What’s Next for CLT Shooters: Our Roadmap Moving Forward
- Lucas Ayres
- Oct 12
- 11 min read
CLT Shooters is entering a new era. What began eight years ago as my way to meet people and learn cameras has grown into a mission to build the creative foundation and economy this city has always needed.
CLT Shooters didn’t start as a company. It started as a way for me to meet people and learn how to use a camera, eight very long years ago. I wanted to understand photography and videography, connect with others who shared that interest, and find a creative community in Charlotte. Hoping maybe, one day, I’d find a way into a career working with cameras.
Throughout the time I’ve spent running CLT Shooters, I’ve started to notice a pattern about Charlotte creatives that isn’t too hard for anyone to see, really. I’d meet talented photographers, videographers, and artists and, over time, they’d disappear from the meetups and my very Charlotte-centric Instagram feed.
People came and went. Some stopped creating because life became too expensive to continue to invest in an already expensive hobby or career like photography; most moved away to other cities with better economic opportunities or shifted focus because there wasn’t a consistent place in Charlotte that gave creatives structure, opportunity, and support to establish and grow their passion into a career. Myself included — which is why I put CLT Shooters on hold in 2021.
But that’s when the idea of CLT Shooters began to evolve into something bigger. I was determined not to let CLT Shooters die. I put too much time and effort into building it up to let it go to waste. But most importantly, I saw the impact that it had on people.
Since starting CLT Shooters and putting it on hold, I’ve watched people launch their careers in photography. I’ve watched them go from taking your typical entry/beginner-level, not-very-good pictures that we all take at some point on our creative journey to having their work featured in numerous editorial magazines. Many of them are now also working with top brands and celebrities.
They’re building and living the careers and lives that they dreamt of having when I first met them.
I’m beyond proud and happy about the things that they’ve achieved! And please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not saying CLT Shooters is the reason any of these people accomplished these things; I’m saying that I’m happy that CLT Shooters was able to be a small part of their creative journey. That is truly an honor.
But over the last four years — though I’m happy for the people who have successfully launched their careers (many having left Charlotte to do so, by the way) — they’re not the ones who’ve been on my mind.
It’s all the people that lost the opportunity to find and connect with others when I put CLT Shooters on hold these past four years. The ones who never got to launch and grow their passion into something that actually pays their bills. The ones who came to Charlotte, thought it had nothing to offer them creatively, and left.
This thought has haunted me for the past four years. At first I tried to ignore it. Drowning myself in work. But, as great a plan as that was, it fell apart. Who could’ve guessed, right?
Along the way, it was as if I was driving and hit every possible obstacle (don’t even get me started on the number of actual flat tires I’ve had over the past five years — this isn’t me being dramatic, either), letting me know I was clearly not on the right path.
Some might call that the universe; personally I call it God (to each their own, no hate) attempting to guide my extremely hardheaded self onto the right path. And, ironically, that hardheadedness is what might actually help CLT Shooters be successful in its mission.
It’s become clear to me over the past few months that CLT Shooters is the right path for me to take. We’ve hosted four meetups since starting to post again in June. Two that everybody probably knows about and two that people in our Instagram Channel and those that watch our Instagram Story know about (hint, click here).
Our first meetup back, after four years, at Romare Bearden Park and Luminous Lane was a pretty good success, with 30–40 people coming out — even if it did literally rain on our parade briefly. And our TAOH Outdoor Gallery meetup was the largest meetup CLT Shooters has ever hosted or organized, with over 135 people coming out.
If that’s not a sign that I’ve finally found my way back to the correct path, I’m not sure what is. So I have burned the boats and I’m going all in on CLT Shooters. I either make it off the beach and get CLT Shooters moving or—well, there really is no other choice. I don’t have a backup plan and don’t intend on making one. CLT Shooters is going to work.
All of that is to say: what started as a way for me to learn has evolved into a personal mission.
Build the thing our city has been missing — a foundation for Charlotte’s creative industry to grow to the next level and then continue to evolve and grow.
A creative industry built for photographers, filmmakers, creators, artists of all types, and art appreciators alike, who can connect with each other, grow their craft, work on real projects that establish this city as a creative hub, and actually allow creatives the economic opportunities to build careers that allow them to sustain themselves.
That mission is now at the center of everything we’re doing. CLT Shooters is no longer just a meetup group. It’s an ecosystem and the starting foundation this city needs to take the next step to grow into a creative hub.
And like anything worth building, we’re approaching it in phases and starting from the ground up. Below is the roadmap that outlines where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we’re headed next. These timelines reflect our current pace, but if our community grows, our team expands, support increases, and we book a whole lot of shoots, we can move even faster.
Phase 1: Laying the Foundation of CLT Shooters (Complete)
The first phase of the CLT Shooters relaunch was all about building a solid base to grow from. I learned a lot from the over 100 events that we hosted before the CLT Shooters pause in 2021. I have put a lot of thought and time into developing a plan that will help CLT Shooters become a force that helps take Charlotte, as a city, to the next level creatively and beyond.
During this most recent phase, we developed our website, built internal systems, and created the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will allow us to scale effectively and efficiently.
Our website will act as the central hub of our operations and network. It will be our main point of distribution for all of our content. Here we will post the most in-depth analysis, tutorials, videos, articles, and stories, with our members getting full access to everything that we’re working on.
This stage was never meant to be flashy; it was about establishing the framework for everything that follows. That’s why we’ve been basically radio silent for the last two months. With that groundwork and foundation in place, we’re now able to launch real offerings, operate more strategically, and expand with purpose.
Phase 2: Expanding the Creative Hub feature on our Website (Current — Estimated Completion mid-December)
We’ve now entered Phase 2, where CLT Shooters begins to grow outward. This phase is focused on expanding our platform and building the ecosystem that will power the future of CLT Shooters, and hopefully, Charlotte’s creative economic industry.
Here’s what’s happening right now:
Membership Launch: We’re introducing our membership program, giving creatives and those who like and appreciate art deeper access to opportunities, events, resources, our full video library, community forum, and other features. Click here to become a member.
Services Rollout: We’re launching our core photography and video services, designed to connect clients directly with local creative talent. This is going to be the main source of revenue that will allow us to grow in the short term. Click here to book a consultation for a shoot.
Content Expansion: We’re ramping up our content — articles, features, and video storytelling across our website, social channels, and network.
This is where CLT Shooters starts becoming more than an idea. It becomes a living platform, growing day by day.
Here’s what’s to come next during this phase:
Creative Hub Expansion: We will be growing the Creative Hub tab and feature on our website. It will include more resources for creatives, like directories of local studios, camera shops, and other resources necessary to operate as a visual creator and storyteller.
Video Library: Our video library is going to play a key role in how we grow moving forward and lay the foundation for later phases. Here we will post all of the BTS of what CLT Shooters is doing, photo and video tips & tricks, tutorials, interviews, and more. Our video library will be publicly accessible to an extent, with our members having full access to the complete library and videos that we post.
Phase 3: Events Expansion (Estimated Completion End of February)
Next, we’re scaling the events side of CLT Shooters. Workshops, styled shoots, meetups, and networking events will all become more frequent and more purposeful. These gatherings will continue to fuel collaboration and help creatives build skills, portfolios, and real-world connections.
Phase 4: Member Experience Upgrade (Estimated Completion end of April)
As the membership community grows, we’ll invest in making it stronger and more valuable for those who sign up. Phase 4 is about enhancing our membership and introducing the CLT Creatorverse. A “simulation” taking place in the real world. (If you grew up in Charlotte, think Exchange City — but for adults — specifically running a media company.)
The CLT Creatorverse will allow our members to “operate” a real-world simulated “media company.” This “media company” will allow our members the opportunity to work on community projects like their own internal “newspaper publication,” plan actual events like style shoots and networking events that the public can attend, and much more. Sorry, but we can’t give away too much of what’s to come!
I will say this: the CLT Creatorverse is being designed to be a fun, simulated, but real-world experience that allows creatives the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in skills that they can transfer to their personal lives and launch their own ventures, initiatives, or enhance their careers.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time developing the idea, how it will function, and surveying numerous people for their thoughts on the concept and ways to improve it. The feedback has been extremely helpful and useful. To those that I’ve talked to about it, thank you for your input! This is one of the features I’m personally most excited to share!
Phase 5: Productions and Magazine Launch (Estimated, End of April)
The next major leap for CLT Shooters is to start launching our own productions, like the relaunch and release of our magazine. This phase marks our official move into original creative production — telling stories, producing video series, documentaries, and podcasts, and showcasing the people and projects shaping Charlotte’s creative scene.
We’re targeting May or June for the magazine launch, a milestone that will establish CLT Shooters as not just a platform, but a voice in the Charlotte creative landscape. And yes, this phase will hopefully be happening simultaneously with Phase 4.
We’ve tried one before, and even though it did make it to print, we encountered numerous problems along the way. Ordering, shipping, and distribution caused us a plethora of issues, though the submission and selection phase was smooth. Our community did their part, but CLT Shooters fell short, and ultimately, that blame lands on me.
But to me, failure is a good thing. It’s part of the process needed to grow. Without failure, you never learn anything. If you never try, you never find out if something is even possible.
I found out that it is most certainly possible; it just has to be done in a well-planned and executed manner. You can’t just throw stuff at the wall and hope something sticks.
Sponsorships will play a big role in the success of our magazine. We are going to need to build a team and pay that team pretty well, considering what they will be building and the impact it will hopefully have on our city and the creatives who live in it.
This will not be just a print magazine — that’s too easy.
Not to mention the production and distribution costs associated with printing and distributing the magazine to everyone who orders it — and, hopefully, having it for sale (or maybe even found for free if we find the right sponsors — looking at you, “financial and executive hub” of Charlotte; ready to make this a truly creative city? You can contact us here) — in many businesses around Charlotte.
Phase 6: Scaling Services and Major Events (Mid-Summer 2026 Launch)
Once productions are underway, we’ll focus on scaling our services and producing larger projects. This means more robust offerings for clients, expanded collaboration with businesses, and the introduction of festivals, gallery shows, and major public events.
This is the stage where CLT Shooters truly moves beyond the creative community itself and begins connecting Charlotte’s creative culture with broader audiences.
Long-Term Vision: Studio and Creative Campus (End of 2026 and Beyond)
Our ultimate goal is ambitious. To establish a large-scale studio and true creative campus built specifically for this community. It will be a home for productions, workshops, events, and collaboration. A physical space that anchors everything CLT Shooters is becoming. A place that will foster the creative economic growth that this city so desperately needs.
This isn’t a distant dream. It’s the natural evolution of what we’re building and where we’re going. Every step we take now is designed to take us there. It’s up to us, the creatives of Charlotte, to stop standing around waiting for someone to come save us.
This city has made it very clear that it does not care about creatives. There have been some advancements made with new local legislation and murals being painted everywhere, sure. But we are far from becoming the creative city that we CAN be.
The economic opportunity exists in this city. This city is literally referred to as the “financial center” of the Southeast. Do not pretend that the means to make this a creative city don’t exist — they do. We’re not asking for a handout. We’re asking for support. We, the creatives, will build it, and they will come.
The East Coast as a whole is becoming home to major productions and production studios. We’re talking about studios that bring in BILLIONS of dollars of economic value and revenue to their locality. It’s not like this isn’t a good investment opportunity for us as a city.
Why can’t Charlotte have a piece of that?
Well, we’re here to tell you that Charlotte WILL have a piece of that. With or without the support of the major institutions, businesses, and organizations in this city. And we’re bringing a very large piece of it here so we can ALL eat at this table.
How You Can Help Us Get There
The best way to support CLT Shooters and help accelerate this roadmap is simple: become a member and refer clients to us for photo and video services.
If you’re a business or someone who runs an organization, reach out to us. We offer various ways to promote what you’re doing in our network and offer even more ways for you to sponsor us and our creative projects.
Every membership, every project, and every collaboration helps us grow faster and build more for Charlotte’s creative community.
We’ve laid the foundation. We’re expanding quickly. And with your support, we’ll build something much bigger than any one event or project. We’ll build the home Charlotte’s creative industry deserves!
Become a Member: click here
Book a Shoot: click here
Sponsor CLT Shooters: click here
Roadmap Article Written By: Lucas Ayres. Founder/Owner of CLT Shooters
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