Meet Keith Taylor, a photographer out of the Atlanta area. Keith has done a bit of everything and his insights into getting started as a photographer are fantastic. Take a few minutes and view his work, and his words and meet this talented shooter. He will be live here Wednesday, August 11, 6PM Pacific. We will discuss the editorial work he does, what being a professional photographer is like in Atlanta, and the changing scene of commercial photography. You can ask questions of Keith and I during the interview. (NOTE: this interview was previously published in Lighting Essentials Magazine which is no longer being supported.)
(Announcement: Sunday Evening (August 15, 2010) we will be doing a portfolio edit with photographer Ed Z.6PM Pacific.)

Meet Keith Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 6PM Pacific. You must sign in and create a user account to be involved. PLEASE use the Question Box to ask questions, thank you.

SlideShow of Keith’s work for our discussion this evening.

I have finished the schedule out for the rest of the year, and am really excited about bringing the best workshop on lighting and professional techniques for photographers available to some markets that have been under served. I love working with photographers in smaller markets!

Now, on with the interview with Keith Taylor, Atlanta. Be sure to visit his site and blog. Their links are at the end of the article.

How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?

I have been shooting on a professional level since 1999, which is when I started being paid to shoot weddings and portraits. I moved to Atlanta in 2001 and spent two years in the commercial photography program at The Creative Circus. After graduating I assisted for various commercial shooters here in Atlanta for about 2 1/2 years. In the fall of 2006 I was all set to move to Austin, Texas and really pursue things as a shooter. I was offered a full-time job as a staff shooter for a local marketing firm here in Atlanta while in the process of moving — the salary and benefits offered was enough to make me move all my stuff back. I spent a little over a year at that firm until going freelance again in March of this year.

How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?

My Dad had a camera around my neck by the time I was eight. My family and I moved to Germany when I was nine and traveled a lot while over there. My dad and a couple of his co-workers were very much into photography. Both of these guys my father worked with had worked on a professional level in photography in the past. Well, we would all get together when our slides got back from the lab and have slide shows. I would always sit and listen to them critique each other’s work as well as mine. They would look through my shots and compliment some of them and tell me how I could make others better. My father would get aggravated when I would do an abstract shot of something like moss growing on a rock — he saw it as a waste of film since he was more of a documentary-type photographer. Well, the other two guys would tell him that he should not discourage this and that it was great that I saw things that way. One of the two guys (Don Farra) gave my dad a Canon T70 with a 28mm F2.8 and 100 mm F2.8 prime lens as well as a Canon 277t dedicated flash that he had laying around. He told my dad to give it all to me as a Christmas gift when I was in fourth grade and mentioned that my father should encourage me if I ever decided to pursue photography as a profession.

I moved back stateside when I was fourteen and did not touch my camera for years until an ex-girlfriend needed headshots for a beauty pageant. She didn’t feel like paying a professional photographer at the time to do them, so I mentioned that I use to be a pretty good photographer. I took her out one day with my 100mm portrait lens and shot four rolls of film with her. Got them back from the lab and maybe 90% of them came out looking really nice. Nice enough that I had other professional photographers tell me that I should maybe look into photography as a profession. Before I knew it, I had people paying me to shoot weddings and portraits for them. Here I am — still at it almost ten years later. I have been lucky to have had a few great teachers and mentors since then.

More of the interview with Keith Taylor here.

Describe an average week at your studio.

95% of my work is location work, meaning that a studio space would be an unnecessary overhead expense at this point. When studio space is needed for a job I rent one out by the day.

Keith Taylor, Atlanta Editorial Photographer

I work out of my home and when not shooting I spend a good bit of my time in front of the computer doing post-production work, and if I am lucky I will be either invoicing for past jobs or getting together estimates for future jobs. Following up with clients and looking for more work via phone or e-mail is another big part of things. Just trying to get your work in front of Art Directors and Designers can be a huge job in itself.

I think I am going to try and start setting aside one day per week to go out and scout for new locations for future shoots, and just shoot for fun. Leave the business side of it alone for the day and enjoy the creative side of things.

Why Atlanta? Have you considered anywhere else?

Well, as I mentioned above I had planned on really going after things in Austin due to the music industry there and having a couple of AD friends in Texas that really encouraged me to move out that way. Austin is just a great town, anyway.

Nashville has been another thought. Huge music industry and also a great town.

At this point, though, I am thinking I am going to stay here in Atlanta. It is a pretty happening place and I have made all kinds of contacts since moving here 7 years ago… I’m not sure at this point if I could afford to totally start over in a different place — especially with the economy being where it is at this point. It is also only a four-hour drive to my folks’ place in Florida from Atlanta. It’s nice being close to home and getting to see my family and old friends on a regular basis — moving further away would hinder this. I am just comfortable here, I guess. So I may relocate later in my career but Atlanta is good for now.

Keith Taylor, Atlanta Editorial Photographer

What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?

What motivates me is seeing bill after bill come in the mail –
and then actually opening and reading them gets me going.

What do I use for inspiration? A number of things inspire me including (live) music, movies, and being around other creative people. Life in general can be a source of inspiration. There is no reason for not being able to find inspiration on a daily basis if that is what you seek… it’s all a matter of perception.

What is it you like the most about being a photographer?

I love the diversity that goes along with being a commercial photographer and being able to work with so many different types of people. Shooting a portrait of a doctor one day in an operating room and then a pilot on a tarmac the next. I never know what is coming next. You may get a boring job or difficult client to work with… but knowing that you are not going to have to work with them day after day all year long is nice. You just kind of suck it up and look forward to the next cool job.

One really cool job in ten makes the other nine boring jobs and/or difficult clients worth it in the long run.

Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?

Keith Taylor, Atlanta Editorial Photographer

Yes… but aren’t there downsides to any profession? The only thing I can do to change them is to try and educate people about them. Educate clients who think I make a few thousand dollars for few hours of work, like it appears to them. I try and let them know what all goes on behind the scenes in order to get that few hours’ worth of work and make them aware that this might be a couple weeks of planning and post-production when they are not around. I try and educate people and let them know that “digital” is not synonymous with “free” and that there are expenses that go along with shooting digital.

As great as digital photography can be, it seems to have destroyed the craft and perceived value of what we as professional photographers do. Digital is here to stay and I can’t change that –but I can wish that it wasn’t.

It think that there was a lot more appreciation for the work photographers did and a job well done by them in the film days.

Keith Taylor, Atlanta Editorial Photographer

What was your most memorable assignment?

Probably one of my most memorable and toughest assignments was a funeral. A close friend of my brother had his two-week-old daughter pass away in the hospital from a blood infection. The father of the little girl was a friend of mine as well. He and his wife asked me to do portraits of the little girl and actually cover the viewing and funeral like you would a wedding… only with more respect. My heart wept for them both so I agreed to do it. It was so heartbreaking seeing this tiny pink coffin when I went to do the portraits, and then having to try and document the viewing and funeral afterwards. The only thing that kept me from breaking down emotionally while covering it all was my camera and being focused on doing the best job I could for them.

I put all my heart into it… my camera just acted as a shield. I ended up having a handmade wedding-type album for the shots made for them, covered with a baby blanket just like the one she was wrapped in when she was buried. The parents seemed so appreciative when I gave it to them but it sure was the toughest job I have ever done. I have no desire to ever attend or photograph a baby’s funeral again if I can help it. The little girl’s name was Sara, by the way.

Keith Taylor, Atlanta Editorial Photographer

Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”

Well, when I was still assisting I worked a job for 24 hours straight. We were photographing large machinery in a dead-silent room all night long — just another assistant, the photographer, and me. Coming back the next day to finish up was not an option, so we had to get it done. Another job that comes to mind was a location shoot in NYC with the same photographer… multiple locations per day in the fashion district of the city over the course of a few days. I was the person responsible for driving the twelve-passenger van around in Manhattan — what a blast that was. At least I was working with fun people, though. We always had a great time on those trips but it was some very long days we would put it. That’s all part of the business though.

What would be your ideal assignment?

I would love to have somebody pay me well to travel around the world for maybe five or ten years and do portraits of the most interesting looking people I could find. It would be nice to try and make them feel special and interesting while doing so… people that may have never had anybody pay attention to them. Kind of like Avedon’s “In the American West” series… but not being confined to the American west. Maybe spending a year or so on each continent just traveling around, looking for and capturing different personalities. A translator for each area would be great too so I could include written info about each person I photographed.

The only other thing that comes to mind is a full-time position as a staff photographer for something like Rolling Stone, SPIN, Paste or Blender magazine.

Keith Taylor, Atlanta Editorial Photographer

To be as successful as possible while still enjoying life.

Tell us a little about your new work…

Over the past couple of years I have worked almost exclusively as a portrait photographer and don’t see this changing. I am always willing to shoot just about anything — but working with and shooting people is what I love. Shooting somebody and making him or her feel great about themselves is far more rewarding than photographing some inanimate object to me.

Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?

Right now I have Massive Attack playing, but some other favorites while I am working are: Sonia Leigh, Pink Floyd, The Wood Brothers, Sean Costello, Dire Straits(and Mark Knopfler’s solo stuff), Corinne Bailey Rae, A Perfect Circle, Jack Johnson, The Decemberists, Miles Davis, Norah Jones, Beck’s “Sea Change” album, Bilie Holiday, The Black Keys… I can go on and on for a while, but you get the picture… I love music.

Visit Keith Here

Website: www.keithtaylorphotography.com
Blog: http://www.keithtaylorphotography.blogspot.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithtaylorphotography

Thanks so much for following along. You can stalk me hourly at Twitter and if you are interested in a workshop, visit Learn to Light.