to tap. Are you a graphic artist or a rapper like him, or did you do accounting? “Bring all of those things into your photography business. It’s all about what you can do, what you did before, and how you can mix that, mold it, and then give it to the people. Because that’s your superhero power, I believe.”

Sampson’s powers might manifest into viral videos or a smoke machine or rap songs or a conversation with a parent, and another photographer’s powers will look like something else, he says. “If you go out there and just be you and bring you every time,” he adds, “it won’t feel like a job.” 

Melanie Lasoff Levs is director of publications.