Meet Steven Martine

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steven Martine. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steven below.

Hi Steven, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I started my career early, as a college photojournalist. I was invited to all the cool events, and the darkroom was its own social club. While in school, I was assigned to photograph some friends/students who were going to picket at McDonald’s restaurants around the city. The issue was their use of styrofoam and the environmental / non-recyclable damage it caused…
I shot “great” pictures that ended up going out on the wire services and the protest received a lot of national and some international attention, It was standard David v Goliath stuff, but the result was that shortly afterward, McDonald’s stopped using styrofoam clamshells for their hamburgers.
That is the moment when it all clicked… photography, storytelling, documentary images… they have the power to change the world.
Did my photos help in changing the largest restaurant chain in the world’s environmental policy?? No idea… but I’d like to think so.
My purpose – use my cameras, tell stories, show people things they need to be concerned about… use photography to start the conversation and inspire change for the betterment of communities.
Fast forward to the early 2000’s, I could pretty easily see that newspaper print media was dying and fast death. It was time to become a freelance photographer, hang my shingle and try to make a go of it on my own.
The internal challenge was about my purpose, was I leaving the “change the world” ideal behind to basically shoot photos for money??
At the career crossroads, a dear friend of mine told me that there are many ways to be influential in a community, and I’ve solved that internal issue by redefining my purpose as a photographer. I still shoot some editorial, but I am mainly an advertising lifestyle storyteller. My clients include regional and national magazines, professional sports teams, celebrities, NGOs and real estate driven hotel & resort clients.
My community commitments are fulfilled by mentoring, assisting non profits, NGO work, and philanthropy. I am happy to say that I do not miss the editorial newspaper world, my sense of purpose is in being a community member that with camera in hand can make pictures that will start conversations and lead to change. These pictures happen in my zip code, my state and across the nation and around the world.
I feel this is my purpose.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been behind a camera since grade school, and now, decades later, I am still hustling photos… now it’s for celebrities, editorial and advertising clients, NGO’s and private clients. My business pivoted 20 years ago when I left the print news world, walking away from a decades long career as a newspaper photojournalist to live the freelance life, making pictures for anyone willing to pay me.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My very first piece of advice came when I was in high school, helping a buddy/boss in a fashion studio….
“They’re never going to hire an asshole twice…”
I remember the conversation like it was yesterday, and with that… I have always conducted myself professionally, always have fun, always stay positive, and when things don’t go as planned, always work for the best, most positive outcome to keep everyone happy while making great photos.
My second piece of life changing advice came about two weeks into being a full time freelancer…. shooting a magazine editorial with a goldsmith in his little studio…. he says…
“if you’re going to hunt elephants, you need to go where the elephants are…”
With that, if I wanted to be a profitable, mortgage paying photographer, I would need to find clients willing to pay for quality images. Many many new artists get caught in a ‘work for exposure’ kind of situation… being published, having your name in print, although cool, doesn’t pay the rent… hunt elephants!
and lastly, my business plan, having more than 20 years as a successful mortgage paying photographer, is…
‘Have Fun, Make Money” – that’s it… if it doesn’t fit into that 4-word plan, I just don’t do it……

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I am a firm believer in having mentors. I am a mentor for a few younger photographers in my region, and I have mentors who are amazing business people.
After all, being a freelance photographer requires you to be in the business of photography, not just making pretty pictures. Having business mentors changed my income substantially. They taught me things like costs of doing business, and the value of the images I was making.
Learning the business side of any venture will help with its success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stevenmartine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenmartine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.martine/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmartine/

Image Credits

portrait of me – credit Jennifer Sampson.