A Kite In A Hurricane. Where do I start? I often joke that if I cut my personal history out of the workshop, we can cover the lighting part of the workshop in about 30 minutes. :) I started pursuing photography because I was a total slacker. I got on to the high school yearbook staff and soon found I could get out of class for a variety of "yearbook" duties. I didn't know much about anything at all but I did like having camera gear. I went off to college without any direction for my life. I was going to college because that's what was expected of me to do. Facing a 2.0 GPA by my second year I needed something to help get my GPA up and I decided to take a photo 101 class as an elective. I figured it would be an easy A or B. At the end of that semester my photography instructor told me that I should pursue photography as a career. That was the first time anyone had pushed me in a particular direction. That was almost 15 years ago. It would take another 4 years of bouncing around schools, failing out of UGA, working basic jobs, and then I packed everything I owned and hit the road in a VW bus for a 6 month road trip around the country. After that trip I realized it was time to do something with my life. I went back to school, this time on my own dime, and graduated with a 3.8 GPA in commercial photography. I received the honor of "Best Portfolio" of my graduating class and I won the VICA national photographer of the year competition in Kansas City during my last year in school. It has been a crazy ride ever since. In addition to school, I assisted for 4 years and made a failed attempt at going freelance. In 2001 life "happened" and I had to walk away from photography for 2 years. It was some dark times. By the end of 2003 I was working at Kinkos full time and had sold all of my gear to pay rent and fix cars and keep the lights on. In October of 2003 my friend, and talented wedding photojournalist, Marc Climie, asked if I would be interested in shooting weddings with him. There was a time in my life when I was "too good" to be a wedding photographer. I wanted "more" from my life than "that." But losing everything has a way of humbling you. I agreed to begin second shooting with Marc but I had no gear. Marc bought me a D100 that I could begin to work off shooting with him. I shot my first wedding with Marc and it felt as though I had been under water for nearly 2 years and I was finally being pulled to the surface and allowed to breathe again. Shooting that wedding was the best time of my life. I loved it. Three weeks later I quit my job. I was entering the freelance world with 5 more weddings to shoot to pay off the camera. I had the D100, a grip, a battery, a Vivitar 285 flash, and an old Apple G4 computer. I had no glass, no CF cards, and no paying jobs on the books. I lived on borrowed gear for about six months until I bought a 35mm f2 lens and a one gig CF card. I had to make the very most out of a very limited amount of gear. Gone were the days of getting a $3,000 job and spending $4,000 on equipment. I am now approaching my 5th full year of being a freelancer. I found my niche in the music industry and I still shoot 25 or so weddings a year with Marc.  Rent is paid, there's food in the fridge, and the lights are on. I'm still a minimalist when it comes to gear. Most of my work is still shot with that 35mm f2 lens. It's so sharp you could shave with it! My work has been published nationally in TIME, Alternative Press, HM, Paste, SPIN, Vibe, XXL, Performer. The vast majority of my photography is used for press kits and CD packaging for bands and artists. I've worked with about 350 bands now in the past 2 and a half years and I have traveled to more than 20 cities with the workshop. More than 500 photographers have been kept up far too late at a OneLight. I am also co-chairman of the commercial photography advisory committee for the school I graduated from (GTC).  For music related work I am represented by Weeman Entertainment Group. From schlepping copies at Kinkos to having a full time Rep... I'm tellin' ya, it has been a helluva ride. I've become a hustler where once I was a lazy fool. I hustled my work out there so much that I now get dozens and dozens of emails every month asking how I do the things I do. I love what I do. I love to share it. Answering some f-stop questions in an email aren't nearly as satisfying as seeing light bulbs go off over heads in a workshop setting. So come on out to one of these workshops. I promise it will be one of the best one day workshops you have ever attended. No one has ever left dissatisfied. Cheers, Zack Arias Atlanta, GA www.zackarias.com - My Music Photography www.usedfilm.com - My headshot and portfolio development studio www.zarias.com - My blog www.climie.com - Wedding Photography www.weeman.us - My Rep For Music Photography www.myspace.com/usedfilm - I <3 Myspace www.facebook.com - I <3 Facebook more!
www.twitter.com/zarias - Let’s stalk each other! * From my second favorite movie of all time, Hustle & Flow.http://www.zackarias.comhttp://www.usedfilm.comhttp://www.zarias.comhttp://www.climie.comhttp://www.weeman.ushttp://www.myspace.com/usedfilmhttp://www.facebook.comhttp://www.twitter.com/zariasshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4shapeimage_1_link_5shapeimage_1_link_6shapeimage_1_link_7
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