Video & Photography · Rockwall, TX

Samuel Rader

RN, BSN, 1 Billion views

Visual Storyteller

Videography Work

A Day in the Life of Juliet

Narrative
This is who Juliet is at this exact age: how she eats an avocado, what she says when she thinks no one is listening, the rhythm of her routines. The whole film is built so her family can return to this version of her after this version is gone.
Role
Commissioned filmmaker. I independently shot, directed, edited, structured, and delivered the final video.
Objective
Capture a meaningful snapshot of Juliet’s life at age six, including her personality, toys, routines, relationships, and everyday details.
Audience
Juliet’s parents and family as a personal keepsake.
Independent vs. Team-Based
Independently produced. The family provided access and context; I handled the full creative process.
Timeline / Constraints
Filmed around a young child’s natural routine, with an emphasis on authentic, unstaged moments.

From Foster Care to the Holy Land

Narrative
A story about belonging. These are kids who spent their childhoods waiting to feel placed somewhere. The film follows them across a week where, for the first time, somebody very intentionally said: you matter.
Role
Filmmaker and editor. I shot, directed, conducted all interviews, edited, structured, and delivered the final video.
Objective
Create a five-minute recap of a week-long Israel trip for teenagers and young adults aging out of foster care.
Audience
Connections Homes supporters, donors, families, partners, and the youth involved.
Team-Based
The trip was a team effort involving Connections Homes, Ty Montgomery, My 10 Percent, FIRM: Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries, and other supporting partners. I independently handled the creative production.
Timeline / Constraints
Filmed during a week-long international trip while working with camera-shy youth. A key part of my role was building trust and helping them feel comfortable on camera. The video needed to be under five minutes long.

Ministry Promo Video: Bold Men

Narrative
A story about being known. Men carrying addictions tend to carry them alone. The message underneath is you are not the worst thing about you, and you are not alone in this room.
Role
Commissioned filmmaker. I led the full creative process, including directing, conducting all interviews, studio filming with multiple cameras and lights, capturing all B-roll shown, audio, production, editing, and some scripting.
Objective
Create a video under five minutes that introduced Bold Men, a Rockwall church ministry for men struggling with addiction, while also introducing the founder, Bryan, and his heart behind the ministry.
Audience
Men facing addiction, church members, ministry leaders, and potential participants who needed to know they were not alone.
Independent vs. Team-Based
The ministry was church-led, but the creative production was independently handled by me. I was brought in to provide direction, structure, and a clear emotional vision for the video.
Timeline / Constraints
The ministry was still getting off the ground and had little creative direction. The video needed to be concise, emotionally impactful, and sensitive to the personal nature of addiction.
Additional Work
Following this piece, I was hired to produce a series of additional testimonial videos for Bold Men. Out of respect for the men involved, those interviews are sensitive in nature and not shared publicly.

Russia-Ukrainian Evacuation Documentary (Vlog Style)

Narrative
A story about contrast. The last time Jewish families fled this part of the world, they were shipped off to concentration camps. Today, their grandchildren are being treated very differently. The piece holds two histories next to each other and lets the difference between them speak.
Overview
A brief preview from a larger five-video documentary project I produced in Poland, documenting a humanitarian evacuation effort helping Jewish refugees fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war continue on to Israel through the process of Aliyah. The project required sensitive, respectful storytelling while capturing families, volunteers, and staff during a vulnerable and historic moment.
Role
Videography, documentary coverage, visual storytelling, on-site production.
Objective
Document the evacuation and transition of Jewish refugees through Poland to Israel.
Audience
Donors, organizational stakeholders, supporters, and the broader public.
Relevance
Demonstrates sensitive storytelling in a humanitarian setting, trust-building with vulnerable subjects, and the ability to capture emotionally significant real-world events with care and professionalism.

Professional Restaurant Story Reels

Narrative
A short, catchy story for each restaurant, built to catch an audience mid-scroll and make the place stick in their memory long after the reel ends. To keep production affordable for small business clients, I deliberately blend AI generated visuals with live footage as supplemental B-roll. Fewer shoot hours, same polished result.
Role
Lead filmmaker and creative director. I designed every part of production: script, shoot, audio, logo, the original end-card song, and edited the videos from start to finish.
Objective
Bring local restaurants to life through a series of short vertical reels for Hub for Yum, capturing each spot’s personality and inviting viewers to try it.
Audience
Hub for Yum’s social followers, local diners, and the restaurants’ own communities.
Independent vs. Team-Based
Worked directly with each restaurant owner during pre-production and on-site filming. The full creative process, from concept through finished reel, was independently designed and delivered.
Timeline / Constraints
Each reel needed to capture a unique restaurant’s personality inside a short, vertical, scroll-stopping format optimized for social platforms, while sharing a consistent Hub for Yum brand throughline.

Personal Video Projects

Naming Our Baby
Celebrating Juneteenth
Quarters in the Pool

Personal Social Media Reels

Childhood
Made on Purpose
Three Tiered Pool
A Giant Cross
Samuel Rader holding a camera outdoors in Jerusalem
Samuel and his family
Samuel being silly with his son
Samuel having fun
Samuel Rader in scrubs

About

Samuel Rader

I’m a visual storyteller with more than 20 years of experience in video production, photography, and emotionally driven content creation. My background includes photographing over 100 weddings as the primary photographer, creating countless portrait sessions, and working with a wide range of companies and organizations in the photography and media space. I’ve also built and grown a YouTube channel to over 2.5 million subscribers and more than 1 billion views, sharing personal video projects and family stories with a global audience.

Much of this creative work developed alongside my career as a registered ER nurse, giving me a unique blend of technical production experience and real world clinical perspective. I’m comfortable working in sensitive, high trust environments where professionalism, discretion, compassion, and clear communication matter.

As a father of four children, ages 16 to 5, I also understand how meaningful it is to tell stories involving children and families with care, dignity, and emotional honesty. My work is centered on authentic human moments, stories that help people feel seen, understood, and connected.

I value collaboration, organized workflows, thoughtful planning, and creative work that serves a larger purpose. Whether I’m filming, photographing, directing, editing, or shaping a story from concept to final delivery, my goal is always to create visual content that is technically strong, emotionally clear, and aligned with the mission of the organization I’m representing.