Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam And Tatiana Shumeev.
Hi Sam and Tatiana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I think any immigrants are leaving their home country because they can dream a little bigger and strive for realizing their highest potential. Sam was too talented for our hometown of Orenburg in the middle of Russia, I could see that he outgrew most of his colleagues and was too limited by most of the projects available on the market for videographers. I immigrated to the US in 2005, and got my citizenship, then I moved back to live in Russia for almost 10 years where I was running my own business, it was a dancing and swimming studio for children and adults. That’s how we met with Sam, he filmed a commercial video clip for my business. In 2020 he proposed to me, and by that time I had already been thinking about moving back to the US. When we applied for his immigrant visa, the political situation in the country changed, and I was worried, our documents would get stuck in the Embassy forever. However, our case got expedited, and in 2021 we moved to Florida. Sam became well known locally as a very professional and talented videographer who also happened to be a very nice and reliable guy, and that was how he started this business. At first, he worked with some partners, then by referrals, and now we are making another step of launching our own wedding photography and videography company, the BowTie Wedding Studio. Sam is also running the 2D Production, this company is specializing in commercial photography and videography, interviews, reportage, documentary, blogs, instagram and other social media, and etc. Our personal interests are traveling around the world, we usually rent a car and just explore. Sam is filming our trips and then creates short reels for our Instagram account @shum_trails and even big movies for our YouTube channel. The mission behind what we do is to show the beauty of the World, people, their lives, and inspire others to dream big, feel love and be grateful. We want to expand out business so that we have more time to launch other socially meaningful projects that we have been thinking about lately.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Sam is very disciplined and persistent. I, on the other hand, am very spontaneous and proactive. When we first came to Florida, I was very anxious to start, but we all know that building your business from scratch in a foreign country (and back then Sam’s English was very basic) is always challenging. It requires time and dedication and believing that one day it’ll all happen. Also, building your team takes time and patience.
Changing fields and adapting your life to circumstances requires flexibility and endurance. You need to have EQ, be empathetic, understand different cultures, be compassionate, be psychologically stable. Also, it’s about work-life balance. We love what we do, and at times it feels like a paid hobby, but we are still trying to take time off work and enjoy ourselves, nature and friends.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think that Sam and his team of photographers and videographers (whom he carefully selects to meet our company’s standards) share professionalism and a very creative vision. Our signature style in wedding videography is combining a cinematic style, creating beautiful slow-motion scenes and setting up professional lighting for each separately, that makes you feel like you’re watching a movie, with a documentary style, capturing moments as they happen naturally and without direction, showing the real vibe, a behind-the-scenes look at the way your day unfolded, often with moments even couples missed. Watching Sam’s work is like watching a movie: at times it’s so beautiful, romantic, and smooth, at times he somehow manages to capture and edit together some hilarious moments, combined with the music that fits just perfect, and then he can convey authentic emotions with the help of adding real speeches, sounds from the set. All of his clients mention that he is so easy to work with, he is always there but never intrusive or on the way. He is always dressed according to the occasion. He is very respectful and so easy to interact with (I remember, one time one of his employers paid money to another employer to let him work for his event just because he is that good). He understands his clients’ vision almost immediately, he always brings exactly what people had envisioned or beyond (sometimes clients don’t have a clear vision, but I think the most important thing is that Sam can feel them and convey their vibe, it’s all about mutual energy on the set and on the screen).
Also, as a kid Sam was trained in dancing, painting, and music. He used to create huge wall murals. That added artistic perspective to all his work. Later in his career he worked a lot for big industrial companies creating documentary films about them. I think that also expanded his skills and helped him chisel his own style combining aesthetics and factual sequence.
As for me, I have 5 different backgrounds: a linguist, a bankruptcy lawyer, a choreographer and business owner, and a psychologist. So, obviously I am in charge of storytelling, plots for videos, speeches, and etc. And I like to think of myself as my husband’s business coach. He doesn’t think so, but I know that behind every successful man there is a strong woman who believes in him. When we met, he was a graduate student working for a local social media company. Then he worked for a restaurant and food chain creating photo and video content, and working as a freelancer filming serious documentary movies about different big plants and industrial companies in Russia. I think his experience shaped him into an entrepreneur who is not devoid of romantic life perspective.
What does success mean to you?
I remember a very funny saying: success is like being pregnant – everybody is congratulating you but nobody really knows how many times you’ve f***** for this. Excuse my French. But to us success is about harmony in life really. When you feel right, when you feel you are where you are meant to be, and you feel satisfied with life.
Pricing:
- http://bowtiewed.com/packages
Contact Info:
- Website: http://bowtiewed.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bowtie.wed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/BowtieWeddingstudio/61563112303006/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bowtiewed
Image Credits
Bow Tie Wedding Studio
