Meet Zave Smith

We were lucky to catch up with Zave Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Zave, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

The Rabbi was saying, “Uncle Joe really enjoyed his sweets and playing cards”. A teenage me was sitting in the third row and asking, “yes, but what did he do?”
I have always been project oriented, as were my parents and my brother. It was my time in the military that taught me how to channel and develop willpower to overcome challenges. It did not matter if it was raining, or cold or that you have not slept in several days. If you had to march from point “A” to point “B” then march you did. You paid a very heavy price for failure.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am known for my lifestyle and portrait photography, for creating images rich in detail, compelling in color, composition and having a feeling of authentic intimacy. When people ask me what I shoot I often answer, “Drugs and Money” for I have a lot of clients in the financial and pharmaceutical space.

A client once told me that I am the world’s best “snapshot” photographer since my images have a sense of spontaneity and authenticity. In the last few years my photographic practice has evolved to include videos that help create strong narratives that adds richness to my portraiture.

In addition to my commercial work, I am currently working on two personal projects. The first is My Back Yard, www.mybkyd.com. This is a portrait of Philadelphia as told by the entrepreneurs that help make Philly such a wonderful place to work, live, and explore. The second project that I am just restarting is called “Creative Souls” where I am creating portraits and short videos of artists, musicians and other members of our creative community. You can see this at www.zavesmith.com.

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

For anyone who is thinking of starting a business. There are a few questions that you should ask yourself:
1. What is the problem you are trying to solve?
2. Do you have the talent or expertise to bring your solution to life?
3. Are there clients who are willing to pay for our solution? In other words, is there a path to monetization?
4. Do you have the personality to ride the bucking bronco. Can you emotionally handle both the successes and the many failures that you are going to have along the way?

I was lucky. Photography came naturally to me. I remember when I took home my first view camera which is a device that confounded many of my fellow classmates, I just understood it instantly. But photographic skills are not enough to have a commercial career. You also need to understand the basics of business like cash flow, taxes, customer service and marketing. I was fortunate that I had the talent, perseverance, and a supportive family that allowed me to claw my way forward on the path to success.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am always on the lookout for opportunities and people to work with. Currently I am looking for a videographer and editor to help with my Creative Souls project. Since this is a self funded passion project, it is going to have to be somebody who is as fascinated by creative endeavors as I am. I am always looking for great subjects/models to test with and I am always looking for clients who can benefit from our services. I can be easily reached at zave@zavesmith.com.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All images by Zave Smith

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