We were lucky to catch up with Douglas Burns recently and have shared our conversation below.

Douglas, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken – was deciding not to take the traditional career route. Growing up, my father firmly believed that if you didn’t study science or business then you didn’t contribute to society and would struggle financially for your adult life.

You have to understand, both of my parents grew up as children of depression era parents. Both came from humble backgrounds. My father heavily emphasized traditional higher education as a pathway to financial success because that’s what he did. That’s what he knew. You go to college, get a degree, get a job in corporate America, raise 2.5 kids, etc… That was the American dream as he understood it.

So you can imagine his disappointment when after graduation I decided to pursue a career as a photographer. First for a local news station, then as a freelance Dir of Photography pursing gig work doing corporate films and broadcast projects. It was a world he didn’t know or understand. And it defiantly didn’t come with a regular paycheck and benefits.

That said, my life behind the lens has been one I wouldn’t have traded for all the tea in China. I’ve had the opportunity to grow as an artist and craftsman, work on projects at the highest level of broadcasting and meet people that most only ever hear about or never knew existed. The opportunity to showcase the stories of the rich and famous as well as the complete unknowns keeps things interesting. I never know who I’m going to meet next.

People are endlessly fascinating. What drives them (personally and professionally). What their influences are. What their dreams are. I love the fact that I get to meet so many people from so many different walks of life. For a brief moment, I get to interact with them and learn something new about the world we live in.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I think I’ve always been in love with photography. Growing up, we always had magazines around (National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, etc…) that were filled with wonderful photography. I’d pour over those periodicals every month they came in. I rarely looked at the articles, I’d want to look at the photos. To this day, I’ll spend more time studying the photography in a magazine article than I will the text.

However, I never thought about this as a profession though until college. It was there that a good friend helped steer me towards this path when I found myself floundering in my studies (I originally studied computer science and anthropology in college). That was when I actually picked up a camera for the first time. Ever since then it’s been a love affair with lighting, composition, and storytelling with a lens. It’s a way to see the world in a very specific way.

I originally pursued a career in broadcasting and video production – an area I still work in from time to time. I had dreams of grandeur, working on big Hollywood sets, being the next Spielberg etc… But life doesn’t work like that. Instead I’ve built a career working on projects with much smaller budgets and with much less glamor. There’s been a couple of small films along the way, but the vast majority of my projects have been for corporate and industrial clients.

I think that only adds to the flavor of what I bring to the table as a photographer. I’ve had the opportunity to photograph in dusty, dirty, grimy situations with people covered in oil and grease (some of my favorite places to photograph) as well as supper clean laboratories and electronic clean rooms. Every space, every subject having it’s unique character and presenting it’s own photographic challenges.

I’ve learned to be extremely adaptable. Walk into any space and find a creative way to photograph it in a way that’s acceptable to the client. Find a way to tell their story.

I truly believe it’s my job to make my client’s look good – no matter what. That doesn’t mean lying or creating something that’s not there. But it does mean presenting them in the best possible light (pun intended). I want people to recognize themselves in the photograph, be proud of who they are and the value they provide. To that end, I’ll employ all kinds of photographic and lighting tricks to bring out the best of my subjects.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I like to quote my photographic hero Joe McNally, “a bad day in the field with a camera is better than any day in the office.” While I spend way too much time behind my desk – I get a charge being in the field with a camera in my hands. I love being in a new space and working through the challenge of creating a unique photo.

Forcing yourself to see something new, or something in a new way. Trying to interpret a scene in a way that’s both familiar and new. Playing with the light, Crafting it, shaping it, directing it in a way that brings the subject/scene to life.

I often find myself getting low and a little depressed when I spend too much time in the office. When I force myself out of the office and pick up a camera, even if it’s just to photograph my dog with my cell phone, my entire demeanor will improve. As a creative, working through the creative process is like breathing. If I don’t do it on a regular basis, I lose myself.

Sometimes its just the idea of picking up the camera and forcing yourself to play a little. Giving yourself permission to play. As adults I think we lose that part of ourselves as we grow old and grow up.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

This is hard to answer, because I’m most defiantly in the growth stage, still working on obtaining new clients. This is a year of rebranding for me and in many way’s it feels like I’m starting from scratch. My broadcast video work has always been something of a slow burn. I have a couple of semi regular clients, but nothing I can retire on. 12 years ago my wife and I opened our own travel agency, but that got wiped out thanks to the 2020 pandemic (hard to sell travel when the whole world is shut down). While my wife still works in the travel industry, I didn’t have the heart for the business model anymore.

So I went back to my first love – photography. I tried personal and family fine art portraiture for a while. But I’m much more comfortable working with businesses. I’ve get a kick out of helping them create content they can use to promote their company, services, products, etc… There’s also so much more variety to photograph than just doing family portraits.

Besides – I’m not really the baby in baskets type. Photographing two year olds seams like Dante’s 3 ring of hell. And I’m not even going to talk about weddings and birthday parties….. I burned that t-shirt years ago.

So I’m back building, from almost scratch, a B2B photographic business. Creating customized content for companies, telling photographic stories, and shooting headshots at offices and events. And I love bringing some joy and fun into the work place for my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dnbproductions.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-n-burns-a20ba313/
• Twitter: https://x.com/DouglasBur47152
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@douglasnburns

Image Credits

portfolio images copyright Douglas N Burns