How to Succeed in Commercial Photography : Insights From a Leading Consultant

times in your career. For this reason I have written for the very

new photographer and for the most experienced. So you might

want to revisit this book from time to time.

The book was written for you to read in sequence or in a

random mode, selecting essays by simply opening the book and

seeing which body of information pops up. If you choose to do

this, trust that the information where you open is exactly what

you should be reading. My ultimate wish is that this tome pro-

vides you with valuable information that you do not currently

have and most definitely need.

MAYBE MY JOURNEY

Many photographers begin their careers with little or no

business know-how. I know this from personal experience. I was

going to be the next great photographer. Thirty years ago, when

I was twenty-one and hanging around with my rock-and-roll

boyfriend, he introduced me to photography. I became immedi-

ately entranced. I was a “young adult” who had been on my own

for years. I struggled to find my spot but never came across a

path that felt like me. Then I saw the work of Weegee and Diane

Arbus and Annie Leibovitz’s early work for Rolling Stoneand

I was hooked. I was convinced that I needed to add photography

to my daily intake of late nights and rock music. After I took an

adult ed course in the basics of photography my teacher encour-

aged me to save my bucks and go to photo school. He seemed

to think I had talent. It took a year of managing a hippie-dippy

bakery before I had saved the $4,000 needed to sign up for the

first year of a two-year program at NESOP (New England School

of Photography).

I began school in the dead of winter and I loved it. I spent

hours in the darkroom, printing and inhaling fixer daily. I stood

in Copley Square in subfreezing temperatures, attempting to get

the right view of the Boston Public Library on my 4 inch 

5 inch glassviewing screen. When I severely underexposed film

during an architectural shoot, older, more experienced students

gently guided me. The pièce de résistance?

I got to shoot Tupperware ladies with my new wide-angle lens

during their annual national convention. I was in photo heaven!

INTRODUCTION

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