We recently connected with Gary Allard and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Gary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
A few years back, I was hired to provide still photography for a healthcare company and their rebranding. The clinic’s specialty is working with autistic children at every level. The specialists provide a variety of treatments including occupational therapy, music therapy, group play sessions, home therapy, etc.
The challenges for this particular project were many. Mainly, I could not use artificial light (certainly not strobes as I’m accustomed to), I would not be able to interact with the patients, parents or the Therapists at work, and I would be shooting alongside a small film crew that was creating mini case studies for the client. All of that meant I had to keep my head down, be quiet, and basically try to be invisible.
Once I knew the parameters, I formed a plan and worked together with the staff, the film team and the branding agency to build a shot list. For this, I would take a documentary or photojournalistic approach. As you can imagine, the parents of the children were highly protective and sensitive to what we were doing. I took it slow and worked through my method and began to gain their trust over the course of a few weeks.
We focused on the children from three families for the project: a young boy, Rowan, a young girl, Lauren, and an adolescent boy, Otto. I shot through open doors during therapy sessions at the clinic and visited the homes of some of the children for one-on-one parent/child time. We traveled to the beach and bay during occupational therapy where they took some of the kids out on paddle boards and, in one case, Otto on an open water swim.
As I continued working through the project I witnessed the interactions between the therapists and children: their reactions, their failures, their victories. I quickly began feeling the gravity of what I was given the chance to document. Up until then, I had not photographed anything this intimate or private. My background is in commercial and advertising photography where I essentially create the moments and polish them for delivery to the masses. This was raw and real and I found myself in some very emotional situations.
Once we wrapped the last session of filming and shooting, I had a quiet minute with the director and producer of the film crew. We all had this awkward little exchange where we got choked up saying “thank you” and “great working with you.” We’d gone through a lot of heavy moments together. It left a mark.
When I first began the edits in postproduction, I was second-guessing my work. I felt like it didn’t measure up technically, or that I should have explored more angles, looked for better light — all the things photographers do when critiquing their own work. But then I started to ignore the angles, the dodgy lighting, and the visual distractions, and began to see the emotion and expression in each image. The innocence of the child’s gaze and the glory of their laugh, the encouragement, the sense of hope. This was what I was there to see.
The images are on view at my website at https://garyallard.com/Galleries/Healthcare/
Gary, 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 spent the first half of my creative career as a graphic designer and art director for the sportswear and action sports industries. My specialties were logo and branding development, creating visual direction and trend forecasting. Sometime in the mid-2000s, a series of events provided me a chance to break away and become independent. It was an exciting, if not intimidating, time for me.
With a clean slate, I did some soul searching and decided I’d make the leap into commercial photography. I’d always had a passion for the art form. And, as the saying goes, the best way to ruin a hobby is to make it a career. I’m kidding, of course, but there was definitely a learning curve to the transition. I’d been working as an independent art director for a little while and had a business structure and S-Corp in place. A handful of clients were interested in my photography and, as I soon understood, being the photographer and art director was a conflict of interests. I had to choose and I went with the thing that was pushing all my buttons at the moment. Photography it would be.
The first few jobs were nerve-racking as I had no real idea how to price photography in the modern age. I severely undervalued my work, as most amateurs do. Through some digging, I found some valuable resources— one of them being the APA, of which I am the current San Diego chapter chairperson —and learned the intricacies of pricing, licensing and negotiating of photography.
Once I established my pricing structure and narrowed my genre to active lifestyle for commercial and advertising, I set to building a solid body of work to show. I gave myself assignments and utilized friends and family as models. I approached business owners to allow me to use their spaces and I rented or borrowed gear to make it all happen. I set up photo blogs about these projects and shared them wherever I could. In time, I began to get the jobs I wanted, not the jobs someone else wanted me to have.
Since then I’ve expanded my work to include portraiture; something I’d avoided in my early career. The people I’ve met through many assignments and commissions are the real essence of what I love about photography— To connect for a small amount of time and to hear their stories. We are making something together and separate. Each of us has a perception of the visual outcome, each of will also be surprised and, hopefully, delighted by the results. That element of photography, the “surprise and delight,” to borrow a phrase from the late Milton Glaser, is what fuels my passion for the medium today. That I can, in a literal split second, make an image that could potentially change your perception, or alter your mood, or move you to action. That’s a pretty great feeling.
When I approach a project with a client (it is always a collaboration) I ask a lot of questions. I first listen to what their main goals are. Next I place myself in that process and look for opportunities to alleviate as many pain points for them as possible. I’m only a piece of this pie that they are making and my job is to make their job easier. If I can accomplish that, I consider my role a success.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Organization: For professional photography resources, education and a vibrant, generous community, I recommend getting involved with the American Photographic Artists (apanational.org). I’ve been a member for over a decade and am currently the Chapter Chair for San Diego. I can’t say enough about the great people I’ve met and the invaluable information I’ve received by being a member.
Video: Early in my photo career I formed a friendship with (then) photographer Chase Jarvis (chasejarvis.com, creativelive.com founder/CEO). His “Chase Jarvis Live” series is super inspiring and insightful. with so many great interviews to explore. We have remained friends for many years and I look up to his accomplishments, admire his energy and am always inspired by our time together.
Book: Speaking of Chase, I’ll give a shout out to his book “Creative Calling.” It’s an outline of the practice of being creative in all aspects of life. Put simply, creativity is at the very core of problem solving — something everyone needs to know how to do.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I would say collaboration, because I don’t see enough these days. The pandemic has not helped, of course. There seems to be a large focus on what can be accomplished by one’s self; how many followers are acquired, how many likes get clicked. The further down this path we go, the further away we get from tangible rewards. When I focus on true collaborations with someone, the rewards are shared in real time. Ideas form and excitement blossoms and new paths are discovered. I will say without a doubt, my best and most personally valuable work has come from collaborations with other artists and colleagues. That inspiration is lasting and carries me toward new and rewarding projects.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://garyallard.com/
- Instagram: @gee_allard
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garyallardphoto
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyallard/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOZkoS2NF96gGNMODkWFJ-A
Image Credits
Stacy Keck, Gary Allard