Meet Kurt Jordan

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kurt Jordan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kurt, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I came into a deep seated confidence late in life. In my mid forties my wife and I were struggling. The business that we owned was taking six and a half days a week to run and still not making a very large profit. Our marriage was struggling and with three kids from the age of seven, eleven, and thirteen things were just a grind. We sold everything we owned and had nothing more then a small storage unit and bought a sailboat in Puerto Vallarta , Mexico.
At the time the risk of staying with our present life cycle was not even a choice we could keep alive. So with the kids home schooling we went to Mexico to learn to sail and eventually go cruising into Central America. The trip was a total of three years in which we sailed south to Panama, through the Panama Canal, and then eventually back to Florida. That is a story within itself.
Confidence, self-reliance, self-esteem, integrity, and hope were bred into those three years. The ability to be self sustaining, and self reliant became the foundation for our family structure and my pursuits as a builder and photographer.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

It must have been a million years ago that I received my degree in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute. A fine art degree is no way to start life with a wife and kids so I pursued a job in the construction field that eventually had me building estates in Malibu and Beverly Hills CA. Photography was always there documenting projects, people and road trips throughout the southwest. As the kids left home after High School photography became my daily pursuit. I still struggle with marketing and many basic business trends as the industry has moved from traditional film to digital capture. And of coarse everyone is a photographer with social media being woven into the fabric of everyday life.
Boatlife trained me for this task. Everyday sailing you are faced with survival-food, weather, mechanical failures, that at times are life and death. It makes tough conversations with clients and unexpected events in today’s world seem trivial.
Sailing was honest and the work you put into sailing paid you the dividend of a successful voyage that lead to a safe anchorage. Photography and the business of photography can be honest and core to what you see and believe is true. I hope that comes through in my work.
This year I have begun to move my work closer to home and traveling less. Meeting new architects and designers in a very vibrant community. We built a studio on the property and began exploring portraiture and product photography as well. Always new areas and disciplines to explore.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Staying organized, inquisitive, and diligent. Business of photography is about staying organized, from meetings, contacts, images, etc. Every part of being successful is laying out the day and moving to the end goal without wasting too much energy on the things that don’t matter. In that pursuit of organization, with every conversation, every idea, ask ALL the questions and find the answers to those things that you don’t know. So much is accepted without asking questions….always look deeper because that leads to the things you don’t know. In those conversations stay diligent. Maybe it’s hard working or industrious but my oldest son and I shoot together on large campaigns and I actually shoot as his second shooter. We realized working together and are in perfect agreement that we may not be the best photographers, but nobody would ever out work us. First on set and the last on set until the job was done.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

This is a great question about feeling overwhelmed. On a new assignment or working with a client that is demanding more then the contract specified is almost standard procedure these days. Budgets are cut to the wire, deadlines are almost impossible to maintain, and jobs are cut or lost at the last minute although your time has been booked.
Sailing is a perfect reference- Stay the course! Think linear! One things leads to the next, don’t try to jump to the end and never skip a step. Patience because the storm will, you will still be afloat, and the seas will be calm.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kurtjordanphotography.com
• Instagram: @kurtjordanphoto
• Linkedin: kurtjordanphotography