A recent email interview:
1) When did you first realize you wanted to do photography as a career?
Until a few years ago, photography was simply part of my freelance writing career. Pictures help sell magazine articles, and vice versa. In the 90s, I was writing was for various nightclub publications, so I was doing a lot of club photography. I eventually realized that I liked taking pictures more than I liked writing articles about DJs, so that’s when I started thinking about photography as a possible career.
2) Did you go to a two-year or four-year college?
I actually attended several colleges (Nova University, University of Florida, Broward Community College, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, and the University of Miami), but not for photography, and I never finished a degree (much to my parents’ dismay).
3) What inspires you?
Beauty inspires me. Maybe not “beauty” in a traditional sense, but people, places, and things that make the world a better place. Visually, I’ve always loved fashion photography, although I’ve never been particularly fashionable myself :)
4) What advice would you give someone going to school for photography?
Experiment! You’re paying to learn, so make the most of it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And try to make as many contacts as possible. You’re going to need them.
5) What's the best way for someone to build a good portfolio while they are in school?
It really depends on what you want to do with the portfolio. You need to know your intended audience before you can choose images for them. Model agencies and advertising agencies, for example, want to see completely different styles of photography. The perfect book for getting agency test shoots wouldn’t interest a creative director at all.
Until you know exactly what you want to do, the only practical approach is to shoot in as many styles as possible, so you can put together the right images for the right people later on. If you’re working with models, try to capture several different versions of each “look.”
6) Do you prefer digital or film?
I grew up shooting film, but I only shoot digital now unless it’s for some personal project. Film is great for learning to get it right in the camera, but the expense and time involved in developing it discourages experimentation.
7) Any thing else you would want to tell a photography student?
It’s important to do your research, but ultimately you’re going to find your own path. In Miami Beach, if you talk to five photographers, you’ll get ten opinions about how to succeed in this business. Consider everything, but always follow your heart.