Tony Luna - How to grow as a photographer: reinventing your career

How to Grow as a Photographer

How to Grow as
a Photographer

Reinventing Your Career

TONY LUNA

2006 Tony Luna

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

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Published by Allworth Press
An imprint of Allworth Communications, Inc.
10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

Cover design by Derek Bacchus
Interior design by Mary Belibasakis
Page composition/typography by SR Desktop Services, Ridge, NY
Cover photo by Jeff Babitz

ISBN: 1-58115-446-1

ISBN: 9781581158328

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Luna, Tony.
How to grow as a photographer : reinventing your career / Tony Luna.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. PhotographyVocational guidance. 2. Photographers. I. Title.
TR154.L86 2006
770.23dc22

2006010843

Printed in Canada

Dedication

To My Wonderful Paula,

you are my support and my inspiration, and you will always be

My Princess Morning-Noon-and-Night.

Acknowledgments

I f it is true that it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a community to write a book. A community of family, friends, teachers, co-workers, industry professionals, and acquaintances who have all, over time, contributed to the development of this work. I would venture to say that if you were to do a word search of the most commonly used words in this book, you would probably find the highest frequency with the following words: inspiration, encouragement, support, opportunity, and a love for what you do. All of those words have an elevated sense of thank you associated with them because they do not exist without the loyal people who have supplied them.

Thank you especially to my family: to my wife Paula, who cleared the way for me to sit down and write this book, which has been on my mind for so many years; to my daughter Mendy, who continues to be The Little Lady Who Changed My Life; and to my granddaughter Delaney, who patiently waited for her Grand Papa to finish writing a sentence or a chapter, so we could have our special time together. Of course, thank you to my incredible parents Mama Dee and Papa Julio, who always believed in me and encouraged me to use my talents in service to others; and to my sister Dollie, who carries on in their name.

A large helping of thanks has to be given to Dan Wolfe and the staff of Wolfe and Company Films for putting up with me as I continually asked them for feedback. And to the incredible faculty and staff of the Art Center College of Design, especially those in the Photography and Imaging Department, who expand my world daily and have given so much to the world of photography for so many years. I also want to express my special thanks to my first Reinventing Your Career in the Creative Arts class through the Art Center at Night Public Program, who allowed me to pick their brains each night of class in an attempt to validate my findings. The reflections from all these sources and more have led me to believe that insight is foresight tempered by hindsight, and that we can all learn from each other when we work in an atmosphere of trust.

I remember talking to Tad Crawford, founder and publisher of Allworth Press, for several years about this book before he asked me when I was going to write it. His simple question set me off on an incredible journey, one that might still be a dream if he hadnt opened the door. He and the staff of Allworth Press, especially senior editor Nicole Potter-Talling and associate editor Monica Lugo, have been extremely supportive and have given me the opportunity I needed to go beyond talking and to set milestones for myself so this work could become a reality. Beyond that, the writing of this book has allowed me to meet and talk to some of the most influential photographers of our era, people whom I might never have met otherwise. I can never give enough thanks to the extremely talented people who agreed to be interviewed and who lent their candor, insight, and inspiration so that we might learn a little about ourselves.

Obviously there are many others I could mention, but time and space do not allow for it. Maybe they will be the inspiration for another work because, as you will see in this book, one creative act requires another, and another. It is my wish that this work will help you to take on that project you have always wanted to do, and that you will refer to it from time to time for inspiration, encouragement, support, opportunity, and a love for what you do as members of the creative continuum.

Introduction:
Two Friends and a Dream

If a day goes by without my doing something related
to photography, its as though Ive neglected something essential
to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.
Richard Avedon

A re you fed up with cheap clients? Have you had it with shortsighted competition? Does the erosion of fees in our industry make you sick? Does it bother you that far less talented people get the work you think you should be doing? Does it concern you that what used to be called mistakes are passed off as cutting edge? Has a personal tragedy in your life caused you to reevaluate whether or not you are on the right career path? Have you awakened with the feeling that somehow the world is passing you by? Are corporate politics and other peoples agendas too much for you to handle? Do downsizing, rightsizing, outsourcing, and layoffs have you turned upside down? Are you bored executing the same old work, but do it because it is safe? Do you find yourself continuously lamenting about the good old days?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have come to the right place, and now is the right time to do something positive about your future!

Things are not the same anymore. It might be unsettling and hard to admit, but you may not have the same enthusiasm for your work that you used to. You look back at the body of work you have accomplished and you do not get the same joy out of it that you once did. Self-doubt creeps in and begins to erode your willingness to work. You look around and think of the early days, when you could not wait to pick up your camera and shoot anything because everything was captivating. If only you had known that things would turn out this way. If only there was some way you could have anticipated it all and taken some strategic measures before things started to fall apart.

I know exactly what you are feeling. I have had those feelings myself a number of times over the past thirty-plus years that I have been in the creative arts, specifically in the photography and film industries. When I take a critical look back at those times, it seems that certain events were almost cyclical. The economy takes a dive, or you lose a big client, or styles change, or maybe you just get bored with executing the same type of work day in and day out. Whatever the reason, the effect is the same: you know you have to make a change, but you are not sure where to begin.

In my latest career incarnation as a creative consultant, I have met with extremely talented creative entrepreneurs who contact me while they are hyper-ventilating about how they have lost it and dont know what to do. Or I receive calls from people who are floundering and want to take their careers to the next level, but are confused about where and how to begin this next chapter in the story of their career. And then there are those who have an idea in mind of where they would like to take their talents, but they are afraid of taking the risks their new directions will require.