Photo courtesy Brandon Adlam
The great balancing act between a social life and academic success for the typical college student has never been easy. It can be even more difficult when running your own business.
For Florida A&M senior pre-physical therapy major Brandon Adlam, it was hard finding a balance between owning his own photography company and being a full-time student at FAMU. But he eventually found the right way to handle it all.
Adlam didn’t pick up a camera until the winter break before spring semester of 2016. He got it so he and his friends could shoot videos of cars to pass the time. After making videos, doing photoshoots with friends and classmates, he soon realized that he had a talent for photography and decided to start shooting professionally. Some of his work has been published in The Famuan, The Tallahassee Democrat and Journey Magazine
Adlam juggles approximately 80 photo and video sessions during a typical semester, all while taking a 15 credit hour course load. On top of that, he also dedicates his time to being the publicity director for the health science pre-physical therapy association where he creates flyers and photographs their events.
Managing all of these different activities was a challenge for Adlam, but he found his way to make it work.
“It wasn’t until a year and a half ago when I told myself ‘If I am going to take photography seriously and do well in school, I will have to go to bed extremely late, or wake up extremely early,” he said. “But that didn’t work and I ended up doing both.
“It was really trial and error with my time management, but everyone just has to find a way that works best for them,” he added.
One way that Adlam works with his time management is by merging his worlds. He uses his creativity and editing skills that he picked up from doing photography, to add a flair to his presentations and work he does as publicity director for HSPPTA.
Chanczlor Clarke is also a member of HSPPTA at FAMU and has known Adlam since their high school days at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach.
“Being his friend for so long, I often wonder how he does it. It’s remarkable to me how he owns a business and deals with everything behind the scenes and still is strong will and determined to do well in school,” he said.
His client Jasmine Reed, who is an alumna of FAMU says that Adlam was extremely fun to work with.
“Brandon is really professional, he was extremely patient while shooting and he loves his craft. He was worth every single penny,” Reed said.
While finishing his senior year at FAMU, Adlam will continue operating his photography company. After graduation, he has the ultimate goal of opening multiple photography studios across the country while also operating his own physical therapy practice.