After being actively involved with photographers of all types for quite a long time, I have met successful shooters and those who have not made it. There are a gazillion excuses for failing at this business. (And a few reasons as well. But excuses are different than reasons.) I have heard them all. Again and again.

I have decided that it would be easier to simply catalog all the great excuses photographers can use for failing at business. This list is intended to help you decide in advance which excuse will work for you. And that will save you time, and get you going. Having goals are important, and if you want to fail, I am here to help you establish some goals.

That’s me. Mr. Helpful.

If you haven’t figured out that I am tongue in cheek here, I am. I don’t want anyone to fail. I love success. I love it when other folks succeed. I want photographers to succeed. It’s good for the industry. It’s good for people.

Unfortunately, failure is most definitely something we all have to deal with. It is a competitive field. That’s a reality.

But there are things that photographers do that exacerbate the challenges we already have to face. We are going to look at 10 of them. If you recognize any that seem, well… recognizable, here is a chance for you to reverse the trend as they say.

NOTE: EDIT 9/17: One additional Nifty, Excellent Excuse added.

Workshop Information:
Minneapolis was a blast. This weekend is in Phoenix, then off to St. Louis (still have a few openings there) and after St. Louis is Mexico. If you haven’t heard about the Mexico workshop, take a look at Learn to Light for more information.

Next years workshop schedule is being worked on now. We should be scheduling through the year very soon. I hope if you are considering a workshop next year, that you take a look at Learn to Light and the Lighting Essentials Workshop.

I would like to invite you to email or call me anytime if you have any questions about the workshop, and if you like the new approach to the blog, let me know that as well.

So let’s get on with the 10 Nifty, Excellent Excuses to Fail at Photography.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #1:
“Crappy gear. I couldn’t afford the best gear.”

Believing that you have to have the best of the best to be a photographer is a sure fire way to head down a rabbit hole of self-doubt. Blaming the camera, the lenses, the tripod… whatever, for not being able to make a good photograph is a cop-out. There are many ways to make photographs with D90′s and Rebels and Sony’s and Oly’s… The ways are tried and true.

Make good photographs.

Concepts, lighting, execution, and the creation of a good photograph is something that can be done with the simplest equipment. Can’t afford the best strobe system… OK – well there is natural light and cheap EBay strobes and all kinds of things that can be used to make photographs. Good photographs.

6 years ago, ads were being shot on 10D’s. With no problems. Today, the forums will make you believe that you have to have a 5DMKII or a D3 to make good photographs. (Not a slam at those wonderful cameras, BTW.) And that simply isn’t true. Window light is free. A piece of white board is nearly free. I don’t think there is a modern camera out there that could not make an image fit for most local and regional advertising – with good lighting and good concept and good execution.

If you can’t make a photograph with the simplest of gear, you won’t do too much more with a studio full of the best.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #2:
“I am way too busy to take any time to market myself.”

Being really busy is a blessing these days. And I know how busy busy can be.

So?

When someone tells me that they are too busy to do the things that will sustain them, I don’t want to hear it. Sorry… marketing is simply a fact of life.

Get up an hour earlier two days a week. Turn off the TV one hour a night. Airport wait times, hotel downtime, time in the air, even weekend mornings. Come on… don’t tell me you can’t do some marketing in those times. There is time to do something that is meaningful when you only have a few hours a week.

Start an email campaign, a blog or work on a PDF mailer or… look, there are tons of ways to market yourself in short bursts.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #3:
“I’m struggling to find work, I can’t market now.”

See above. Sort of a problem, eh? Either too busy to market or it’s too slow and marketing takes a backseat.

Got it. You just don’t want to market. Not a good plan. No marketing, no leads, no business.

Which leads us to why you are slow now. When things are slow, it is imperative to market your work. It is the most important thing you can do. You have to get your work out to the people who hire you. There are no excuses.

Sure you may be a little down. Maybe feeling a little depressed. OK. But you cannot be depressed and actively working hard at the same time. Action makes things happen. Inaction leads to no movement. Get busy to get busy.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #4:
“I just couldn’t handle the business part. I’m such an artist.”

Yeah, well… that’s pretty stupid.

You can get around the complexities of a D3, or make movies on your 5DMKII and you can’t figure out QuickBooks? Lighting a set with 6 lights, managing a crew of three and keeping 6 models, MUA’s and stylists on track to get the required shots done in the time allotted… that you can do. Figuring out how to bill for that stumps you?

Really?

There are mentors out there. Small business accountants. Community Colleges, online resources, family members and more, ready to help you sit down and figure out what you need to do to keep the wheels under you. It really isn’t that hard.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #5:
“I never got my portfolio together.”

So you were too busy… uh… what? Shooting? That makes no sense. That means you have pictures. What I hear is that there is no commitment to those pictures, no commitment to the portfolio.

You must ask yourself what it is you are doing? Are you a photographer for the thrill of the shoot? Or a photographer for the thrill of the work? If all that interests you is the physicality of the shoot… the cameras and the lights and the models, it may be of no interest to see what all that culminates in.

Let me explain it this way. There are some shooters who never get the images to the models they shot. I hear it all the time from models who did a test shoot (TFP for MM’ers) and never got the shots. The photographer says he/she is too busy and will get to them when they can.

Those photographers are enamored with the act of shooting. The finished image is of no interest to them… they only want to keep shooting.

FAIL.

An equally bad behavior is the photographer who simply puts all of their images on a DVD and gives it to the model. No thought to how their image is going to be represented to the world when the model gives it to a friend who post-processes it badly. Again… all that was interesting to them was the shoot itself, not the product from the shoot.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #6:
“I spent too much on gear I didn’t use.”

Yeah. Great.

Before you go out and buy that 1.2 lens, ask yourself if you need it or want it. Needing a piece of equipment is way different than wanting a new and shiny gizmo.

Look – I am not aiming this at the hobbyist who finds it delightful to have a bag-full-o-L-lenses. Or even the emerging photographer who already has this stuff and is starting out in the business.

I am talking about the emerging photographer who starts spending every dollar they get on new this and that and whatever. There are things you need and there are things you want. But in commercial photography you must have reserve funds to get you through the times when clients take a bit too long to pay, or for emergencies.

And these days, getting bank loans and lines of credit are a hell of a lot harder to do. So you need to adapt to the modern times of not being able to float credit to get through tough times. Just as clients are getting leaner and meaner, photographers must as well.

You must decide if it is something you simply think would be cool to have, or absolutely necessary. Absolutely. Necessary.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #7:
“I just couldn’t get my pricing up to a profitable level.”

That one is easy. Your pricing should have been at a profitable level when you started.

Seriously.

Business cannot be started by taking a loss on every sale but making it up in volume? You have to begin making money (profit or near profit) from the start.

That means that you have to know what it takes to be in business, and what you will need to sustain that business as you grow that business. If that sounds daunting, see number 4 above.

Here is a sobering thought. If you have built a good portfolio, gotten that work in front of a ton of people, received a lot of RFP’s and not gotten a single one… maybe there is something else going on. Perhaps outside eyes are needed. You cannot sustain this business if you cannot land a gig.

If you are too high, you may not get the job because they think you are pricing yourself at a level above where their confidence in you lies. Not devastating to your ability to keep seeing them to build that confidence.

If you are too low, you decrease their confidence level at a precipitous rate because you are demonstrating that you are NOT capable of doing the shoot. Did you miss items in the bid that others have lined out? Was your fee totally out of the range of the real value of the job?

In order to know, you have to research and be involved. APA, ASMP and other groups exist to help understand what it costs to do what we do.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #8:
“I tried, really I did. but I couldn’t make what I was making at my other job so I sold my stuff and went back to work after 8 months.”

Eight Whole Months, eh. What… you thought it was easy? Or maybe you were seduced by all the comments you got on your Flickr pics? Or was the belief that you had all the top glass and top bodies and top lights so how could you lose enough to drive you from your 9-5? If you had done your research, planned your move and been prepared… well. We may never know.

I don’t want to sound rude here, but this business is not ‘easy’ nor is it a slam dunk no matter what gear you have. It takes a totally dedicated, calculated, and smart approach to get to the first rungs on the ladder. And it takes discipline, self motivation and a thick skin to adversity to keep the climb going.

I think it takes about 2 years to get to a solid base point, and about 7-8 years to get to a place where the work is beginning to get you the attention you deserve (if indeed you deserve it). There is usually no fast track. And there is usually no short cuts. There are the occasional ‘rock stars’ who come out of nowhere with meteoric rise. That is nice when it happens. It should not be a part of your business plan.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #9:
“I tried everything, but I couldn’t get anything going…”

If your website navigation looked something like this:

portraits
> on location
> in studio
people
> kids
> adults
> babies
> couples
> families
commercial
> products
> still life
> jewelry
> tech
food
> prepared
> raw
> beverages
weddings
events
aerials
real estate

Well… you get the idea…

You cannot be all things to all people. Especially starting out. Define and refine. Create a style that transcends the actual category and delivers a cohesive look to what you shoot. And even then, try to keep it to only a few genres.

Give the buyer something to make of what you do so they can decide if you are right for the job. If you confuse them, then you are done. An art buyer is too busy to try to figure out what your message and offering is when there are others that are much simpler and easy to understand.

The problem may not have been your work, but the fact that you didn’t present it in a way that made sense. Wedding photographers usually are not food photographers. (I am sure there is an exception or two so please… hold your emails…) The two areas are fairly disparate.

Confusing to the art buyer as they wonder which you are REALLY good at.

Nifty Excellent Excuse #10:
“I didn’t Show Up.”

You have to show up. Period.

I am not talking about being on time to meetings… I am talking about being alive and being a photographer. Showing up means walking the walk and being the best you can be. It means ethical and positive interactions with clients and support people.

In Selina Maitreya’s excellent book on Freelancing (How to Succeed in Commercial Photography) she states that the most important thing an artist can do in this business is to show up. By the way, check out Selina’s brand new audio book on Commercial Photographers and survival in changing times.

Stay connected, involved and engaged with all you do. Understand what it means to be self-employed and the discipline that comes with it. Have a well balanced life with interests and believe in yourself. Gather support people around you and clear out the nay-sayers. Find ways to clear the mind and grow your creativity with self awareness and a positive energy.

And keep shooting.

Added 9/17
Nifty Excellent Excuse #11:
“How could I work with all the stupid AD’s and uncreative clients.”

Agreed. Must be terribly difficult to work with ignorant, self-centered and arrogant people. Your clients know first hand, right?

If you are one of those photographers who thinks that the clients you work with and the people who Art Direct you are stupid and not creative and the ‘enemy’, then get the hell out of the business.

Professional photographers – professional anyone – who constantly bemoan the people that hire them are out of touch with reality. Or over the top navel gazers. If no one really recognizes how incredibly talented you are, it probably says more about you than them.

Embrace the people you want to work with. Like them. Support them. Help them by showing up – and bringing the intelligence, awareness and communication skills to let them like you and support you. Treating the people who hire and work with you as the enemy… wow. This isn’t an excuse, it’s a full on intervention.

There are other ways to foil yourself, to create places of personal destruction and creative hell. We didn’t talk about specifics on what kind of work actually sells and how to create a totally negative creative image… we’ll have fun with that at another time.

Thanks for dropping by. I hope you take this information with the spirit intended. As I said… I am not interested in helping people fail. I love success.

I take an ice cold Corona and raise it to your success.

If you like this article, please tweet it or send it any one of the social networks you belong to. There is a cool little widget back top to the right to allow you to do just that. You can follow me on Twitter.

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Daron Shade is a Tucson, Arizona photographer. We have a great interview here and a few of Daron’s photographs to enjoy.

But first an update on some changes here at Lighting Essentials. For quite a while I have been working to find my voice and deliver the kind of information that is necessary and needed in the field. The workshops have helped me find what people are looking for and make some changes in direction.

There are a lot of beginner sites out there. From just starting out to having fun with lots of lights to learning how to compose better images. There are some really good ones, and there is no need for another one. There are also sites devoted to the high-end photographers… with discussions of $200,000 budgets and how to pack to take 4 assistants and gear to Nepal to make photos for some big time ad agency. Very cool. Fun to read.

But there aren’t very many sites for the emerging photographer. The photographer who has been working at it for a while and is beginning to, or has already started to become a semi-pro or professional. Photographers who work in smaller towns than New York or San Francisco may find discussions on $250,000 budgets for a week of work a little otherworldly. From models to make-up artists to support personnel to art directors, there can be quite a different set of realities when working in smaller markets.

That is where Lighting Essentials is going to try to fit itself in. We want to work with the photographers who are serious about it, but may not be currently working in NY or SF or Miami. There are a hell of a lot of photographers out there in smaller markets. And although it is fun to read about a photographer who travels the world shooting celebrities, or hunkering down in a huge, beautiful studio to make shots of the top models in NY, most photographers will not get to experience that. Not right away, at least.

They have to go from where they are to where they can be. I believe that we limit ourselves more than we are limited by external influences. Hard work, strong vision, diligence and more hard work can go much farther than most people think it can. With the knowledge that can be gained from mentors, competitors, books, websites and more, a photographer from Akron or Boise or any other city can achieve more than they think they can… even without moving to NY.

Lighting Essentials will begin to focus more on providing solid information for the emerging photographer. Of course the site will welcome any and all, but I hope that this little format change can help Lighting Essentials deliver content that is a little different, and more relevant to this important set of photographers.

Let me know what you think as we go along. Please.

Previous Interviews:
Tom Miles – London
Chris Bohnhoff – Minneapolis
Claire Curran Corbett – Texas
Eduardo Frances – San Salvador
Kirk Tuck – Austin

Now, on to Tucson Photographer Daron Shade and his Lighting Essentials Interview.

1. How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?

I first worked as a full time professional photographer in the early 1990’s, but only lasted a few years before I had to supplement that income. I have to say that it’s been a slow transition but I’ve been full time again for about 5 solid years now, supplementing with web design as necessary.

2. How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?

I got my start back in 1990 shooting non-traditional sports when I was sidelined due to injuries. I had some images published in magazines but mostly sold prints to participants in racing and paintball. That fall, I went to college and shot for the school’s alternative newspaper. This is about the same time I picked up the Ansel Adams books “the camera”,” the negative”, and “the print.” I think this is when the technical side of photography started to come into focus for me. We shot exclusively tri-x at the paper and often went to print 15 minutes after a news event. Since we were the new alt paper, we were in a constant race to provide better content quicker than the official school rag. I learned how to work under tight deadlines, pull processing to save time and often printing terribly thin and still wet negatives.

From there, I moved on to working in various darkrooms including one for a news agency that was tied to Christian Missionaries. I would receive film each day from all over the 3rd world and process according to the notes scribbled on the canister. Contact sheets to the editor, print the choices, and off they went to the AP and other news agencies.

Later, I started working as an assistant. My first exposure to the commercial photography world was with a great photographer in my home town, Scott Canouse. I didn’t work with Scott very long before leaving for New York City, but in that short time I learned a whole lot about controlling light and creating commercial images. In hindsight, he’s the mentor that I should have spent a few years with.

From there, I moved to New York for a couple more years and shot when I could and assisted when I had to. I worked with a number of photographers, some famous and some struggling just like I was.

3. Describe an average week at your studio.
A week at my studio is pretty chaotic. I try to organize my schedule around my clients and their needs. In addition to my necessary client relations and shooting, I spend time planning and shooting my portfolio and working on my marketing plan. I make an effort each week to keep in touch with clients that I don’t have a current project with, potential clients, and other business contacts. This includes modern media marketing as well as old fashioned phone calls and mailings. I’m also very active with SEO and watch my rankings and visitor trending every day and map responses to any marketing efforts.

4. Why Tucson? Have you considered anywhere else?

That’s an interesting question. I landed in Tucson for personal reasons and it actually put the brakes on my career. I had been shooting stock landscapes in the northeast full-time for a couple of years before I came to Tucson. I couldn’t find any work and ran out of savings so I had to get a ‘real’ job. That detoured my career for over five years but I was determined to come back.

Though I like Tucson, I have considered a number of other cities. In fact, had been working in Palm Beach quite a bit and almost moved there just before the bottom fell out of the market in 2008. I also have a number of clients in Atlanta and think that it’s a great town. That said, don’t be surprised if you find me on the Skagit river in Washington shooting bald eagles and the North Cascades year round someday.

5. What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?

Creating images is a compulsion for me. I tried making a living elsewhere, but have been drawn back to photography in a way that I can’t explain. My work has become an extension of my imagination and has incorporated itself into the way I think and view the world around me.

I have a notebook with filled with image idea sketches, and I draw from that for both personal and professional assignments. This book also has lists of locations , time of year , time of day and weather conditions I predict would make a remarkable image. I’ve also learned to rely heavily on Google Earth to plan my landscape photography. In fact, I’m going to include a photo for your readers that was visualized and planned using Google Earth. Without that 3d mapping tool, I would have had much more difficulty finding the best location and time of year to capture the depth in this image.

I learned some time ago that to stay creative, I draw inspiration from other mediums of life and art. I watch a lot of older b-flicks at night while I’m working on the computer and dream (literally) of images based on the plot of the movies. Not the cinematography, but the tension and plot. I find that music and movies create a culture of creativity in my mind that is something very different than copying someone else’s work.

6. What is it you like the most about being a photographer? Do you do anything else for a hobby or avocation?

I love the mix of art and science, measurement and judgment, artist and technician. I love having new projects every week and the fact that observing beauty around me is part of my job. To see something differently than anyone else ever has and use light to sculpt and create texture to communicate that vision is very rewarding.

At this point in my life, I’m a full time photographer, husband, and daddy. I still get out on my mountain bike once in a while, but not as much as I would like. Years ago I was quite an adrenaline junky and I think that energy and impact is visible in much of my work.

7. Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?

Having been a photographer for a long time, I’ve learned to adapt to the changes in our industry. What could be considered obstacles, I try to see as areas of opportunity. Take the microstock phenomena for example. It has done us the favor of taking mundane images out of our clients’ hit lists. I can’t remember the last time I was paid to take a boring image of “two guys in suits shaking hands” – Cool! More time to shoot creative stuff.

The downside of this is that a lot of the ‘bread and butter’ jobs are off the table and sometimes we have to branch out into ancillary work within the industry to fill in the down time. Many of us become part-time graphic or web designers. I think this has just become a fact of life for many in the industry and I believe that it keeps our creative vision fresh.

8. What was your most memorable assignment?

I’ve had a lot of great experiences shooting over the years. Memorable assignments have come in different forms – I remember the first of each type of shoot or success – my first NASCAR race, my first exotic car shoot, my first large format commercial gig, double trucks and covers… but as I look over my career and see its evolution, I think the one that may have the most lasting effect on my work and my creativity is one that I’m working on currently. I have been hired by my local city government to shoot a landscape series for a book on the natural heritage of the valley in which I’ve lived for 15 years. I have spent 15 years driving through and around this valley, always planning to ‘someday’ make the time to shoot. It’s helping me refocus on the fact that there’s a beauty around us if we just make the time to see it. Coming right at the time that I’m redefining my work and bringing it a new level of vision for myself, it’s really an amazing opportunity to clear my mind and embrace the art of seeing.

Unlike any other landscape work that I have done, this is clearly a commercial assignment with very specific lighting and image requirements. Shooting images to artfully and accurately illustrate a book that’s in final edit is commercial work, plain and simple. I just happen to be shooting mountains.

It’s something that we as photographers know, but when you are given an assignment like this, it really brings the whole point of photography into clarity. You know, that there’s powerful meaning in the everyday world around us and we pass the same objects every day and never see it. There’s an incredible natural light image near us every day at sunrise whether we live in an apartment building or on a ranch, we just have to plan to be in the right place at the right time.

9. Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”

I had a low budget aerial photo gig a few years ago. I requested a helicopter but the client “knew someone who knew someone” with a Cessna 152. Afraid to say no and risk losing future business, I agreed and we scheduled the shoot. I was on time to meet the pilot at an international airport but he was about an hour late. On the way to the plan, he realized that he forgot the keys at home!. At this point, I’m somewhat afraid to fly with this guy but also afraid to lose the client, so we reschedule but I insist on flying out of a smaller regional airport closer to my office. The following weekend, we meet and fly out to the location to shoot. Unfortunately, I am limited to shooting out the window and the client wants a straight down POV – so the pilot has to go into a tight spiral and basically stand the plane on its wing. We were directly over the shot, in this tight spiral and the pilot backed down on throttle to stabilize for the shot. Then something happened. I don’t know exactly what happened. It might have been a gust of wind or the pilot had a seizure or just screwed up and backed out of the throttle too much. I don’t know exactly how, but we started falling out of the sky. We’re ¾ upside down, freefalling less than 2000 feet off the ground. The plane started to tumble and after what seemed like an hour of freefall, the pilot pulls us out and asks me if I’m ok. Yeah, I’m fine. Right. We get back in position and finish the shoot. The flight back to the airport is uneventful until we’re on our runway approach. We radio the tower and are cleared for landing. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something coming at us quick. Some moron in a sport plane flies directly under us so close that it shakes our Cessna! My pilot was instantly on the radio screaming and swearing at both the tower and the other plane. Needless to say, when we finally landed I was very much relieved. Nowadays, I bid very high on aerial gigs.

10. What would be your ideal assignment?

Ideal assignment, hmm? I never really dream about a single assignment, but rather want for ideal clients that I would work with on an ongoing basis. I just love partnering with creative ad agencies that want to work ‘outside the box’ and provide our clients with epic images that set them apart. To me, it doesn’t matter as long as I have the creative input to work as part of a great team so we can knock the socks off the client.

11. Future plans for Daron and his photography?

My goals are finally pretty clearly defined. I have a small number of ad agencies that I have been working with consistently . I enjoy these relationships, and would like to expand that number by enlisting a representative to help me bring my business to that next level.

12. Tell us a little about your new work…

This has been an interesting year. In the recent past, I had been totally driven by client requirements. In 2009, I was presented with the opportunity to really reinvent myself and paid close attention to your “portfolio challenge”, Don; but I couldn’t figure out what that portfolio challenge should entail for myself and struggled with self-assignments. It sounds crazy coming from someone who’s been shooting for 20 years, but there I was without a clue what type of work I wanted to do and no real idea what set me apart from the sea of other capable photographers out there. By chance meeting, I met portfolio consultant Jain Lemos and happened to have a few prints with me. She saw clear consistencies across a number of very different images, helping me realize and refine my own style. She really set me on the right path to redefining myself.

With that in mind, I have been focusing on creating incredible images- focusing on consistency between subject, style elements, composition, lighting and processing. I have also been hired to do another landscape series for a different client. I would love to see this trend continue.

13 Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?

I’m a Pandoraphile (Pandora.com). I create a ‘station’ based on my mood and let it run. To be honest, my listening preference is totally based on what I’m shooting. I find music affects my mood immensely so I will play something that sets the tone or allow the client to choose.

Visit Daron’s site here or send him a note here:

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Thanks, Daron.

I hope you all enjoyed Daron’s interview. We will be back this week with a post on gear and some ideas about what to do when things are slow.

BTW: If you liked this post, please let other people know by twitter or any of the other Social Media buttons above on the right.

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Tom Miles joins us for an LE Interview that I know you will find fun and inspiring. August is traditionally a slow month for me, but not this one. Big event taking place all month (secret – you’ll have to wait) and it is keeping every spare moment filled. Seriously.

Last weekend was a Seattle Workshop at SPA, and it was really amazing. They have a great studio there and provided models and MUA’s and a terrific stylist and the students were simply on fire. I don’t know what it is about Seattle, but there is some really vibrant photography going on in that town. To all of you who came and worked with the workshop gang, thank you.

We started Friday evening with a 3 hour discussion on the business side of photography, preparing for becoming professional even part time. It was the first time I had presented this talk, and it went really well. I am thinking that I might add a slide show to the presentation. If so, it will be available to all the workshop attendees ever… that is my policy. We don’t do no upsell, kids.

Saturday we were in the studio and worked with 1 and 2 light setups. Cloudiness became less dark in the afternoon so teams went to a small area and made some amazing shots with big lights outside – gotta love those Vagabonds.

Sunday started with rain while we calibrated our speedlights and worked with some modifiers. Blending and beating ambient was academic part and we worked outside to perfect distance/power understanding.

Then the sky cleared, we had sun and headed to the water for a most amazing daylight shoot. Students mixed flash and sunlight and shot natural light and it was amazing. Watch for a Seattle post soon of some of the shots they did. If you may be interested in a workshop this Fall, take a look at Learntolight.com for more information.

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UPDATE:
A wonderful blog post on Microstock by Mark Stout was just sent to me. If you are considering MicroStock, you may want to take a moment to read this well written and researched article.

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BTW… if you want to keep up with the exploits of your host, you can follow me on twitter. And I am on FaceBook as well. If you are a Facebook member, look me up.

I hope to be able to share some wonderful changes with you on the first of September, so stay tuned.

Now on to Tom Miles and a wonderful interview as he answers the (in)famous LE 12…

1. How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?

Amateur at 13 (1991), and mucked about for 2 years. Did work experience at the local paper when I was 15, and never really looked back. Worked for them and myself for the next 2 years whilst still at school, then went to study at Blackpool for a degree in photography. Got more work experience whilst there, but this time down in London with advertising and fashion photographers. After leaving college (1998) I started out as a photographers assistant and had a fantastic time working for about 30 different photographers over 3 years. Digital wasn’t on the scene yet, and I worked with almost any and every technical setup you can imagine, from huge film sets to still lives, and from 35mm up to 10×8”, in which I became a bit of an expert. I’m convinced I hold the world record for the most 10×8” polaroids processed in a day (286 if anyone fancies challenging it)

I got a lucky break within 9 months of starting assisting. One of the photographers I worked for was also the creative director of a magazine, so could commission work as well as shoot it. He started handing me some of his smaller jobs, and I built things up from there. In May 2001 I officially retired from assisting, and have been shooting for myself ever since.

2. How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?

I’ve kind of answered the first part, but can provide more detail for the second.

I was blessed with some marvellous mentors. John Robertson, who took me under his wing when I was 15 at the local paper, and Geoff Clarke, who was my tutor at college, were probably the main two. Besides these guys I had the benefit of assisting some awesome photographers, and was able to learn lots of business and technical stuff from them, whilst also getting paid. I still believe that assisting is the best way into the business, but recognise that these days it’s harder and harder to make a living.

As far as great stories goes I could probably ramble on for ever, but since we’re talking about starting out I’ll stick to a faintly relevant one! When I applied to Blackpool college I was in the all too familiar situation of being on my own – I didn’t have the required basics to get on the course, and should have done at least a year’s study of Art Foundation. However, I was allowed through the door, and got to the interview with 2 tutors (one of whom was the aforementioned Geoff Clarke). They looked through my portfolio in about 15 seconds and then started to grill me. The fact that I had no art background obviously concerned them, but they latched on to my A-level in English literature, and mined that seam. Questions like “which themes within Shakespeare do you feel reflect on your daily life?” and “How do you stand on the argument between a traditional Omnipotent God, and the idea of an Omnipresent natural deity, as put forward in “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”? I answered as best as I could, and walked out thinking I’d blown it. 2 weeks later, an unconditional place arrives on the mat, and I’m very pleasantly surprised.

Cut to the first night at college, and there’s a small welcome do, upstairs in a pub (Blackpool’s not a big college….) After a little dutch courage I wandered over to one of the tutors from the interview and asked him in no uncertain terms, what the hell the interview was about. He scowled at me, as if trying to recall who I was, then a wave of recognition crossed his face:

“Oh yeah, you were that young kid who had no Art. Well, we knew you could take a decent photograph, but we wanted to know if you could THINK. And you could, so you’re in.”

3. Describe an average week at your studio.

Don’t have a studio, as I hire them when required (rents in London are prohibitive, and would add massively to my overheads). I also genuinely don’t have an average week. Last week I was in the studio twice, once to shoot some covers for Men’s Fitness as well as some features stuff, and then the second studio shoot was for Inside Poker, again covers and features stuff. I was also shooting on location in a Gym with some guys doing Krav Maga. And I shot an old friends wedding on Saturday, but never charge for that sort of thing and don’t consider it work. This week I’ve only been shooting once, and that was more Men’s Fitness covers and features in the studio. Next week I’m shooting some Judo, followed by flying over to Corsica for a few days to photograph something called Mouvement Naturelle, which looks very cool.

On average I probably shoot about 3 times a week, 2 of those would be on location (and that can be literally anywhere) and 1 would be in a studio. I tend to use the same studios for shooting in, my favourite probably being the Lemonade Factory, as they’re great people to work with.

4. Why London? Have you considered anywhere else?

London is the centre of the publishing, advertising, design and media industry in the UK, hence the vast majority of my clients are here. When I first left college I was determined to only come down to London for a brief period, then move back to somewhere with better access to mountains for a different quality of life. This pipe dream was soon stifled when I realised that:

a) The commercial photography market outside London is considerably smaller. It’s possible to make a living, and I know a few mates who do, but the opportunities are fewer and further between.

b) Things were going so well, so soon after moving to London that I realized I’d be stupid to leave it.

11 years after moving here, and now of course I can’t contemplate moving. I love the city, probably 80% or more of my friends live here, and I’ve got everything (apart from mountains) on my doorstep. I can get on a bus and go and watch Ian Mckellen and Patrick Stewart at the theatre, and walk home if I feel inclined, just like I did the other weekend!

5. What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?

These days I’m usually motivated slightly more by situations and things, rather than images. I’ll read about something, or chat to someone, and think “that’d be cool to photograph”, and then go out and try and do it. Besides that I’m generally motivated by the job itself, and the opportunities it creates – see next question for more extrapolation.

Inspiration still comes from visual sources as well though. Other photographers work, exhibitions, web sites, magazines, books, well-shot films and so on. Ever since college I’ve got into the habit of building a “sourcebank” of visual reference material, and with the internet these days it’s mostly become a huge bookmarks folder of websites and images I love as well as an ever-growing folder on the computer. What I enjoy these days is the ease with which stuff can be tracked down. I can watch a film, track down the cinematographer on IMDB, and then find everything else they’ve done, for example. Just the other week I watched the surprisingly good Outpost, expecting it to be a proper turkey. Not only was it an enjoyable film, but it was beautifully shot, and the DP has his own site, which also looks very cool.

I’m also lucky that I have a very inspirational group of friends. Amongst my mates I can count animators, curators, radio producers, designers, policemen, doctors, pilots, biologists, teachers, soldiers, sportsmen, authors, along with a host of other diverse and interesting people. I’m never short of a new outlook or approach with people like this around me, and they’re a never ending source of inspiration. I learnt at college that a creative person is best served by having lots of differing opinions around them, as long as these opinions are well argued rather than simply dogmatic. Once you start to add such a breadth of experience as I’m exposed to it only makes the mix all the richer.

6. What is it you like the most about being a photographer? Do you do anything else for a hobby or avocation?

There are many things I love about my job, but after all these years I think the best thing is getting to meet and work with truly exceptional people, on a regular basis, and being placed in interesting situations all the time. When I’m sent to photograph someone it’s usually because they’re exceptional in some way. They may be Olympic Athletes, cancer survivors, millionaires, or any number of things. I’ve always been attracted to people who stand out from the crowd a bit, and I guess that side of my nature is very fulfilled shooting what I shoot.

There are 2 other great aspects of this. Firstly I get to actually “hang out” with these people, often quite closely, and sometimes for a decent period of time, or we get to share a good experience together. It’s really very special to end up having beers in the pub with a comedian who provided you with such enjoyment throughout your teenage years, and having them invite you along to their next gig. Secondly is the fact that I get to contribute to the story, if that makes any sense, and take something away with me from the shoot in the form of images that I created.

As far as hobbies goes, I run, play squash, and swim fairly regularly, though not competitively, I go Lindy Hopping as often as I can, and I hike up in the hills of northern England and Scotland whenever I get the chance. Living in London I’m lucky to have a vast wealth of cultural stuff on my doorstep, and I take as much advantage of that as I can – plays, gigs, exhibitions, cinema etc. I also enjoy exploring the city, particularly from the river (I can highly recommend the Rib Voyages). I cook whenever I’m able, and I used to love gardening, before I bought my flat and no longer have the opportunity. I read probably too much, and get through about 50 books a year. I’m a big fan of history, and that makes up about half of what I read, the other being pretty much anything from trash to science. I’ve been known to spend a certain amount of time playing Company of Heroes against a friend of mine who works in Military Intelligence, but we’re both so bad it usually becomes a catalogue of errors rather than a brave campaign. I try and catch up with my mates as often as possible, and this is starting to sound like a lonely hearts ad. I’ve got a good sense of humour, and would like to meet someone who enjoys firelight and romantic music.

7. Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?

Late payment of bills. However, I don’t see how you could change it unless you managed to change the entire financial structure of the capitalist system, and that’s a little beyond me! It may be possible to make charging interest on late payments compulsory, rather than the ineffective “opt-in” system we have in the UK at the moment, but even then I suspect there’d be either a loop-hole, or an unpleasant hidden cost.

Other than that, I really have very few complaints. One recurring problem is the state of photographic education, and how badly it prepares students for the real world. However, through my efforts on my own blog, my work with the Education group at the Association of Photographers, and my lecture tour I think I’m doing almost everything one person could to correct that problem!

8. What was your most memorable assignment?

Tricky that, as I really do get a superb range of jobs and adventures. Rather than try and pick the best one ever, which would be almost impossible, I can think of a few recent ones that were very cool. Shooting a 3 peaks race whilst also competing in it (about 30 miles walking, 3000m climbing, and 10 hours driving, all in 24 hours), shooting a Golf Marathon – 4 rounds in a day – a week later, shooting a catalogue for a friends’ charity at Richmond Rugby Club, which turned into a kind of school sports day, and spending the night in the New Forest with an SAS survival instructor. I could go on, but you’d be better off just subscribing to the blog!

9. Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”

You mean war stories that are also unlikely to get me sued for libel, and don’t involve nudity, foul language, personal injury or flammable materials? Hmm, they may be a bit thin on the ground.

I’ll confess to a couple of stupid mistakes if you like. Sitting on a bus on my way to a job in Maidenhead (before I bought the car), phone rings, and the art director calls to say “blah, blah, blah, Maidstone, Blah blah blah”. “I’m sorry” says I, “did you just say “Maidstone”, only I’m on my way to Maidenhead?” Luckily I was still in Central London, and could divert fairly easily, but that could quite quickly have become an unpleasant day. Did a similar thing in Gateshead once, as there were 2 streets with exactly the same name, and I wondered why the old lady answering the door wasn’t the middle-aged bloke I was looking for!

I’ve also seen my fair share of colleagues – usually journalists, hospitalized, thankfully with no lasting consequences. One particular incident in Borneo a few years ago involved me having to photograph a 180km, 2 day cycle trek. I started out on a bike myself, but gave up by the first lunchtime, as I realised I was never going to be able to keep up and shoot stuff. Throughout the afternoon the journalist I was with, and who I was supposed to be photographing, was nowhere to be found. Eventually when all the support vehicles regrouped I discovered him at the back of one of them with 3 full plastic bags of vomit around him. He’d eaten some spicy Tom Yam soup the day before, and it didn’t like him. On admission to hospital the doctor simple wrote “Tom Yam” on his sheet, and attached him to a drip. He made a full recovery, and was back on his bike the next day, but not before he’d made some truly awesome noises in the toilet!

10. What would be your ideal assignment?

Photographing Humphrey Lyttleton. Oh bugger, he’s dead. That’ll teach me to put things off!
Or photographing Frankie Manning. Oh bugger, I sense a theme developing here…..

11. Future plans for Tom and his photography?

Get off my arse and do some marketing! I hardly ever take my portfolio round, as I’m usually too busy, but I’d like more of some of the work I’ve been doing lately (bigger PR jobs, design agency jobs, and book covers) and I won’t get these without a bit of marketing. I’ve also got another lecture tour coming up in the autumn – full details of which are steadily being added to the blog I’m building. I’ll be going round about 15 or more colleges all over the UK talking to students about business, marketing, creativity, portfolios, and all the other aspects of professional photography which are normally overlooked on an academic course. All this in collaboration with the nice people at Nikon and Calumet.

12. Tell us a little about your new work…

I’m currently focusing on more polished location stuff along the lines of sports/action stuff. It’s a little vague right now, and is slightly market led as well as being personally motivated.

I’m also keen on improving my lighting and general studio work more. To the untrained eye there’s not much difference between some of my recent studio stuff and what I’ve always shot. To me however, I know how much more focused and polished it is, and my clients are starting to notice. I’m keen to continue this trend as much as I can. None of this recent work is published yet, I should point out, so it’ll be a bit hard for others to draw a comparison!

I’ve also got the lecture tour coming up in the autumn, and at some point I really must learn how to use photoshop better. I probably use about 2% of it, and feel like I’m missing out. Oh, and I need to learn some more about video too, but that should be obvious to any working professional photographer in the current market.

13 Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?

Was listening to a “mix tape” made for me by my girlfriend this morning, but am now well and truly stuck into Test Match Special, it being the third test of the Ashes series. I realize that Cricket means nothing at all to anyone outside the Commonwealth, but that’s your loss! It’ll only be marred by the fact that Geoffrey Boycott’s going to be on air several times, and he has a tendency to make my blood boil!

Contact Tom:
Tom Miles
Tom Miles Photography

T: 020 7564 0661
M: 07770 787 249
e-fax no: 44-7006-000-033

W: www.tmphoto.co.uk
E: tom@tmphoto.co.uk
Alt email: miles.tom@gmail.com

Blog: www.photosmudger.com

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We thank Tom and hope that his blood stops boiling soon enough for him to get out and make some more images. And we appreciate him taking the time to talk with us here at Lighting Essentials.

Next up… a review of some gear to make shooting a little easier… right tool for the job, so to speak.

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Working in Nashville means music, fashion, celebrities and more. And Grant Lovett is in the middle of it. A soft-spoken shooter with a deep portfolio, Grant keeps the bills paid with shoots of musicians and fashion models.

We have an interview with him that you will really enjoy.

A couple of things before we get going on Grant’s interview.

1. We have had some wonderful workshops this year and are set for a great Summer/Fall schedule. Thanks to all of you for a great season so far. Our next workshop is in Missoula, Montana and it will be something to remember. If you are near that area, come on down and rock with the workshop.

2. I am working on a new set of posts on starting out as a professional, or even a pro-am shooter. What to do, how to go about it, some check-lists and a personal assessment of tools and preparedness for the jump. Let me know what you might like to see added to it.

3. I hope all of you are aware of the depth of the site here. Click on the categories above for dozens of articles in the specific category you want. From small speedlight posts to full studio strobes, there is a lot of information for you on Lighting Essentials.

Now on to the interview with Grant Lovett, Nashville Photographer.

I met Grant when we used his beautiful Nashville studio for our workshop. He was a wonderful host and a talented photographer. Opening up his studio to a bunch of crazy’s was a leap of faith, but he shares my interest in helping photographers become as good as they want to be. Thanks, Grant… and thanks for the interview as well.

1. How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?
I’ve been shooting professionally now for 30 years, but started doing paid photography jobs while still in high school. So I guess there was no real transition period for me, I’ve been doing photography for almost as long as I can remember.

2. How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?
I picked up my first camera as a sophomore in high school, where my school had a very strong journalism program. I went from never touching a camera to shooting 25 to 30 rolls of film a week. I basically dove in head first and never stopped shooting.. The big turning point for me was getting to study with Ken Marcus in 1982, which transformed me from photojournalism to studio work.

3. Describe an average week at your studio.
I usually shoot 2 to 3 shoots a week, each being a full days shoot. I also now teach at one of the local photography colleges, and between shooting and teaching I have no free time. But since I’m only happy when I’m busy I really can’t complain.

4. Why Nashville? Have you considered anywhere else?
I chose Nashville primarily due to the music industry work here, along with the size and location. I’m from a small town, so I wanted to live in a city that was large but still had a small town feel. Nashville is the best of both worlds for me.

5. What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?
Through out my career, the thing that has always motivated my photography is light. I’m still fascinated and inspired by it, and find nothing more fun that throwing the camera in the back of the car and chasing the setting sun and shooting the light. Light is something that is artistic and organic at the same time, and stirs my emotions and inspired me to photographic it. That’s what pure photography is all about.

6. What is it you like the most about being a photographer? Do you do anything else for a hobby or avocation?
The freedom of being self-employed and doing something I love. Photography is not just what I do, it is a major part of who I am. Sometimes I thing that I didn’t choose photography, it chose me. The other things I like to do are play golf, write songs, and discover new micro brewed beers.

7. Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?
The hardest part about being a photographer is dealing with the burn out phases. Being in a profession that requires being creative on demand can take a toll on you spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The only real way to deal with them is to from time to time step away from the camera. and recharge your batteries. That way you can come back with new vision and ideas.

8. What was your most memorable assignment?
I had the opportunity to meet and photograph Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. Both were recording in Muscle Shoals, Alabama (my hometown) and I got the call to shoot them as a senior in high school. It was the first time I had ever shot someone famous, and I still remember how nice and down to earth they were, and accommodating to me while I worked with them. I was very nervous and they went out of their way to make me at ease and important. It’s one of the things I have noticed about working with celebrates, the bigger they are the nicer they are. I think being a genuinely nice person is one of the factors that determine how successful a person will be, and this is certainly true from my experiences with the music artists I have worked with.

9. Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”
Most of the bad experiences I have had have been long burned from my memory as I tend to move on as quickly as possible from them. There are still a few that remain with me still today, but that is just part of the business. It is impossible to please everyone, so I try not to focus on them and instead remember the good ones. It helps keep me sane.

10. What would be your ideal assignment?
My ideal assignment would be one where every member of the creative team shared a singular vision. Commercial photography is for me a system of artistic compromise, and while I try to express my artistic vision, pleasing the client is the primary goal. Working with music artists, creative in their own right, can be hard as they like to call all the shots. But most know that true creativity is a collaborative effort. Shooting a project where everyone shared the same vision would really be nice, as it doesn’t happen very often, But when it does, it reminds my of why I became a photographer in the first place.

11. Future plans for Grant and his photography?
To keep shooting for as long as I still enjoy it. I enjoy teaching and cooking, and think it would be fun to someday own and operate a restaurant. But you really never know where life will lead you.

12. Tell us a little about your new work.
Most of what I am shooting now involves lots of location work. I have spent so many years in the studio that now I want to travel and photograph life away from the confines of the studio. I have a few coffee table books in the works, and am starting to shoot much more personal images. But I change my mind all the time so what I will be doing this time next year is up in the air. I like it that way.

13 Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?
(yes, it was supposed to be 12, but what the heck…)
Foo Fighters, Flyleaf, Garbage, Peter Gabriel, and INXS.

Thanks again for the interview, Grant. Visit Grant’s site here.

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This post we get a glimpse into the working world of a commercial photographer. Sometimes referred to as a generalist, a commercial photographer must be able to handle a lot of different idioms when working in a smaller market. Portraits, fashion, still life, food, architecture and the occasional grip-n-grin make up the months of shooting. I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview and thanks to Kirk for making himself available for us to read.

I am just back from an amazing workshop in Akron, which followed a wonderful workshop in Baltimore/Frederick, Maryland. The workshops are getting better and better with the photographers catching fire about 10am on the first day and simply kicking it for the entire weekend. In Akron and Frederick, the sun didn’t set until nearly 8pm… and we were still shooting. There are long days in the summer up there, and we took advantage of every moment. We started at 8am, and finished at dark. And did it again the next day.

Total immersion, my friends. Intense, total immersion.

A few things about upcoming workshops. Looks like we will have to pull the plug on LA. Doesn’t seem like a good market for me, and that’s OK. Lots of stuff already happening there. I love the fact we are going to Omaha and Missoula… places where the larger name shooters rarely visit… and they are cool places, too.

I am working on a post on website design, a big one, as well as a post on equipment and starting out smart. If there are any areas within those topics you would like to have answered, send me an email and I will make sure it is part of the post.

So let’s take a few moments to meet Kirk Tuck. A photographer in Austin, TX.

Kirk and I started talking on a forum and I found him to be a delightfully frank, good natured, well rounded photographer. He has authored several books and I will be reviewing his latest book, “Minimalist Studio Lighting”, this coming week. I reviewed his “Minimalist Lighting” book here.

Kirk Tuck is a full time professional photographer in a smaller market. His work ranges all over the spectrum of commercial niches. I hope you enjoy this interview with Kirk Tuck.

1. How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?
This is a hard question to answer because my photographic career progressed in fits and starts from about 1979 to 1987. I was still in school at the University of Texas at Austin when I launched the photo career in its first iteration. I had a one room, walk up loft in downtown Austin that was dirt cheap and it served as my first studio and also my living space. I’d roll up the futon in the morning and roll it back out in the evening.…..It was a fun, student style existence but I made some progress as a photographer with my Mamiya 220 camera and two lenses. I did a lot of lighting with small flashes and with photoflood bulbs in cheap fixtures. My big clients at the time were Texas Monthly and a bunch of real estate developers. But I left it all behind when one of the photography instructors I was a teaching assistant for left the university to further his professional photography career and suggested me as a substitute to the department chairperson. They hired me as a Specialist Lecturer and it was a
full time job.

It was a great time for me. I was teaching kids not much younger than me how to use 8×10 view cameras, soup large format film, print and use the studio full of big, Calumet strobe systems we had. In retrospect, I should have stayed put, gotten an MFA and just sucked off the big teat for rest of my life, eventually dying of liver failure after a good useless life of drinking and pontificating to students. But I wasn’t smart enough to understand ripe fruit on the ground.…..

So when a group of my friends started an ad agency and they offered me the position of head writer (degree in English Lit with a specialty in technical writing.…) I jumped ship and swallowed the hook. It was a fun seven years and I did some of the photography for the group. After the first two years I was promoted to creative director and I worked with many of the best shooters in the Austin area. But nothing lasts forever and the real estate market tanked in 1986. We held on with a few retail clients til 1987 and then we folded our tent and went our separate ways. Fortunately our money guys were really good at what they did and we left the industry in the black. We had just read the tea leafs and didn’t see the upside in staying in an industry that seemed to be tanking with amazing velocity.

I took my small share, bought some rudimentary gear and launched my full time photo business then. And I must say I think that 1987 to 2001 was a golden time to be a photographer. If you were any good at all and had any marketing savvy you could work seven days a week for months at a time. Sure, there were ebbs and flows but there were also big barriers to entering the field and clients were remarkably loyal. Most importantly the stock industry was still expensive to use and a pain in the butt. Smart art directors took pride in commissioning real, original art for their projects instead of trying to make cookie cutter stock work.

I had two specialties: I could shoot just about anything against white. I spent months and months shooting catalogs and d-mail with a 4×5 view camera and a bunch of studio strobes. It was during this period that I found my love for huge, soft light sources. My other specialty happened by accident. One of my old ad agency partners went to work for a fairly new event production company and recommended me as a photographer for a bunch of corporate gigs. I hit it off with a bunch of event planners at IBM, Tivoli, Dell and Motorola and in a short time I was going every where. I guess 2000-2001 was the zenith. I did work in Monte Carlo, Montego Bay Jamaica, Rome, Paris, London, Maui and the Dominican Republic. It just grew and grew.

Somewhere in the middle of all that my wife (a great graphic designer) and I bought a wonderful house in the best neighborhood in Austin, joined a private club and set about raising a kid. Not the trajectory I had originally thought possible for a photographer.

To tell the truth though, since the economy fell apart last year I’ve felt like I’m starting over from scratch. Maybe careers are meant to emulate 360 degree spirals. But it’s corresponded with writing books, which was always a goal of mine.

2. How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?
I got started in a slippery and unplanned sort of way. I’d just finished getting one degree and was working on another when my girl friend and I decided to take a trip to Europe. I felt like I should take a camera along but I had not experience taking photos and no idea about cameras. I was the ultimate newbie. A friend guided me and I ended up taking this six month backpacking trip with a Canonet QL17 rangefinder camera, a Canon TX slr with a 135mm lens and a 24mm lens. And a bag full of home rolled Tri-x black and white film. As a wannabe novelist the lure of the observational/voyeuristic power of the camera was too much to resist.

When I got back to the States I lost the girl friend and filled the void an intense crash course in black and white film development and fiber paper printing. I spent the better part of a year living the good memories (and bad) through the photos. It’s hard to explain to anyone who’s never developed their own prints but the process of seeing your image emerge in tray of developer is addictive magic. As a very good researcher with one of the best photo collections at my disposal (The Helmut Gernsheim Collection at the UT Humanity Research Center) I learned my photo history from day one to the present with hands on intensity. In those days you could hold an Henri Cartier Bresson print of the pope in your hands and feel the paper under your finger tips! I held 8×10 prints from an Edward Weston portfolio that now are worth $60,000 or $70,000 each.

I took courses in the history of photography at the American Studies department at UT and then moved on to become a teaching assistant to three fabulous photographers who all shot and taught in Austin: Charlie Guerrero (Brooks grad/corporate shooter), Tomas Pantin (hot shot from the photoJ department and a brilliant studio shooter) and Reagan Bradshaw ( a legendary early president of the ASMP and an amazing landscape shooter. I sat through all of their lectures, met people like Duane Michals, Elliot Erwitt, Gary Winograd, and Russell Lee. We tried every concept and technique, we prepared demos for students, everything. It was an amazing time of progress and discovery for me and I soaked up information with an addict’s intensity. Any time I wasn’t shooting or teaching I was sitting on the floor of the Fine Arts library reading articles in photo magazines from the 1940′s-1960′s looking for little scraps of lost knowledge.

Every photographer who seemed to have a style and a sense of assurance was a mentor for me but in the end I was largely self taught. And so I have no one else to blame for my shortcomings.

3. Describe an average week at your studio.
An average week at my studio is very relaxed these days. I get up every morning and hit my master’s swim practice. I swim with a great group of men and women, some of whom are former Olympians. Some times Shawn Jordan (4 time medalist) shows up or Whitney Hedgepeth (3 time medalist) both Ian Crocker and Aaron Peirsol have dropped by for a swim. It’s really an inspirational bunch. And it gives me a feeling of confidence that I can still knock out a reasonable three thousand yards in an hour. Before coffee. Then it’s off to coffee and a start to the day. Any day we aren’t booked on a project I spent four solid hours writing, trying to finish a (seemingly) never ending parade of books for Amherst Media.

I shoot light. That means by myself or with no more than one assistant. We go out most days and set up and shoot our portrait or portraits and mostly wrap by five and head back to the studio. After we stow the gear my assistant heads off to do whatever “twenty-somethings” do with their evening. I check in with the family, maybe walk the dog, and after dinner I hit the studio again (eight feet from the front door of our house) and do all the post processing for the day. I don’t hit the bed until everything is off the cards, cataloged in Lightroom and back up in two places.

Kind of a time trade off. I don’t get cranking till 10:30 in the morning but I don’t really stop till 11:00 at night most days.

4. Why Austin? Have you considered anywhere else?
Austin has always been like a Mecca for creative people in Texas. When I moved here it was a small town and I put down roots. I know so many people and I’ve been in every nook and cranny. I suppose we stay because it’s what we know. I’d love to move to Rome some day but with the whole dad thing going on that will have to wait until Ben makes it through college. I don’t regret staying in Austin because I truly love the lifestyle and my career has given me ample travel opportunities. But I do love Rome. It’s a sweet, beguiling city.…..

5. What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?
Like most people I have more than one motivation. My motivation for doing corporate work is very basic: I need to eat and pay the mortgage. On another level I really have an insatiable curiosity about people. When you do portraits like I do most of the time you have an opportunity to sit down, stare at people and ask them questions. I find that people tend to treat photographers like they do bartenders or priests. They confess things they would never talk about in every day business situations. A lot of people are desperate for a neutral listener, someone to bounce ideas from. I’ve had people burst into tears doing a portrait session and pore out how frustrated they were with their choices and their lives. I’ve had people resolve to start new businesses, get married, stop working and stay home with their children.

I don’t think I’m special, I think people are just constantly looking for someone discreet and compassionate to share their fears, hopes and resolve with.

My core motivation is a curiosity about what makes every one so different. I’m trying to find that intersection between common touchstones of humanity and all the things that make everyone so different. It’s the differences that make it all interesting just as it’s the little flaws that make portrait sitters both vulnerable and beautiful. I photograph the way I’d like to write a novel. Observation and narrative. Description and storytelling.

6. What is it you like the most about being a photographer? Do you do anything else for a hobby or avocation?
The thing I love about being a photographer is the tacit license to just look at people with an intensity that isn’t allowed when the camera is removed from the equation. I love the access to places and events and social milieus that are closed to most people. I like recording objective slices of visual history that jog my memory of how things felt and how things unfolded in the past. I have two hobbies: I love to swim and try to do it every day. The push off the wall is the closest things I can think of to the sensation of flying. The repetition of the strokes is like a rhythmic meditation. I love to write fiction. If I could devise a perfect life it would be to travel the world doing corporate photo assignments and events on even years and then writing novels of the odd years.

7. Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?
The biggest downside of being a commercial photographer is the insecurity of the workflow. You are either working too much or too little. The money is always like Teflon, it’s slippery and hard to keep your hands on. The next biggest downside is the fact that the work could always be more creative but corporations and corporate clients are, for the most part, very conservative and you generally end up doing work that is very carefully on the boring side of the cutting edge. To change them you really need to change the paradigm. You need to become the creative source and not just the imaging source. If you start with the idea you have a better chance of doing something creative. As to the income stream, I’ve found that diversifying my skill set and doing more lighting and more film work keeps me working even when the still photography business is slow.

8. What was your most memorable assignment?
Without a doubt the most memorable assignment I ever undertook was photographing the Alexander Palace in Pushkin, Russia in the winter of 1995. I was the first American photographer to set foot in the Palace as it was the home of the Russian Naval Intelligence Agency at the time. I photographed the exterior the day a big blizzard blew in and dropped 36 inches of snow on us in about two hours. Everywhere I went inside the Palace I was accompanied by a translator, a intelligence officer (with side arm) and an elite commando with an automatic weapon at his side. The trip included seeing a performance of the Firebird at the Mariensky theater, trips to the Hermitage and much, much more. It made my second most favorite assignment, a week in Monte Carlo, seem like covering a church bake sale.…..

9. Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”
There was this one job I did with an insane CEO who spent money like water. The project culminated with his ordering a $26,000 bottle of cognac to share with the former president of a major company. He took time out of his schedule to let me know that “you camera is too loud!” If you work with crazy people it’s hard to know if you’ve won or lost.

There was another job that was just flat out joyous. We spent a week with a crowd of the nicest telecom executives in Maui celebrating their success. Golf, submarine rides, roast pigs, catamarans, snorkling, more golf and lots and lots of food and drink. The bonus? The client invited my wife and son along as guests.

10. What would be your ideal assignment?
I’d love to be hired to spend a year (or two) walking around the streets of Rome taking portraits of interesting people. The project would culminate in a book. And in the tradition of Chase Jarvis, a crew of video people would follow me around for part of the time shooting scenes that made me look brilliant, witty and really fun to work with. Did I mention that I would have Nastasha Kinski as my first assistant and Winona Ryder as my production assistant? Catering for the shoot would come from a selection of Michelin three star restaurants. I’d just spend the nights at the Hassler Hotel.

11. Future plans for Kirk Tuck and his photography?
From now until I drop over dead the goal of Kirk Tuck Photography is to take wonderful, beautiful, edgy, funny, serious portraits of the most interesting people I can find. And then I’ll write about them. I want to print smaller and make little intimate books of black and white images. I want to create photos that are so beautiful that people cry when they see them and beg to collect them! (Hyperbole alert!!!!!!)

12. Tell us a little about your new work…
I’ve started a new series of portraits taken in the studio with small digital cameras like the Canon G10. I’m also taking more and more black and white portraits with my square Rollei cameras since I’ve fallen in love again with the 6008i camera. I’m moving more and more to lighting with movie lights and other continuous light sources. It’s so fun because continuous lights reintroduce the element of elapsing time. I’ve also signed contracts for two more books.…

Rene Zellweger

13. Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?
Orinoco Flow by Enya. Next up, Radiohead. Further down the iPod, Stan Getz.…….

Kirk Tuck’s Site

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