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

Zave’s comments reflect the fact that building a new body

of work is indeed a true journey. Along the way you will have

many opportunities to learn about yourself. Visually you will

define and refine your talent, personally you will discover how

deep your commitment runs. In the end you will be trans-

formed. Zave was rewarded with an experience that was rich

and loaded with payoffs.

“So what is it like for a journeyman generalist, a person who

earned most of his keep from tabletop products and food, to

show a book of lifestyle?” he asks, before answering his own ques-

tion: “It feels great. My old still-life clients have not left me, and I

am getting into the door and taking home the prize of many

assignments that I would not have been considered for before.

These new assignments are what I really all along wanted to be

doing. I am one happy camper.”

Zave’s process was different than the steps that Ed White

needed to take. White is an extremely professional and well-

respected shooter with a healthy client list. His new goal was to

obtain only top-level assignments, projects that would benefit

from his visual interpretation. As Ed and I worked together on

the project, our first task was to edit images from his vast collec-

tion and see what our current inventory was. The new portfolio

would position Ed as a top-level shooter, and we knew that the

images displayed in his final book would need to speak to

market needs in a very “lyrical” way. We would be showing the

best of the best, images with an arty feel. There would be no

literal images chosen. No straightforward building shots for us.

This was not a portfolio that simply showed what the buildings

looked like; rather, we were going after the sense of what the

space felt like, the design and the beauty inherent in each

location. We were creating a book that displayed Ed’s ability to

see the space in a way no one else could.

The project was not an easy one at first for Ed, but he quickly

realized that the result of our process would indeed move his

career forward. That was a motivating concept for him.

I don’t know if I am like everyone else or not, but

the thought of creating a new book initially pushed me

into new heights of procrastination. I was happy think-

ing about how the book would look, what material to

CHAPTER8 / BUILDING ANEWPORTFOLIO: PHOTOGRAPHERSSPEAK

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