We recently connected with Tim Ozbun and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I think what it takes to be successful is a few things. They being passionate and committed to your business, working hard and being focused. Sometimes, you also need to have patience with yourself and your clients. When I first started my photography business I was also working at a regular job for the first six years of starting my business. I was able to build up my business by finding clients and developing my skills more to make me a better photographer. When the time came to quit my regular job and do photography full time I felt like it prepared me to be ready with myself.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well a little over 20 years ago I started to do photography in my sophomore year at high school. I originally took the class as an elective since my high school didn’t offer too many vocational courses. I thought working in the darkroom and film would be interesting to do. Once I finished the school year I didn’t really do photography as much until I got into college a few years later. Besides taking taking classes with film I took classes in digital photography and photoshop. That’s when I decided to major in photography. I even won an award for one of my photos that I entered in the San Diego County Fair. I ended up graduating from college with a degree in fine arts/photography. After I graduated I went on to work at several places such as a fan photographer for the San Diego Padres, Pet photographer for the holiday season at Petsmart and Petco, team photographer for a youth tennis league and I also worked as a real estate photographer. Today I work full time in photography for different clients and companies. I think what I am most proud of and what I want people to know is that I work hard, I’m reliable and will do my best to communicate and work with my clients, I’m most proud of just staying on top of things and having the motivation to work hard and do my best and provide the best photos for my clients.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of my particular business is having the freedom of being creative with my work. I can choose the angles and settings for my photo shoots and edit the photos to make my subject look their best. It makes me very happy, proud and satisfied when my clients and others love and compliment my work and show it off to others. There is no better feeling!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Nowadays, people don’t fully understand the amount of hard work and long hours it takes to be a photographer. With iPhones/Android cameras, people think all you have to do is just point and shoot the camera. Being a good photographer is a lot more than that! Non-creatives don’t understand that being a good photographer involves buying expensive equipment and understanding camera settings, angles and lighting to get that perfect shot. The editing process can also be very time consuming. I spend hours after each photoshoot making sure each photo is the best it can me. I take great pride in doing my best to create the most beautiful photos for all of my clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aflashphotos.com
- Instagram: @timozbunphotography
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-ozbun/70/5a7/382/
- Twitter: @tophotography
- Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/a-flash-photos-tim-ozbun-photography-chula-vista
Image Credits
Andres Nguyen, Angelina Blake, Deja Sanders, Grace Castillo, Mal, Norma Baladad, Pure Cabinets, Shenay Kloss, Troy and Annie Soltan, VaughnBerry, Vince and Parissa Baiera,