It was very exciting, I wrote this @ 2am for my 7:45 talk:
I'm here to explain how I turn making art into making business. It's been a long road.
Like any artist the need to express yourself comes first-
15 years of doing only B/W photojournalism didn't even give me enough money to pay for a new camera-
When I got married @ age 25, I looked at my wedding photographer & said "at least he's making a living" and with a new wife, I needed to make a living!
So I learned from him as an intern and I shot my first wedding with another photographer, both of us making $35 each!!
As the years went by I joined all the photography organizations and went to all the meetings and in 1990 I went to Albany to take a new test for certification. I was actually the 30th in New York State to pass.
I was very happy to work for studios. Good pay, no headaches afterwards with the bride & groom, just shoot the film, hand it in & get paid.
This all changed when digital came in- Everyone had a camera & became a photographer!
If I wanted to eat, I had to work for myself- and learn digital!
I am sort of a rare breed. I don't specialize, I work with any budget, I haven't gotten burned out by weddings like a lot of photographers and have easily done over a thousand (Used to do over 100 a year when I worked for studios).
Still happy to be behind a camera, making people look good!
Just opened a new studio on Bay & Fingerboard. A few things that I shoot that you might not know about is passport pictures, artwork, pets, communions, sweet 16s, models, architecture, construction sites & sports teams. We also do video.
To bring new people into my photo studio, I have a gallery up front (150 feet of wall space). I have exhibits booked with other artists and have an opening reception each month.
I contribute my time and talents to Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep which is a group of photographers that go into hospitals to photograph memories for parents of dying children and babies. This is a charity that I believe in.
Fine Art Fotos is not your typical photographers by any stretch of the imagination. We like it that way & our customers like it that way. Just looking at our work you can see that we are not your traditional photographers! We are not bound by any preconceived notions of what photography should be. We are progressive, free-thinking artists-
In other words we want to create images that are new & exciting! Not only for us but for your benefit. Oh yeah, we have a lot of fun with you along the way. Your wedding should be a memorable one& not only will we capture your entire day, we will help make it your perfect day. And that is only the beginning. We will design with you a one of a kind album that no one else in the world will have.
