Thoughts from an older photographer to those just starting out or Things I learned after over 40 years as a commercial photographer.

1). Do what you love:

Have you heard the adage “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day of your life”? I have found that to be almost true. I have always loved what I do but it’s been long hours - hard work at times. However, it is easier to work hard at something you love. You have to love what you do if you want to do it for over 40 years. That makes each workday great. I can’t imagine doing something I hated for all these years. I love to see my stuff in print or web, I love my clients and I love controlling light and focus.

2). Love your clients:

           Clients pay you money for images. What could be better than that? If I had to offer one piece of advice to prospective photographers, I would say simply: be nice. Not just be nice but be genuinely concerned for your clients. You have to take good care of your clients. All of my clients have become friends. They know (because I tell them) that I am totally invested in making them look great to their bosses for having hired me. I have some clients that I have known for almost 30 years. You have to know that repeat business with satisfied clients will provide you with a long career. It’s all about relationships. All clients get hit up by photographers. Only a trusting relationship can stave off those hungry wolves. I have had clients that have moved to different companies and brought me with them. That is how I began (and kept on) shooting for one cheese importer and then added another cheese company as one of my clients moved there. Now I have 2 cheese clients. I have one refrigerator just for cheese. I have done favors for clients as well… for no cost. Not for the companies but for the individuals. Because I like to take care of my friends.

           When my clients ask me if I can do something, my answer is always Yes. Food recipes? Yes. Food Products? Yes. Corporate portraits? Yes. Corporate events? Yes. Videos? Yes! My clients feel that they can come to me for everything that they need now or in the future. I was forced to learn Photoshop before many of you were born. After 20 years shooting film, I was told by my Nabisco bosses “here is an Apple power PC 8100 and a Leaf DCB-II camera make it work”. Therefore, I have been digital (Leaf Capture and Photoshop V3) since 1994 and shot my last film in 1997. My clients hire me because I hand them finished images ready for print or web.

3). You should never stop learning:

           The more you know, the more useful you can be for your clients and the more money you can make. We need to be pro-active in learning. Not just what’s new but what’s best. What is best is what makes our work the best. Before I was asked to shoot and edit video, I had learned it on my own. Once you know how to light well, you can light anything, even video.

4). Photography school?

           I spent 4 years at RIT learning professional photography. I still have friends from back then, but I really learned photography when I was a NYC photo assistant. Still, school never went to waste. After graduation my college degree did help me get those photographers assistant jobs in NYC. Years later one reason I was hired by Nabisco was my photo degree from RIT.

           I was an adjunct photo professor for 12 years. What I saw in tenured professors was a great lack of current knowledge. Over the years they stopped learning because they made their money by teaching not shooting. The adjuncts that were hired used to be professional photographers. We knew what was best as far as computers, software and photo equipment because our livelihoods depend on it. See how many working adjuncts your school will have.

Corporate life: Nabisco/Kraft Foods

           So, you will see that I spent 15 years within corporations with a good steady income and full benefits all the while running a freelance photo business on the side. I am not alone in this. You see that we and many others have left our own studios for corporate life and then gone back into our own studios. Corporate life is like a hard-working vacation compared to running your own studio. I personally learned a lot about shooting food and shooting digitally as a result of being on staff. Being an employee for a while helped me go past 40 years as a photographer.

 ADD: that’s me!

           Many photographers have ADD. That is why we are photographers and not accountants or engineers. Instant digital photography has been great for us. 2 minutes to see a polaroid processed was way too long to keep our attention on the set.

The only constant is change

1: Equipment

           Like I said, I have been doing this for over 40 years. So that makes me older. I do photography because I love creating images. I love controlling light and focus. I began shooting film: 35mm, 120mm 4X5” and 8X10”. Now I love digital and use many Adobe products. To that end, I spent a little money this year and took a chance. I used to shoot with Nikon D700’s (D7100 for video) and huge, heavy Speedotron strobes. Moving Speedotron boxes is more work the older you get! I lit with optical spotlights and became known for gutsy, short focus recipe images. I still shoot that way but now I am using the Nikon D850 for still and 4K video and Godox V1 flashes. That’s right. I have replaced Speedotron with tiny, battery powered flashes. I put two flashes into a Godox 48” Octabank, use one flash to add sparkle from behind and I can actually get f22 or f32 at 1/250th sec and ISO100! That’s amazing to me. I was raised shooting 8X10 film which needed multiple 2400 w/s strobes but digital only needs 300 w/s.

The only constant is change

2: Clients

           Having been a commercial photographer for all these years, I’ve seen clients come and go. One of my early art directors left NYC, moved to Florida, went to medical school and now is an eye doctor there (were still Facebook friends). I have lost some others as well. I started to work for one of my clients when I was still at Kraft (2003). This freelance client is now a billionaire just by building food companies, getting them well known and then selling them. I worked for him through 4 of his different companies. Lately I lost him because… I’m old! The art director that knew me left to go out on his own and the new one is well, very young. So, you see over the years I have seen some clients stay faithful and some just fade away. You never know when we’ll be back together. Some things are just beyond your control. One of my good clients Nestle/Gerber has moved from New Jersey to Virginia. Post Foods was bought and closed in New Jersey. I can attest that taxes in the North East are punitive. I’m in New Jersey because New Jersey had many food companies. As they leave over taxes, I may have to move away as well. The only constant is change.

The only constant is change

3: Costs

           When I arrived in NYC in 1975 (right after graduation), I rented a studio apartment in the photo district for $200.00 / month and shared a 1200 sq./ft studio loft with a friend for $250.00 / month. My how things changed. By 1982 I shared a 6000 sq./ft studio that cost me $400.00/day to operate. That was not the best move in my career. I was told by clients that fashion photographers could rent and bill back studios by the day but that still life photographers were expected to have their own studio. That was 1988 and I eventually closed down the NY studios. After spending 15 years working in-house, things had changed. Now I can rent studios for $350.00/day, pay nothing on days I’m not booked and charge it all back to my clients.

           I’ve been much better at keeping clients than I have at finding new ones. I haven’t had a photo rep since 2008. I do get work by word of mouth. I will be shooting for a new bakery soon. I got the call because one of my other bakeries (a client for over 10 years) gave my name to the new bakery and they called and booked me. So far, this one original client has connected me with 3 additional clients so positive word of mouth does work. Word of mouth is positive when your clients know you want to take care of them.

Lasting 40 years:

It’s all about love

           I loved photographing girlfriends and the Allman Brothers back in the early 70’s. I loved being the best photo assistant I could be back in the late 70’s. I loved shooting for ad agencies in the 80’s. I loved shooting food for corporations in the 90’s. I loved being forced to learn digital photography so early. I have loved shooting for companies both large and small for the last 15 years. It’s all about light and focus. Controlling both for a great result is just plain fun! Like I said, you can’t do anything for over 40 years unless you love it. When I was in my late 30’s, I saw the struggle that my older photography friends had as their clients retired with a great retirement package and they still wanted to shoot. They had a terrible time getting work. I determined then that if I went back on my own, I would seek out clients that were maybe 10 years younger than me. So now, I am 65 and all of my clients are younger than I am. All I know is that I have jobs lined up for the next 2 weeks.

           2020 will be 45 years since I graduated college and went to NYC. I am still pretty busy. I love my clients and love to shoot. I called a client today. Not to look for work but rather to see how she was healing after a fairly nasty accident. We talked for a while about life. We planned to go out to lunch with another client we both love. She told me that she was sending things to shoot. That was the end of the call. First, she had to know that I cared about her and I really do. There is really nothing better than that.

5). How it happened for me:

           Here is how I have been a working commercial photographer:

 1. 1972         

My first paid photo job was being hired to shoot for a Caterpillar warehouse. I was still in college. The client was and is a friend.

 2. 1975-1979

NYC photo assistant to many well-respected NY commercial photographers who shot food, fashion and photo illustration. 4 years is a long time, but that is where I learned so much. I was the guy in the middle.

 3. 1979-1989

Bill Truran Studios working for many NY agencies. DDB, LGFE, JCM, Bozell, Moss and more.

 4. 1989-2004

Senior photographer for Nabisco-Kraft Inc. Shooting recipes, images for packaging, people and advertising. Learning digital in 1994.

 5. 2004-2020

Bill Truran Productions LLC working for New Jersey corporations and agencies. Shooting whatever my clients require.

?Bill Truran Productions LLC 2019