We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sean Arbabi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sean, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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?
I have been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work for over 25 years. After graduating with a BA in Commercial Photography, I sent out 150 resumés with no job offers, so I started my own photography business. A couple months later I accepted a Studio Photographer/ Studio Manager position that filled my schedule three days a week, allowing me the other four days to focus on my commercial business. Over time I built my commercial photography business up enough to leave the studio and work full time photographing projects and assignments, local, regional, and around the world. I diversified my business to include photo jobs, assignments, workshops and seminars, stock licensing, as well as selling fine art prints. Looking back, I don’t think I could’ve sped up the process. I jumped in with both feet and worked hard to establish myself and my reputation. Each year I learned more about my craft, about my business, and about our industry. Connections, trust, and confidence takes time, yet as long as you invest the effort, you can meet your goals.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I reside in Lafayette, California, a quaint small East Bay city in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. I picked up a camera at the age of eleven and photography has been my passion ever since.
Having worked with major brands such as Pottery Barn and Men’s Wearhouse, I lead and consult in digital and print production for high volume eCommerce photo studios. I enjoy piecing the intricate digital production puzzle together to bring success to teams and departments. I’ve directed crews, managed teams, produced studio and on-location shoots, overseen and project managed thousands of creative projects, increased quality, defined roles and responsibilities, and improved industry standard processes for digital workflows, all with great results saving millions in annual budgets.
Regarding photography, I possess a unique skill set. As a commercial shooter at the highest level, I can decipher every part of a photograph, from proper exposure to dynamic range, intricate lighting to the ingredients necessary for creating an impactful message. Through editing and retouching hundreds of thousands of shots, I possess a keen eye for detail, gesture, mood, and composition when choosing top selects. As a photo studio leader and Ecommerce producer, I manage all aspects of photo shoots booking talent and crews, leading updates and improvements of style and lighting guides, handling contracts and invoicing while creating budget savings, recognizing the importance of organization and thorough project management. I work with on-figure fashion, product stills, and editorial shoots understanding tailoring, styling, and set building. Overseeing post-production for major brands like Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, and Men’s Wearhouse, I can identify the capabilities of retouching, whether for print or digital, while uniforming image quality and consistency for customer experience. To be a successful Director of Photography, Photo Studio Director, or Senior Photo Producer, you need this level of expertise, a clear vision, and a collaborative nature to ensure a major brand’s direction of photography.
My managerial style is solution-based, inclusive, innovative, kind, genuine and decisive. I’m pro-active, self-driven, organized, and efficient. A down-to-earth people person who enjoys collaborating with or leading a team, inspiring colleagues and crews, while making the work environment rewarding and productive.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I love creating great imagery, as well as driving successful process for digital production teams, however my mission is more about how I treat people, and how they feel when they are around me.
I loved seeing how appreciative Brendan Fraser was, responding with gratitude to all the accolades for his acting role in The Whale. I saw an interview where he said to fellow actor Ke Huy Quan “We’re still here!”. They recounted the story in an acting roundtable, both tearing up. It struck a cord with me.
People just want to be recognized. Maybe not all, but most. To be needed for a group or project or company, to have the chance to prove themselves, to show how passionate they are about what they do. This makes people feel connected, provides them a purpose, some dignity, some pride, a place in the world when it comes to their vocation.
Through all the layoffs, I’ve read many a post where some are pouring their hearts out after losing their jobs. Most are thankful, some are sad, others stressed out describing how they’re on the verge of a financial crisis. I also see fellow colleagues recognizing their colleagues, sharing kind thoughts about them, recommending them to others.
This is why I love being kind, as much as I can be, everyday. Someone once told me, in a slightly negative way, “you’re such a cheerleader”. Yes I am. Yes I am. Because through all that we do in our careers, to me life is more about how you treat people and how they feel about being around you.
You want to build a great team? Do it through empathy and kindness, combined with hard work and talent, and nothing can beat that. Help them with only the goal to see them succeed and you’ve defined what a true teammate is.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2016, some major changes occurred in my life, and I decided I wanted to work more locally. To be on or lead a team, collaborative with creatives, and bring all the knowledge and experience I’d gained and apply it to a new challenge. In early 2017, I accepted a role to run a major photo studio for Tailored Brands, the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse, Jos A Bank, and other men’s fashion brands. Although I’d led small production teams on various shoots around the world, it was a new venture, but I relished learning about every detail in our systems, processes, projects, metrics, and goals, to slowly improve our department, maximizing our budget while improving lead times and quality. Over four years, we doubled production in the same space, and with the same resources, with an 18% cost increase. While doing so, we also improved our work environment by helping each employee succeed in their roles while addressing and improving on challenging relationships. I’m proud of the efforts and success we had, and it was a great learning process for me as well!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.seanarbabi.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanarbabi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seanarbabi/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arbabi/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thephotoguru
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanArbabi
- Other: My Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/arbabi/
Image Credits
All photos © Sean Arbabi | seanarbabi.com (all rights reserved worldwide) Screenshots of Pottery Barn and Mens Wearhouse websites are projects I directed and managed.