We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thomas Bufe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Thomas, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
Well, I originally tried my hand at photography when I was about sixteen years-old. My friends and I would often try to find ways to kill time after school, which almost always ended with us just exploring the city. More specifically, the abandoned buildings that were scattered throughout. This was around the time that I started borrowing my mom’s camera.
Back then, I never had that deep of a connection with photography. The only reason I even started taking pictures during those explorations was because I thought it’d be nice to eventually look back on those memories with everyone. Yet every photo I took, I quickly realized that it was becoming therapeutic. I felt like I could finally express myself. Even more so, it helped me look at the world in a completely different way, allowing me to see the beauty in things that I wouldn’t have thought twice about beforehand. Pretty soon I was bringing that camera with me almost everywhere I went, photographing everything that inspired me along the way.
It wasn’t until right after I graduated high-school that I started thinking about making the switch from hobby to career. After I saved up enough money from my first job to buy a new camera, and spent those first two years building my portfolio, friends started contacting me every now and then about how their families needed prints for their homes, offices, portraits for birthdays, reunions, etc. and that they would pay me.
At the time, the thought of getting paid for taking photos never crossed my mind, it was practically a foreign concept to me. Not only was it something that I loved doing, but in the end, I just really enjoyed making people happy. When I took a moment to reflect and finally realized that I could make a living by helping people in my own way AND by doing something that I actually loved doing, it was a wrap. I knew I had the passion, but the next step was to better understand the business aspect of being a photographer. So I started networking with various creatives around St. Louis, Chicago, and eventually Seattle, trying to learn as much as I could. Once I felt that I had a decent understanding of everything, I’d say that’s when my career truly started.
Thomas, 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?
My name is Thomas Bufe (boo-fay) and I’m a freelance photographer born and raised in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. I’ve never limited myself to a specific style, doing everything from portraits, weddings, sports and equestrian photography, all the way to fashion, concerts for local up-and-coming artists, landscape, etc. I often tell people; if you need pictures taken, I’ll take them.
I guess the main thing that I’d want people to know about myself is just how passionate I am towards the work that I do. This process, to me, is far from some money-hungry photographer showing up just to click a couple of buttons, get paid, and then leave. The opportunities that I’ve been blessed with to work with so many different people and being able to help them bring their visions to life is one of the main reasons behind what fuels my motivation, and why I’ve been so determined. As I’ve mentioned earlier, making people happy in my own way through photography is what made me love what I do in the first place. This means that my top priority will always be creating the best experience possible for my clients.
Over the years, there were quite a few situations that challenged that exact determination of mine. These moments often forced me to question myself on just how badly I was willing to go the extra mile for the sake of creating said-experiences for others. One example of this would be when potential clients from other cities would have last-second cancellations from other photographers, or weren’t able to find any in a short amount of time. I would drive to meet them, regardless of distance, just to ensure that they could always rely on me to get the job done.
I found myself losing more money than I was earning from a couple of those out-of-town gigs, but I never looked at it as a negative. To me, each one of those long distance drives was a form of self-investment. Sure they helped build my clientele, but more importantly, it helped people understand just how much I care.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Honestly, as cliche as it might sound, it’s knowing that there are people out there who genuinely enjoy my art. Like I’ve mentioned before, I express myself through photography, and although they’re only pictures at the end of the day, each one is a reflection of my emotions and symbolizes a different chapter in my life. So whenever someone tells me that they understand a certain piece, or that it helped them reflect, or even that it “looks cool”, I can’t help but be happy. It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I’m fueled by a simple goal; to use my art to help as many people as I possibly can. Whether it’s by making a family happy by capturing their greatest memories on camera, or something as simple as making somebody’s living-room look slightly better with a framed-photo of mine. Either way, if I created something that makes a positive impact on another, that’s enough to motivate me for the rest of my life.
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Thomas Bufe