Hi I'm Tamara Lackey on this episode of
Redefine show for Adorama TV, we speak
with Tony Corbell again and he digs
into how to get started in fashion and
shares with us that it doesn't matter
what you love to shoot and where you are
as long as you keep a few things in mind.
You can do what you love anywhere
check it out.
Hi Tony. Tamara. How are you?
I'm terrific. So you moved to New York to
shoot fashion and work. Well I moved to New York, well,
I moved to New York because everybody thinks
that they have to live in New York to
shoot fashion.
Let's talk about this because I know for
sure a number of people who feel like
because I'm not living in that place
yeah, where the work is
I can't do it. I either move there or I
switch my focus. So let me just tell you one
one quick thing, one of my favorite
photographers on this particular planet
is a guy named Nick Vedros
V E D R O S. Nick lives..on this
particular planet. Nick Vedros lives in
Kansas City, Missouri. Ok. And I said why, why
Kansas City and he says I can be in New York
in 3 hours, I can be in LA 3 hours
and he says, I want to be in the middle of the
country so I can move.
I don't want to be stuck on one side or
the other side. Right. He said I can shoot for
clients on both sides all the time, so he
carved out a niche of commercial
editorial work and advertising work
For him by deciding I'm just going to be
here and he built this great studio and
he built a pent house on the roof,
a five star pent house so when his clients
come in they don't check into the hotel. Brilliant.
They stay in his penthouse. I love it.
There is a hot tub on the roof,
it is an amazing thing.
So you have to
kind of figure out who you are.
and where you want to be
So you either pop that to the
jobs or they come to him and
when they come to him they're saving
budget money,
yeah, because he is putting them up free.
What I learned from that was you don't have
to be in New York you do if you're going to
pound the pavement every single day and
that's all you're going to do is shoot
fashion maybe you do. I thought that's
what I needed to do so I even went to work
and did a lot of work for Hasselblad.
I was in New Jersey and I was in and out
of the city every day, every other day.
After 7 years of that it kind of wears on you.
Yeah.
And I was in the city quite a bit and,
And your training in and out? I was, I was
well training or driving
either way. Yeah but I always
park and then taxi around. What I learned
was that I Love New York in the winter
because it was quiet when the
city was calm and quiet
Yeah. In the summer I hated New York
because all the bad smells thawed out it
was really miserable,
you know, it just wasn't a fun place to
be in the city, the heat. Actually the humidity
The heat and humidity gets in
between the buildings and it can't go
anywhere yeah so it's kind of a
miserable place but I was pretty
glad to escape there when I did escape
I went right back to San Diego and I could
breathe. When you say escape so
you made a conscious decision I don't
like this is anyone. Yes I've got
to go to San Diego. Because I don't like
this anymore? Was it a push or pull?
It was a push
Yeah. I said I'm gone. I'm going to
San Diego and it was
the right move for me at the time. Right,
so what did that do to your fashion work?
I stopped shooting it.
Oh so you didn't keep shooting it?
Well I didn't, but what I did do
so what did you start doing commercials?
I did start shooting more editorial work
Okay. And I started shooting chefs
for, I don't know what the
reason is. For some reason I got into a
spin for a few years where I was really
big shooting chefs and aircraft at night.
That's quite a specific genre. How weird
is that so what happens is I did this great
aircraft picture at night and I lit this
thing beautifully, I had fog machines
and I had gels and I had color and I
made this great sexy picture of a Learjet
at night and I hose down the runway
so I've got reflections. That pilot
unbeknownst to me knows every other
private aircraft pilot on the planet.
and he shared this picture with
everybody. So all of a sudden I'm the
aircraft guy. You're the guy. I'm the guy
So everybody would, they would fly their
planes into San Diego for me to shoot them
at night and it was, it was really great
and it was fun and it was exciting work
but it was long, these hours were
long and it might take me six hours to
do two exposures because these were,
I was painting with light
Yeah. I was painting I might have a
hundred pops with a speedlight on
this shoot.
Yeah. And you know I would bring in
one of the pilots and put him
in the cockpit and. Don't move. You cannot
move. Do not breathe. Or I will kill you.
And I did learn with pilots,
they are so vain that with pilots
if you need them to not move
well what you have to say is; if you move you
won't be recognizable, that's all you
have to say to a pilot, they'll never move
it was great. So you learn little techniques. Yeah
little techniques so I shot all these
aircraft then I shot a couple of great
chef pictures they got picked up
well all of a sudden Marriott loves me
and I want to shoot chefs and I'm shooting the
Marriott Fort Lauderdale chef and
they're using these posters in the lobbies
of the hotel, you know, come to our
restaurant on Sunday for the brunch
here's chef Bob and I'm shooting
these chef pictures.
Yeah. So I kept shooting a lot of
portrait sort of work but it was
editorial in nature and and kind of a
commercial use of the portrait. Right.
If that makes sense. Yeah it does commercial portrait.
So you moved away from fashion but you went
heavily into commercial director.
on a new niche. Still people. Right.
And I kind of drove
past my love and desire to shoot more
fashion. Right because you kind of burnt out on it.
Although I got one scheduled for next
week in Dallas. Then you went back into it. Yes exactly.
So one job came in recently for next week.
Okay so obviously throughout the length
of your career
it's not enough to just shoot well
and light well and have the
relationships you also have to have some
bedrock of very smart business to be
having the career you are having. Right.
What would you say is probably one of
the best tips you can give somebody
about business?
Most people that are professional
photographers their work is seasonal so
and especially in the portrait world. It's so
very seasonal many portrait
photographers make 70% or 80%
of their income in the last
quarter of the year
if you're not saving that money
to get you through the first
half of the next year. You're a fool.
So I think that you have to make sure you
recognize and know your numbers
You've got to know where you stand. Yeah
and I don't think that I can stress,
you know, strongly enough the need to save
some money. Yes. Save some money just
find a way to save it don't put it
somewhere where you can't get to it
Right. Separate accounts even?
Stop, just because you had a twelve thousand
dollar month does not mean you can go
out and buy eight thousand dollars worth
of new lenses, don't do it. Put that
money somewhere and put it away. Right.
Because you're going to need it because
next July things are going to
be lean again.
Yeah deserts come in. Deserts come in.
Yeah it is true. You just have to pay
attention to the numbers. And of course
sales tax, know that that's never you're money.
And if you're not a CPA then
you better have some of your team that
is. Right. And if you have to farm it out
to somebody as an independent do that but
you've got to make sure you know where
numbers are. Yes.
And that's such a smart thing because
you know I don't care what artistic
career you're in if you want to be a constant
player. You want to do the work you
love constantly business is such a
massive part of it and it's not you make
sure somebody on your team sales and
marketing, if you're not your best
salesman then get someone that is. Right
because you can light everything but if
nobody is selling that job you can't even
show it. We are the artist we want to give
everybody everything.
Yeah well don't you like my work and
just give you another free print?
That's what we do, you don't
need that in business. You do have to
value yourself and you have to recognize
that what you do matters and means
something to the clients
yes, don't devalue that and then and I
can give you one of ridiculous little
piece of advice don't price yourself or
your work to what you personally would
afford or would spend.
Oh yes because we all value things
differently. Right absolutely what's it
worth to that client. Not what it is worth to you.
Many times people say well I wouldn't pay
that much for it so I can't charge for it.
I would never pay for my rates. Apples and
oranges. That is not the point. Yeah.
Right, the point is what is my value to my client.
So true.
Thank you Tony I really appreciate it.
You're awesome you're the best.
Thanks for that fabulous insight Tony.
Check us out here next time
on Adorama TV and do not forget
you should subscribe to Adorama TV
for some amazing content across the board.