We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bill Brady. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bill below.

Bill, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

The journey of a career is rarely a straightforward path. It zigs and zags, peaks and valleys, always evolving. Working in a creative industry, it is a common assumption that talent is the key to success. But when talent is a given, what factors contribute to the success of one individual over another? I would like to share my story.

Hello, my name is Bill Brady. I have been a professional commercial photographer since the late 1990s. Although my experience is unique and cannot be duplicated, my path highlights several crucial factors that have contributed to my success. Indeed, the most valuable lessons I have learned were through the mistakes I made along the way and understanding how to overcome them.

Following my college graduation, in an economy in the throes of recession, I completed my college degree with a BA in marketing and advertising. At that time, I took a break from my photography passion and instead focused on a career in advertising and marketing. The job market was sluggish, and my first job was in sales, where despite personal shyness and anxiety around strangers, I mastered valuable skills that I use to this day. Eventually, I transitioned into a marketing role with a publishing company.

But corporate life soon became monotonous, prompting me to revisit my old passion. Dusting off my camera bag and refilling my Nikon with a roll of Kodachrome, I delved into street photography to de-stress after work.

What began as a hobby soon took center stage in my life. Two years later, I armed myself with a substantial photography portfolio and began exploring my next steps. At this point, I was still working my 9-5 job and only felt genuinely content when behind the lens. A series of life-altering events led me to quit my job, with Anthony Robins’s “Awaken The Giant Within” spurring my decision making process.

Taking the leap in 1991, I ventured into professional photography, taking actor headshots. My career, however, took a turn when I was introduced to food cinematography through a tabletop director named Alex Fernbach. Working on large commercials for companies like Wendys and Kraft, I observed the intricacies of food commercials up close. I had been searching for the secret sauce when I combined my passions for food and photography I was able to see the road ahead.

Around the same time, I met Bill Helms, a food photographer, with whom I embarked on a journey that would shape my professional path. We rode the wave of transition from film to digital, working with A&P Supermarkets.

Despite the economic downturn in 2008, which led to a loss of substantial income, I found new opportunities shooting for Walmart’s Great Value rebrand. Emerging from the recession, I rebuilt my client base and achievement sustainability by 2011.

In my career, setbacks and diversification played a pivotal role. In 2015, I ventured into video to keep up with market demands. Currently, I divide my time between commercial food photography, corporate gigs, and video content.

Recently, I introduced a new venture selling my personal artwork,
http://www.billbrady.photography, which enables me to blend my creative vision with my professional work.

On my 30-year journey, my career evolved, skills were honed, and I made my mark in the creative realm. I discovered that following your passion, embracing critique and rejection, and evolving are the keys to success. Lastly, don’t forget to have fun! Creative work should be enjoyable and your attitude can set the tone for those around you. However you choose to walk your path stay true to your vision and live life with passion!

Bill, 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?

Presenting an immersive fusion of food and photography born out of my lifelong love for both, I bring an element of the extraordinary to the everyday.

My two greatest passions in life are food and photography. My Italian American family was food focused. Sunday dinner in my grandparents basement influenced me in many ways and instilled a life long love affair with food. These moments sowed the seeds of a lifelong romance with food that was fostered alongside my fascination with photography.

I have always been drawn to photography. One of my earliest memories as a child is of a Life Magazine photograph titled “The Napalm Girl”. The impact of that photograph changed me and the course of my entire life. I was 7 years old!

I spent many years perfecting my photography skills. First by learning on my own then with formal instruction in photography school. My career as a commercial photographer finally came into focus, when I discovered food photography. It was the missing ingredient in my evolution as a photographer.

Photography has always been a way for me to look at the world, translate a part of myself, and share it with other people. Over the years, I have taken tens of thousands of photographs. First on film and then digitally. I am fortunate to earn my living as a professional photographer. As a commercial photographer, clients pay me to execute their vision. I am able to work with fortune 100 companies like Walmart, ad agencies, creatives and start-up companies.

Today there are literally thousands of talented food photographers in the world. Technology has allowed many photographers to enter the field and there is a demand for food photography that increases daly. What sets me apart? I have a unique point of view which has developed over many years. Taking tens of thousands of photographs has provided with the necessary skills to produce and execute any photo job. My clients are guaranteed a successful shoot. My sets are fun and we have a great time with the understanding that my clients have put their trust in me and my team to deliver achieve their creative objectives.

My dedication to understanding my clients’ needs and delivering the perfect solution invigorates the same passion I discovered at the beginning of my career. Beyond skills and industry achievements, I enjoy problem-solving and enthusiasm for facing challenges that drive my work.

Alongside client photo shoots, I consistently engage with personal projects to maintain my sharpness and potential. Even after reaching significant professional milestones, my hunger for pushing boundaries continues to grow. As a published author on food photography, a guest lecturer, and a contributor to major advertising campaigns, I continue to search for opportunities of self-evolution.

My recent endeavor, an art photography site, is a testament to my two-decade-long career. Here, I showcase my personal work— curated collective of images embodying my exploration of food and photography.
Through my work, I aim to inspire and spark a conversation. You might not recognize my name, but chances are, you’ve already experienced my work. I invite you into this journey of culinary story-telling, one photograph at a time.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

While it may surprise people to hear this but letting go of my ego had a profound shift in my ability to enjoy my work and deliver my clients objectives. Early in my career I patterned my behavior from the perspective that I was the artist and I was being hired for my artistic vision. The stereotype of a temperamental, egotistical artist was what I thought clients were hiring me for and because It was my studio, my opinion superseded all others. This is great when everyone is in agreement, however, it set up unnecessary conflict especially when clients don’t agree with your vision.

One day after a particularly bad experience on set my client and I were just not getting along. This particular client was extremely combative and was also abusing my staff. The more I leaned in the worse it got. After the shoot I really took a look at my role during the shoot. I had a realization, it’s not about me!

A commercial photographer is paid to execute the vision of their client. If the client is not happy with a particular approach instead of pushing back it’s better to solve the problem. This was a major shift in the way I perceived my role. It is important to emphasize that as a creative you want to do an amazing job but the objective is to make the client happy. If you don’t agree with them keep it to yourself and just don’t include work in your portfolio you are not in alignment with.

This subtle shift in mindset, that I am not in the photography business but in the service business, has allowed me to detach from my ego and execute my work. If a client doesn’t agree with me, I don’t take it personally. Remember why you are there and do your job. Save the ego for personal work.

Unlearning a bad behavior does not diminish you, it makes you a better creative. You never know what you might learn if you open yourself up to opposing points of view.

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

I was having a great career, business was amazing, I was doing fun and interesting work and making a really good living. I had elevated my photography skills and was feeling really good about my path. I was in business with a boutique ad agency who was servicing one major client. I was trying to grow my book of business but servicing one major client kept me extremely busy.

I had a very successful 8 year run during which I really was developing as a food photographer. I was at the Art Directors Club in the fall of 2008 at a portfolio review when Lehman Brother’s failed. That event caused a cascading negative downturn in the economy and particularly in the creative community. As news spread, the room began to empty. Suddenly I was standing in a empty room with 100 extremely confused photographers. The day which was met with great excitement forshadowed the begining of some dark days for a lot of people.

For a while we were insulated as my partners were able to hang onto their on client. I was looking for new clients with greater urgency but there was a major contraction in economy, especially in the Ad Agency world. I was not able to on board any new business.

The following year, we received the bad news that our contract was not being renewed. We were effectively out of business. In a bizarre turn of events literally the next day I was picked by Walmart to work on a major rebrand. It was a temporary reprieve. The project lasted 12 weeks and we closed down the agency and my studio in the spring of 2010.

Fortunately, I was able to earn a large payday before we closed down which enabled me to regroup. I was able to take a share in an office with some of my agency friends but our business was in shambles. I had to find a studio to shoot in, new clients and learn how to keep the lights on. It was a difficult time.

Slowly, I began to dig my way out and with the help of some really good relationships I was back to even by 2014. It took almost five years to rebuild. I eventually began to focus on networking as a primary source of lead generation. People do business with people they like and trust. The lessons I learned from that experience forced me treat the business side of photography with equal balance and as much importance as the creative side.

The lesson for me is that nothing is permanent and there are no guarantees. However dark things can get, one phone call can change things in a instant. You just have to have faith that things will work out, pick yourself up and show up every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://billbradyphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billbradyphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillBradyphotography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billbradyphotography/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillBradyPhoto
• Other: https://vimeo.com/billbradyphotography

Image Credits
©BillBradyPhotography, Inc.