I met Collin when he asked me if he could purchase a print from my Wyoming series. He plays in a relatively popular band from the area, so I knew who he was, but we had never talked before. I loved his dreads, and asked if he would be up for letting me take his portrait when he picked up the print. He's actually lounging sideways in a chair for this photo. Its been interesting learning how to adapt situations to best suit a subject while still accomplishing the end goal and keeping the images consistent with the project. Thanks Collin!
Leading by Giving Up
*This article was originally written for the Apex blog, run by Jeff Woods. It's not as much of a photography post as it is a personal life post on my past, my goals, and how I lead my life and business. Thanks for reading.
At 27, I am just beginning to fully understand what it means to be a leader. There are various aspects of my life that demanded that I be a leader in some capacity, and others where I have chosen it. My father died when I was 15, and as the oldest of 4 kids many people started me that I was the ‘Man of house’ and that I needed to not only be a leader for my siblings, but strong for my mom. I took this as seriously as anyone that age probably could have, and there where times where I both lived up to, and fell short of that demand. I attended Columbia College in Chicago for photography, and dropped out after my third year based on the decision that more debt would hinder my travel dreams and ability to keep living costs low when I wanted to become self employed. In 2013 I started my own business, and became fully financially dependent on it within a year. That same year I also purchased my first home, followed by getting married in 2014. Through all of these phases of life, there are a few constant things I have observed about leading that I really believe will carry me forward.
Big Picture Focus - Lead for the long haul. As you take on projects, jobs, or personal life responsibilities, don’t get so wrapped up in the immediate that you lose sight of your long term goals. Just as a good architect wouldn’t put together a bunch or random rooms to see if it functioned as a house, you need to approach everything from a standpoint of how it fits into your long term goals and values. As a leader this sometimes just means saying no to a project, even if you feel guilty for doing so. It can also mean trusting and empowering someone else to manage and take ownership of a task so you can focus on other things. There will always be some projects or responsibilities that are required of us that seem to make no sense at all. When I am in these moments I try and learn whatever I can from them so that my other areas can at least be strengthened through what I experienced.
Quiet Leadership - I will admit that in a social situation I can be the crazy that likes to have a good laugh. When it comes to the things that are important to me and pursuing my dreams, I tend to be a quiet leader, and let what I am doing speak for itself. There are times when It is necessary to be vocal and confident in what you are doing, but your actions almost always make a bigger impact. There is always going to be someone louder, flashier, and trying to hog whatever attention is available. Trying to compete with that will only leave you depressed, and will just distract you from actually accomplishing anything. Leading with your work and not just your mouth is a lot harder. Its definitely the slow path, but when the others run out of things to say, you'll have accomplished something worth sharing.
Enabling Leadership - This type of leadership can take many forms, be it submitting to your spouse, confidently trying out something new that an employee thinks of, or just not being that person that has to have the last word in a social conversation. I personally find surrendering to others the hardest. I am a very calculated thinker, and often map out every outcome of any situation beforehand. Letting others make a decision even if its not the one you would make is such a powerful way to show that you value someone and trust them. From doing this it has also taught me that different isn't always wrong. Better is often relative, and sometimes being willing to let an employee or peer do something their own way can be such a valuable learning experience and trust building experiences.
I find it interesting that Leadership and its value is almost always tied to the corporate world, and almost every example you hear about is from a business leader. I understand it, because people want to emulate and learn the success of others, but there are so, so many more areas of our lives where we are often called to be a leader but the opportunities tend to go ignored because their may be no financial benefit to them. The most rewarding moments in my life have been when I have let go, and just enabled the people around me with my best energy and commitment. The past few years I have had the honor of helping friends start businesses, become freelance creatives, and land big projects that didn’t always have a direct benefit to me. It was about helping others reach their potential, realize their dreams, and grow as well. Those experiences are priceless not only from the relationships they have formed, but from what I have learned as well.
52 Portraits, No. 6
in Photo 52
I admire John immensely. There are few people on this earth who selflessly care about others at the capacity that he does. He is in amazing leader, father, grandfather, mentor, and pastor, that always has a newfound energy and passion for every person he meets or talks with. Thanks for letting me photograph you!
52 Portraits, No. 5
in Photo Shoots, Photo 52
My friends daughter 'Fluff' has had big hair as long as I have known her. Ive always thought it would be fun to shoot a portrait of her, framed by her own hair, and this project gave me the perfect reason to.
Creative Value
Creating something is one of the most rewarding experiences a human can have. There is something magical about experiencing what you have envisioned come to life in the physical form. Digital photography is probably the quickest pay off in the creative process. Technology has largely automated the technical aspect, and software allows us to easily correct a lot of mistakes. Unlike a painting that may take months to complete, or a song that may take countless hours and other people to help write and record properly, the amount of time it takes between picking up a camera to getting a few dozen likes online is pretty minimal. That statement isn't at all intended to take away from the many years and thousands of hours that many masters of photography have spent refining their craft. I’m also not here to argue wether photography industry has been financially weakened because of this, but rather, has our potential creative joy been robbed because of it?
The more time and energy we invest into something, the more satisfaction we will experience from it, with that satisfaction being specifically derived from the creative act itself, regardless of someone else liking it or not. If the value of what we are creating is ultimately defined by the immediate response of others, we are robbing ourselves of a truly fulfilling and lasting creative experience. The question we should ask ourselves when picking up a camera isn't "what can I get from it," but, "what can I give to it.” What would it look like if we shot our own way, searching out what our own voice and contribution to photography could be, rather than following Instagram and Pinterest recipes? How do we interpret and perceive the world around us, and then project that back out through the camera. How are we viewing the camera as our blank canvas to carefully and purposely create our masterpiece with, rather than a paint by number guide to having a popular Facebook page? When our view as creatives shift to “what can I give,” how we approach the creative process changes drastically, and in turn, our creative fulfillment becomes greater through the process.
Enjoy Peoria! Tourism Spot for TV
in Video
Last summer I had the honor to help direct the new tourism TV spot for the City of Peoria. My friend TJ is a creative director and writer, and was approached by the City Of Peoria to create a tourism piece for the city. We worked together to come up with concept, script and locations, and after approval from the City, we shot the piece below, along with several other videos focusing on new business and residential growth in Peoria. It was an insane schedule that spanned 8 solid shooting days (plus 2 auxiliary days for landscapes, or city events that happened outside of the shoot schedule), nearly 30 locations, a crew of 8, plus talent, and 2 emergency room trips. Super thankful to the City of Peoria for Green-ligting this project, and to everyone who worked on the shoot. Looking forward to the next one!
52 Portraits, No. 4
in Photo 52, Photo Shoots
Mike has become such a good friend and mentor to me over the past couple of years, so I knew I needed to photograph him for this project. I don't think I know anyone who can simultaneously work so hard while also leading an awesome family the way that he does. If man cards were a real thing, your face would probably be on them Mike.
52 Portraits, No. 3
in Photo 52, Photo Shoots
"I can't be serious very well."
"Thats ok, this is just about showing off who you are."
"What should I do?"
"Why don't you look over at your husband..."
Kacy Lehman, for week number 3 of my 52 Portraits project.
Making Portraits
I think one of the hardest parts of being a photographer is having to connect with complete strangers in very short amounts of time. Sure, some people are easier to talk with than others, but it can definitely be challenge to gain the trust and attention of someone while also guiding them towards what I am trying to accomplish with a photo. When I shoot someones portrait, I like to get them as involved in the creative (and sometimes technical) process as they are interested in. It helps them feel like they are partnering with me towards achieving a goal, rather than just being directed towards an end result they may envision differently than I. When the subject feels like they are part of the process, they often bring ideas up that I may not have thought of that make the image that much better. Collaboration is almost always better than a single persons vision, so why not include the person you're photographing?
I wouldn't at all claim to be a street photographer, but that said, I don't shy away from asking to take a portrait of someone I find interesting. Its a great way to keep exercising my communication skills on the fly in random situations, while trying to develop a story and get a good photo. I grabbed this one while on the 5th Ave bus in NYC a couple years ago, and its one of my favorites. Ask people to be a part of your creative process, see what you learn, and how your work improve because of it.
52 Portraits, No. 2
in Photo 52, Photo Shoots
For my second portrait of this series, I thought my friend Lizzy would be great a subject. She had never been photographed in a studio situation before, so it was fun to direct her and work together to get an image we both really liked. We shot for about 15 minutes, and ended up with the image below that I really loved. Thanks Lizzy!
Photo 52 Portrait Project
in Photo 52
A few years ago I did a photo 365 project, and was really amazed at how much I grew through the project, as well as how much fun I had. I love shooting portraits, but most of my work and personal projects have always been location assignments where I am lighting people in natural backgrounds. As much fun as those are, I want to push myself to shoot more portraits in the studio on a background. Its a different way and challenge to capturing someone and tell a story. For the rest of the year I'll be shooting a black and white portrait of someone every week, and sharing on my blog and instagram. I couldn't think of a better person to start off with than my good friend Austin, who is actually moving out west this weekend. Can't wait to see the collection of images as a whole one year from now, or who I will meet and photograph through it.
Thanks, and have a good weekend!
Seth
2015 Year In Review
What a year its been in so many ways. Ive traveled more than imagined, and really got to work on some fun assignments. I hit the ground in a near dead sprint last January, and felt like it never slowed down until about 2 weeks ago as I wrapped up a couple of final projects. Last spring, I was finally able to shoot a personal project in Wyoming that I had been dreaming of for years. Along with a some friends, I helped write and direct a few video projects including both a city tourism spot, and a piece for a Fortune 50 company. Working on the video assignments were a blast, and I actually ended up writing my first short film I'll be releasing soon. Thought the year I shot an ongoing campaign for a huge AG company that involved everything from lifestyle shots of farm life to some landscapes and still life pieces, and was able to wrap up the year shooting a dream assignment for Zion Coffee down in Central America. All that mixed with some random editorial assignments and everything else that goes on in life barely left me with time to sleep. I have a feeling 2016 is going to be a blast, and I am really excited for this next year. Thanks to Sarah Claxton for all the help and encouragement along the way, to Jordan Lehman for your wisdom and laughter, and finally to my wife - for believing in me when I fail to do so.
