This week we are joined by San Diego photographer, Don Sheffler! Don is a great photographer in our community here & he does great work with skateboard/sport photography, senior portraits, and other genres as well. He chats with us about his philosophies regarding keeping photography fun! Don loved photography in the 80s, but he didn't do it professionally for another 20 years. In 2006, his son joined pop warner football & Don took the opportunity to become the team photographer, taking photos on auto the whole time & just having fun with it. He enjoyed it quite a bit & eventually took a photography class with his daughter (and his old high school photography teacher!), and the new DSLR cameras blew his mind! His knowledge of photography came flooding back & he purchased his first DSLR shortly thereafter. The rest is history!! Key Takeaways:

1. Working for free- Don is not afraid to do on-speck "free" stuff to get his foot in the door in the sports photography world, and it's paid off for sure! He also started out by tagging along with other photographers, learning everything he could about the business & having fun doing what he loved!
2. "Love your work or don't do it"- Don never wanted photography to be his sole source of income because he knew that would affect how he viewed photography in general, and how he approached shoots. This is a huge key in keeping photography fun if it's something that is possible for you!
3. Socializing vs. networking- Don feels there is a huge difference between socializing and networking. Networking tends to be a little more formal, with more pressure, whereas socializing is more fun & you still make great connections with other people in your industry, but without the pressure.
4. Licensing Rights- Don stresses the importance of always keeping the rights to your photos. If he does give licensing rights for stock photography or commissioned shoots, he gives very specific rights to the client while still reserving his right to use them. If a client wants licensing for something like packaging, Don gives a temporary, 1 year license and requires the business to renew if they want to keep using it. This is a great way to make some income from a shoot that happened years prior (I mean... making money from past shoots without having to do any extra work sounds like it could totally contribute to keeping photography fun!)
5. Finding your style- Don's style is very bold, bright, and a bit daring. His senior portraits & his sports photography both show this, and Don always shoots for himself first... he trusts his style & photography instincts and know that clients hire him for HIS style. He's not self conscious to be "that guy" carrying around heavy lights & flashes to skateboard competitions because he knows that's the style he wants to shoot! Nobody else was shooting that way, so he was quickly discovered by magazines & advertisers wanting to use his work. Standing out from the crowd is ALWAYS a good thing in this career!

Related Links:

• www.donsheffler.com
• www.donshots.com