We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Shopper a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

David, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Well, the world is flooded with pictures of people. Selfies, profile shots, stock photos. If a company is looking to stand out in its own distinct way, they need to separate themselves from this sea of images.
Images are overused because photography is such a powerful medium. When a company defines itself, it often does it with photos – like portraits of their leadership team and photos of their employees being productive. Every company wants its employees to look like they’re smart and innovative. In real life, though, the employees look more like you and me and less like they’re going to set the world on fire. They may have great scientific or financial minds, but those capabilities don’t usually translate to photos – you can’t “see” a person’s intelligence or business savvy. I tend to photograph companies and people that are extremely capable, and my job is to show their capabilities in pictures – to show the wheels turning in their heads. Often while they’re just standing there, looking at the camera. The “industry standard” is to show what a leadership team looks like. I create portraits and candid imagery that shows what expertise feels like.

David, 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?

I’ve been a commercial photographer in Boston for over 3 decades. It was that, or go to law school (I made the right choice).

Over the years, I’ve photographed buildings from helicopters, sports cars in Germany, trading floors in Manhattan, fashion, lifestyle, food, and product. I’ve shot in conference rooms, clean rooms, and bar rooms. My work has been part of ad campaigns, websites, and pretty much all forms of marketing. There’s rarely a dull moment.

About 10 years ago, I figured out (duh) that companies would rather hire a specialist than a general photographer, and I chose to focus on corporate portraiture and workplace candid photography.

I’ve pared down my technical approach as well. I used to shoot with a room full of strobes and heavy equipment (not to mention shooting film with 4×5 cameras). With the advent of faster and smaller equipment, I now shoot 35mm almost entirely with natural light. I find that using the ambient light gives a more organic and honest representation of people and their workplace. Everyone’s so used to seeing pictures taken with smartphones that strobe light smacks of over-production. Using natural light totally frees you to capture workplace situations as they organically happen rather than manufacturing a scene for the camera with lights blazing.

The thing about natural light photography, of course, is that your ambient light often stinks. It’s dim or too contrasy or weird colors. People’s noses get hit by a hard overhead canned light and it looks terrible. For me, light is a big part of the message. It can be bright and optimistic, warm, flattering. Finding the light is a big part of my job (and there’s good light in almost any room).

Sometimes I miss the variety of things and places I used to shoot, but I’ve found that the variety of personalities that people bring to portraits more than makes up for it. I usually have only 15 minutes for a headshot, but I try to find what makes each person tick in that time. Together, we find the confidence and stature that brought them to this point in their career. In each portrait, I try to put people in touch with their aspirations – the life they breath into their jobs.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding your business is both easier and harder than it used to be.

To start your commercial photography business, you don’t need all the latest and most expensive equipment. Especially if you shoot with natural light. You do need a good calibrated workstation so you can do your digital production and a good website to show your work (the hard part with the website isn’t necessarily funding it, it’s constructing the SEO so that it’s found).

Having clients is more important than having equipment. You can rent equipment.

I have a natural light studio on Boston’s North Shore, but it’s not really a necessity for the work I’m doing. I usually travel to my clients and shoot in their environments. They feel more comfortable there and the details of the setting help tell their story. You can work from your home instead of a studio, but I find that it helps to be able to separate work from home (at least have a door you can close for the weekend).

But back to funding: I borrowed a little money from my grandfather to get started. I established good credit so I could front some of the expenses on a card until I got paid. As my business developed, I put a percentage of my income back into the business in the form of equipment etc. I also had assisted for established photographers before I went out on my own, and some of them gave me projects that were too small for their studio to take on.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

If you do something for a long time, you often get good at it and have a set process. I’ve seen so many photographers master a technique, get super-successful, and then end up selling cars because the technique became tired and worn.

The trick is not to get locked into a way of constructing your imagery. It’s fine to have a style and actually imperative that you have a vision. But stay flexible. Don’t be dictated by your style – be loyal to your creative vision as it evolves. Trust the changes in how you shoot as your technology changes and your sensibilities grow. The creative journey is full of surprises; you can despair about them or embrace them as a chance to do something new and exciting.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.davidshopper.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reallifeonlybetter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Corporate.Branding.Photography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-shopper
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidshopper
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAk-ehXegvVIvw7J9poKSmA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/david-shopper-photography-ipswich