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Thursday August 11th, 2011
“I’d love to say I have some fond memory of discovering an old film camera in my Dad’s dusty shoebox tucked away in the attic, but the truth is I picked up a digital camera less than three years ago on an impulse buy.”
That was Matt Dutile‘s response to my question of how he became a photographer. His answer surprised me, especially since he has such polished lifestyle and travel work. You would think he was a seasoned professional who’d be shooting for many years.
Matt went on to explain that after joining the workforce as a public relations professional, he eventually became bored and started searching for a hobby. Thinking back to his high school darkroom days, Matt decided on a whim to pick up a camera to play with. After a few months of weekend shooting, a commercial photographer saw Matt’s work and encouraged him to take his photography more seriously. Matt took his advice and began searching for his own photo niche. Seeing that his passion lay in lifestyle shooting, he put together a lifestyle geared portfolio, left his PR gig, and made the plunge into commercial photography. After a couple months of working with local Arizona clients, he packed up his things and moved on up to the Big Apple,
That sounds really condensed but there was a lot of hard work, marketing and making the images better in between that time. But relatively it all moved pretty fast. It was sort of epiphany style. One day it just clicked that this is what I needed to be doing. Since then I’ve been working non-stop to make it happen, refining/discovering what my visual style is, and getting the chance to work with some great people.
Recently, one of Matt’s promo pieces caught my eye and I decided to get in touch with him about the process and concept behind it. As we were talking I realized what was more interesting than the recent personal project/promo was Matt’s story itself. Making it in New York as a commercial lifestyle photographer is hard for even veteran shooters, let alone one who picked up a camera just three years ago. I decided to dig deeper into how Matt has propelled himself so quickly into the photo industry,
Most of my work has come from word of mouth. I like getting to meet people. I try to get in the door whenever I can.
My immediate focus has been, and continues to be, making my images as good as they possibly can be. That’s always number one for me. Along the way I’ve been refining my brand and brand experience. It’s important to curate your work into a cohesive vision and brand. We’re appealing to creative people – so get creative.
Matt has made some nice images and has branded himself well, even coining himself a catch phrase, “The Energy of Life.” Matt dove into his branding and imagery, trying to express himself and show, “the fun and goofy guy” he is through his photos. Colors, high energy, smiles, and motion are constant themes throughout Matt’s brand and he obviously works hard at consistency. What Matt likes the most is about his work is,
Being able to make people smile or experience a genuine moment and then freezing that moment through the camera. I like finding windows into people’s lives and the places they live. Mostly, I want to tell stories.
However, that’s all well and good, but I’ve known photographers who’ve done good work, even great work, and still haven’t been as successful as Matt, even after years and years of trying. To this Matt’s answer is,
You’ve got to really want to be a photographer. You have to fight for it. There’s no room for people who think, “Oh, well I’ll try this out because it seems like a ton of fun,” or even, “I love this, but I’m not willing to give up x, y, z.” You can’t just want to be a photographer. You have to be a photographer. When it’s a part of your self-identity and not just what you do to make a living, that’s when it’s right for you. It’s not plan B. There is no plan B. It’s make this happen. And that’s when you realize that whatever it takes to get there, that’s what you’re prepared to do.
- Maria Luci
Tuesday July 19th, 2011
While on assignment in Negril, Jamaica, Michelle Nolan found herself with a day off in between shoots. Rather than relax by the pool, she decided to explore the island and take some personal shots. After asking a few locals how she could make the most out of her day, Michelle found her way to a place called Rick’s Cafe to watch the famous cliff divers.
Michelle had been told that tourists flock to Rick’s to watch young divers execute flawless jumps from the rock cliffs for tips. Since it was the off season and few people were around, Michelle thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know some of these divers. After watching for a bit, Michelle approached a small group of boys and asked if she could hang for the day and photograph them. Their response? “Anytime, mon.” Which was exactly what she was hoping for.
So Michelle started her day with Tippa, Ricardo, Cody and Jordaine, three young men all under the age of 22, all of which had been diving most of their lives. Best friends, these four had a strong sense of brotherhood that Michelle found obvious as she watched. Each boy had a their own individual dive, personality, and nickname.
According to Michelle, photographing the divers was, “truly a unique experience.” Not only were they exquisite divers with skills that could rival Olympians, but they were also great fun to be around. Michelle told me a little about the boys,
They loved being in front of the camera and would yell down from the cliffs, “Miss Michelle, get this!” At times, I couldn’t keep up because more than one of them would yell from different directions. I couldn’t get over how happy they were jumping, swimming, climbing repeatedly throughout the day. They’re playful razzing of one another (and me) highlighted they’re vibrant personalities. They were such free-spirits. So much so, I couldn’t help but dive in myself. My jump was only from about 20 ft. My new friends, however, were diving from 40 plus feet without hesitation. I asked them if they ever got hurt from diving. Tippa told me a story about doing a back flip and grazing his head on a rock on the way down. This is why he said he’ll never do that dive again. I told him his swan dives are beautiful enough.
However, these four were not the only ones to grab Michelle’s attention. There was another diver that caught her eye,
He was a little older than the rest of the boys and kind of the lone-wolf of the group. He had a fiery personality and I could tell he digged the danger. His dives were risky, yet incredibly athletic. The boys told me that he was “crazy.” I photographed him diving just for a moment because he didn’t like his picture taken.
The day flew by for Michelle and as the sun began to set she found herself wishing she had more time to spend with these unique islanders. Michelle took away a lot from that day—great photos, new friends, fond memories, and a renewed vigor for photography. Michelle explained, “The experience reminded me of one thing I love about being a photographer—for a brief moment it’s a doorway into the lives of people I would never otherwise had the chance to meet, sit with, talk to and get to know. Without it, I would have just been another gawking tourist with a camera.”
- Maria
Wednesday August 25th, 2010
“Remember,” wrote Daniel Clowes in his great comic Art School Confidential, “the only piece of paper less valuable than one of your paintings is a B.F.A. degree.”
As Bloomberg Business Week recently reported, this lesson has become a reality for many students of for-profit art schools, which demand a high tuition with no guarantee of employment. One student featured in the article, Carianne Howard, has been unable to find a job with her degree in video game design—so she earns her living dancing at a strip club. Howard’s school, the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, is part-owned by Goldman Sachs, and her bachelor’s degree in game art and design cost $70,000.
One of the many career choices for today's graduate. (Photo by Roger Hagadone/New York)
These dilemmas are likely to grow for many students; according to the National Center of Education Statistics, there were 87,703 graduates in the visual and performing arts in the year 2007-08, up from 30,394 in 1970-71. Compare this to 68,676 graduates in engineering for 2008.
The volume of art school graduates is something of a new phenomenon, according to the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a non-profit consortium of 36 art schools. AICAD explains that “until shortly after World War II, going to college was unusual in most visual art fields. Artists and designers were often self-trained or educated through apprenticeships and on-the-job training.” However, they go on to point out that due to “the current complexity of our society and of the art and design fields, the expectations of employers and art venues, and the increasing competition from college-educated students for employment positions,” a professional degree is becoming a requirement for a career in the arts.
As these numbers rise, the market for graduates in these fields is somewhat ambiguous. Though the Bureau for Labor Statistics (BLS) expects employment in artistic fields to grow by 12 percent, this reflects the average for all occupations. “Competition,” warns the BLS “for jobs as artists and related workers will be keen because there are more qualified candidates than available jobs.”
Though 60% of working artists are self-employed, the majority of artists work as art directors (84,200 out of 221,900 total in 2008), with a significant number of the rest in advertising.
At least photography school has darkrooms. (Photo by Billy Delfs/Cleveland)
The BLS sees a similar story for photographers, with growth in employment mirroring the average and a high rate of self-employment. They add that there is likely to be great competition because “the work is attractive to many people,” and point out that while the internet and related media have increased the demand for photography (as well as the ability of photographers to access potential clients), the lower barriers to entry have significantly increased the competition—a condition only exacerbated by the decline in the newspaper and magazine industry.
What was your education, and how has it served you? Let us know in the comments.
-Asad Haider
