We recently connected with Austin Zagar and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Austin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

Asking friends and family can be difficult at times but having that support system in an industry like photography can make a huge impact on your growth as a person as well as a business. Sometimes its hard to ask family and friends to pay for services that others normally would if not related. You don’t want them to think that you are just asking for money, but you also have to make sure that your costs are covered, in my case, film, development, and my time editing. I find that most of my family and friends are willing to pay for my services as well as refer me to others as a way of supporting my business.

Austin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who don’t know me, I am a landscape and portrait film photographer, with a passion for journalism photography, or interviewing other creative and influential people and taking photos of them while doing what they do best. I was drawn to journalism photography because I truly enjoy talking to others about their own passions, hobbies, and careers and finding out how they started and what got them where they are today. I love listening to their stories and struggles of the early years and how their own backgrounds and cultures influence them. My ability to make others comfortable and taking the time to get to know them as a person first before the photos helps to set me apart from others who may be in my field. When getting my clients comfortable, I am able to bring out their personalities in the photos I take vs a generic headshot or posed picture. I get those smiling, being goofy, showing me a side they only show those who are closest to them. This makes a huge difference in the way the photos turn out. Something to know about me before we work together is that I love to research prior to my shoots. I research the area, lighting, angles, and background of you before we even get our locations. This helps me to capture the best photos of you or the landscapes my client is looking for.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I find that sometimes non creatives, or those who are not in an art industry, sometimes struggle with understanding how much time, effort, and money go into projects that may not have any revenue benefit for me. Sometimes I do projects because I have a vision I want to get out there or have something that I’m drawn to. Sometimes these projects can get expensive, or they can take hours, weeks or months to complete, and I may not have anything in the bank to show for it. Non-creatives may see that as a waste of time and effort however if I have just one person who views it and says, “Wow, that’s amazing!” I feel just as rewarded as I do when I make a profit from a photo I sell. In this industry it’s not always about making money but making a name for yourself and giving others, even non-creatives, something beautiful to look at.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As cliche as it sounds, the pandemic of 2020- Covid. There were times where we were stuck in the house, clients didn’t want to do anything in person in fear of getting sick, and a lot of business were doing layoffs which increased the price of my equipment, i.e., film, development, prints, etc. I did a lot of soul searching and peptalks of “Is this really what you want to do? Can this really support you and your family?” Though, these were some of the toughest days, these were also some of the most rewarding days. I was able to spend a lot of time improving my technique, researching different styles and editing software. Once the world started to come alive again, so did my career. I started to push myself more in those first few months of things opening. I was able to grow my clients rapidly and schedule even more interviews and photoshoots. I learned that not everything bad that happens will result in a negative outcome. Sometimes those bad events can lead you to some of the best experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.austinzagar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austin_zagar/

Image Credits
City of Tulsa, Venice Beach Skate Park, Chicago Performers, and miss_hannah_hannah(Instagram)