Interview with Stephen Matera
"Combining a passion for all things outdoors with a unique creative eye, Stephen creates images for the world’s leading outdoor manufacturers and publishers. He developed his vision as a natural landscape photographer, and now applies that creative vision to active outdoor and lifestyle images."
I’ll start with the cliche question - what inspired you to become
a photographer and what was it about the process that piqued your interest?
As with many other outdoor photographers, my love for photography
grew out of my love for the outdoors. Taking photos of my experiences and trips
was an obvious thing to do to capture the memories, then photography took on a
life of its own and soon the photography was the driving force of many of my
trips.
At what point did photography transition from a hobby into a
career for you and how did you enter the industry as a professional?
I’ve been a full-time photographer for over 13 years now and was
licensing images and selling my work for years before that. I had a day job but
spent pretty much all of my spare time taking photos. After a while I was
getting enough work as a photographer I decided to take the leap and quit my
day job.
You do a lot of traveling, how do you manage your time in order
to create work, run a business and maintain relationships?
It’s hard to do! Especially since I have two kids under 10. I
decided that when I became a father that I wouldn’t be an absentee father. So I
curtailed a lot of travel for a number of years, only getting out as necessary.
As my kids have grown a little older, I’ve begun to travel more (I’m typing
this while on a flight to California!). I still keep most of my trips fairly
short (less than a week or so) but am traveling more. But when I’m home, I’m
spending as much time with family as possible.
Everyone keeps telling me that landscape photography won’t make a
career. What is your response to that statement?
Another thing that is hard to do! In the past few years, some new
ways to earn money as a landscape photography have emerged. Specifically social
media. Instagram has made it possible for photographers to connect with
literally hundreds of thousands of followers and for photographers to use that
connection to find workshop participants or buy prints. The traditional ways of
earning a living as a landscape photographer have mostly gone away. Exclusively
selling prints or licensing images to earn money is still possible, but much
more challenging as rates have dropped dramatically and with many more people
trying to sell their work, there is much more competition.
Is photography an expressive form of art for you or more of a
technical career?
How do you stand out in a field that can be under appreciated and
over saturated with mediocre work?
I don’t think these two things are mutually exclusive.
Photography is technical and creative at the same time. Creativity is very
personal and by nature expressive. Every photo I take is a personal expression
of what I find interesting and my way of sharing it.
I find it hard to start planning for a specific shoot, how do you
go about planning and conceptualizing?
Every shoot is different. It starts with the clients needs (if
there is a client) or what I want to show if it’s for my portfolio. For a
client shoot, they’ll reach out to me with an idea of what they are looking to
shoot. I’ll then suggest some locations based on their request. Occasionally a
client will have a specific location in mind. The client will also usually have
a shot list or creative brief of what they want to achieve from the shoot. Then
it’s up to me to interpret that and provide the images to satisfy their needs.
Do you ever feel self doubt or that you are stuck in a creative
rut? How do you pull yourself out of it?
Yes! I don’t think it’s possible to be a creative person and not
have creative lulls. Inspiration can come from anywhere and often after a
creative lull, I’ll get inspired by an idea or something that I saw that I can
work into my style of shooting. As for self doubt, when I am constantly putting
your work out in the world to be judged, it’s impossible for me not to feel any
self doubt about my work.
You have a large Instagram following, how valuable do you see
this platform as a working artist and where do you see it heading in the
future?
As a commercial photographer, Instagram has been of limited
benefit for me so far. I’ve licensed some images and sold some prints through Instagram. But I think
the value for me will be in finding potential clients for workshops.
If there was one thing you could go back and redo in your career,
what would it be?
Finally, do you have any insider tips and tricks to help a
newcomer succeed in the industry?
I would have started as a full-time photographer earlier. I chose
a double career path in photography. I shoot landscapes and commercial outdoor
sports and lifestyle images. This at times has been a lot to manage. As for
insider information, I don’t really have any great suggestions. I’ve heard many
people say that if you work hard enough and are passionate enough about what
you shoot, you are guaranteed success. I don’t agree with that. But you won’t
be successful if you don’t work hard and aren’t passionate about what you
shoot.
Find more of Stephen Materas' work at www.materaphoto.com or check out his Instagram
