We recently connected with Tony Bigley and have shared our conversation below.
Tony, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
Even though I feel like I don’t deal with a lot of this directly I think it’s the most important thing to talk about because when someone has haters or nay-sayers I believe that is one of the number one things that makes someone quit what they’re doing. They begin to question their work and if it’s good enough. The answer is IT IS good enough because who’s to say what is good or not. This is art and you can only shoot/make art to the best of your abilities. One of the biggest things you can do is keep learning your craft and keep pushing your creativity. It’s hard to “reinvent the wheel” when it comes to photography but it’s definitely possible to create your own groove and lane within the art. Keep thinking about what you can do that is completely different than what you see. Also improving what’s already being done. Most inventions nowadays are ones that are improving other invented things. So put effort in to adding your style to things that are being done while thinking of the next big life changing style of shooting.
Haters & nay-sayers are always going to be around. Usually they are just jealous or just miserable people. One of the best things you can do is just let it go directly through one ear and out the other. These are the same people that you could create a piece of work that would end war and still complain. Once you know that they would whine about something you did no matter what you do, you’ll be able to sleep just fine at night.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Long story short is I was a professional musician for 13 years and then I got out of that industry and in to marketing. I got sick of hiring people to shoot photos for my clients and I figured *man I can probably take a picture of a sandwich & coffee” so, I got a camera. One night leaving my main clients shop there was a beautiful sunset so I took a photo and it all started there. I spent a couple years taking photos of landscapes and Milky Way photos. Then that changed over to shooting photos of people and that’s where I’m at now!
I just continue to try to improve what I’m doing creatively. Along with spreading joy. One of my favorite things is how many times I’m told how much fun people had and how easy it was to work with me. I also do a lot of shoots with people that are special needs/on the spectrum and I truly love it. I’m also focused on expanding the business as much as I can possibly do as a one man team. I look forward to beginning to do more shoots where I need a team like fashion shoots/etc
I think the most exciting and special things about what I do is the fact I get to meet new people every single day! A whole new person/family/group of people. Different personalities, different styles, & different wants out of their shoot! It’s an amazing feeling knowing what I’m shooting with my camera may be part of a families life forever. Passed down from generation to generation. Maybe even printed over a mantle somewhere. It’s so wild to know that someone loves your work so much that they want you to be part of and capture the happiest day in their lives when shooting their weddings.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I will answer all three on this. Qualities, PATIENCE is the number one thing & is also the number one thing I’m complimented on. I am weekly told “thank you so much for you patience” or “wow, you have the patience of a saint.” Patience is the ability to stay calm while you wait for an outcome. I think it’s very important to just stay your course and wait while keeping calm. Especially when shooting families. I always tell the adults and kids old enough to understand “Everyone stay on me smiling so when I finally get (whichever child/children) to look forward I can snap the shot! Usually it works amazingly. Sometimes you have to photoshop a head from one shot on to another one haha
When it comes to skills I think maybe some people are just able to develop skills quicker than others. Or maybe understand the ways things work in a field of work better. However, no matter what every single person has to put in hard work to learn their craft and develop the skills needed. Malcolm Gladwell said “it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials” and even though people have tried to debunk it, it’s very true. You HAVE to put in the time practicing, watching YouTube, out on the field before you can sit back and say “I got this and my skills prove I am a professional in this field.” With that being said it’s very important to continue your quest for learning and improving upon your craft.
Knowledge that impacted my journey. I would say just know you’re not going to be the best/always be the best in your field. There are people out there that may do better things or maybe even book more gigs than you. But how you intake that info and push out work is what will show people who you are as a person. I think also knowing that no matter what you do it’s still a job is HUGE too. Whoever said that “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” is full of it! I don’t care if you’re paid $200 an hour to close envelopes or a super model. There are days you JUST DON’T WANNA WORK and that’s OK. The good news is you’re completely normal…that bad news is you have to shut up and go to work. HOWEVER at least we have work to not want to do that particular day!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I think it’s very easy to be overwhelmed at any job or really anything in life. I think the best thing you can do is do whatever it is that lets you take your mind off things. Going to the gym, car ride, yoga, whatever your hobbies are, etc. The threshold you get overwhelmed at depends on the person but I’d say it’s very important to learn it. If you are the type of person that can do one of the things above mentioned and get back in a good state of being then I’d say stick with that. However if you are the type of person that just can’t get out of your head and nothing seems to work. I suggest realizing what # of jobs (at least in my field) you start feeling antsy at and keep it below that. So say if anything over 10 shoots a month makes you feel anxiety. Then only book 8-10 shoots and stick with that until you feel you may be able to take on more work. Or hiring outside agencies to do certain things like editing may help you out a lot. If paying that $.60 – $1.25 an image makes it so you have your sanity then do it! Me personally when I feel underwhelmed I really like to just sit back and picture what it was like working for someone else or even working a job I would hate like building sky scrapers and how terrified I am of heights like that. Even though it’s all work and great to have. It reminds me that I can’t complain (much; going back to that “you never work a day”) about shooting photos on a beach and coming home to edit. No matter what you do, you need YOU time and time to clear the head/breathe
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kingofthehillphotography.com
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