Great question!

I don't have numbers at my fingertips but my income fluctuates from year to year. And even the better years aren't always great riches.

Photography is a competitive business with more good photographers than there are good assignments. I think of it as as much "a calling" as a business. And if I'm making great photographs on occasion, and making a living, then I'm pleased.

Hahaha. All the time!

Literally a third of subjects will tell you straight out, "I hate having my picture taken." And some can be quite unpleasant about it.

Luckily, one of my mottos is: "I'm here to make pictures, not friends."

Is being a successful photographer have any influence on being a good dad ? To be more specific is your job allowing you to be more or less present in your kid life?

>It's weird that you should ask, as I was just listening to Elliott Smith.
>
>Elliott was living in Brooklyn at the time and known to be camera-shy the record company recommended that we do the shoot low-key and keep it local for him. But having an editorial background I thought of the images first and my sitter’s comfort second. I had a couple of friends who had just moved to rural New Jersey and together they provided perfect backdrops – one had an old unrenovated farm house and the other an empty in-ground swimming pool. If our subject wasn’t going to give much it wouldn’t matter – the locations were interesting looking.Elliott was pleasant and cooperative but seemed eager to move on and get home (and he made early dinner plans – perhaps revenge for being made to travel to a location) so things were cut short.

Thank you for your answer. image searching, you did more of him than I remember, including photos from a couple of 45's I have. All great photographs. His aura comes through. Thanks again.

This is a great question.

I usually have at least one personal project on the go that I can turn to when not on assignment. Some of the projects turn into books, others become a section on my website, and the rest are abandoned (with perhaps one or two pictures from the series surviving to be shown).

But just as important as having a finesse and easy with the technically aspects on set is keeping the creative muscle in good shape, and that can come through writing down ideas, or even brainstorming large projects.

Thanks for showing up here too!

I transitioned to shooting digital only around 10 years ago. It was very difficult to find a digital format that I liked, but once I did I was all-in.

It struck me that digital was going to dominate going forward and it was a distraction in my work if I stubbornly stuck to shooting film.

The fact is that I don't think much about cameras or other technological things much, as I'm here for the pictures, not the process.

Where I shoot is usually set by the parameters of the assignment, but if I got to choose I'd usually shoot at someone's home.

When you shoot at a subject's home then everywhere is fair game as a background or environment - even it's the corner of the garage, or inside of their closet. It's their space, that they've chosen to be a certain way, hence, a meaningful background for my picture.

I appreciate you constantly pushing the concept of a portrait from something staid to something dynamic and fascinating and fun. I assume you're going into these shoots with a concept from a photo editor or art director. But you're also photographing people who sometimes heavily controlled (image wise) and giving you little-to-no time.

I appreciate you constantly pushing the concept of a portrait from something staid to something dynamic and fascinating and fun. I assume you're going into these shoots with a concept from a photo editor or art director. But you're also photographing people who are sometimes heavily controlled (image-wise) and giving you little-to-no time.

I'd love to hear about your approach. Do you start simple and work your way up? Or do you go in with a mood board and your dream idea upfront? How much are you involving the people your photographing in the process?

One of the great things about photography is the low barrier to entry - everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times. So, take lots of pictures, and over time figure out what subject matter interests you most. Then, laser focus on that subject, shooting hundreds of sessions, thousands of photos.

On photography, I like to say, "Being good is easy, being great is super hard."

I am leading a workshop in Los Angeles next month called "The Surprising Portrait" and it's all about making your portrait practice a reflection of who you are and what makes you tick. Technical prowess is not key to success in my workshop, only a dedication to getting better and doing the deep personal work to get there.

Hey Chris, any advice on the getting a coffee table book of photos? One you would recommend? Weird question I know but you know a lot about photos. :)

Different portrait shooters have different approaches. Some have warm and collaborative relationships with the subjects, others treat them like a still life object. Both of these can lead to great images.

I suppose that my approach is somewhat in-between those extremes. I like people and getting to hear their stories, but I also like to be in charge of the picture. Hence, I will be friendly on set, but not TOO friendly.

Sometimes I can stumble upon incredible photos of eagles catching a fish, where the shot is taken precisely when the talons grab the fish and a lot of water splashing around. A lot of motion is happening as well.

How do photographers take these kinds of incredible photos?

OK, I'll ask. How representative of your work would you rank the selfie you took for proof?

Jay-Z was an easy and professional subject.

The idea of the story was, "How would Jay-Z be spending his time if he hadn’t become a hip hop superstar?" The cover shows working at the local chicken joint, near the Marcy Projects. Some of the others included him watching TV outside the projects where he grew up, seeing his vehicle get towed, shopping in a corner deli, and of course doing his laundry. All shot with a 4x5 camera on location in Brooklyn.

I was recently interviewed for a podcast called "A Shot" on just one picture from this session:

https://www.ashotpodcast.com/episodes/ep-025-chris-buck?fbclid=IwAR2oNALJFNzdp8BV9oPvWZTaOuQjilNS7KWaFdH0YZi-6PBYe4pxO2kQVbM

Have you ever photographed "normal" people ? If so , When was the last time ?

How much money you can make on busy and slow year?

For clarity sake, the four Presidents I did sittings with are G.H.W. Bush (41), George W. Bush (43), Barack Obama (44), and Donald Trump (45).

Presidents generally have more influence than strictly cultural figures. Only the future can tell, but my guess is that Trump will be the most historically relevant figure of these subjects of mine.

Obama is important as the first Black President, but Trump is so outside the box of who ends up in the White House, this could be a marker what the presidency looks like going forward.

I'm just realizing now that this was probably a joke question.

How was your experience with Jay Z?

I hope U have a Good day 👍

I'm equally scared and curious about the use of AI in creative works. I imagine that I'll lose assignments to AI but perhaps not jobs that I wanted anyway.

AI will change things, for sure, but exactly how it's unclear. My guess is that there will be some unintended consequences that will make us regret its introduction.

For more AMAs on this topic, subscribe to r/IAmA_Specialized, and check out our other topic-specific AMA subreddits here.

Aw!! I love that! Thanks for responding!

Despite her moniker, Grumpy Cat was friendly and cooperative, and even posed for pictures with much of the crew at the end of the session. A true star!

Have you ever photographed someone and the situation has just been unnecessarily uncomfortable, but you've had no choice but to continue?

How often are you given instructions, from art directors or others, on the look of the portraits needed? When you aren't, how do you determine the style of lighting you are going to use for each subject?