Fast Track Photographer: Leverage Your Unique Strengths for a More Successful Photography Business

This book is the best first step anyone can into the business of photography. It's not about the ins and outs of how to operate a camera or pose a model or even what to charge for an 8x10. It's about YOU, and how you fit into this ever changing industry. If you want to gain a good grasp on what it means to be a photographer in today's market and an even better grasp on who you are and what you can offer to the world of photography, look no further. Dane Sanders has a broad scope on the entire industry and an even broader scope on YOU. See what he has to offer, I'm sure there will be no dis-appointments.

Fast track photographer is a book focussed on the 'skill of being a photographer', rather than the skill of photography. I believe it is a unique take on a business-orientated book, guiding your development by helping you think for yourself and shape your own unique path. This 'greater self knowledge' is something many shy away from, especially if they have trained for a particular path, and I trust that many will benefit greatly from being brave and reading this book with an open mind. Dane's writing is charming, honest, personable and a joy to read; I felt that I was in conversation with him, which is a real gift. I am in my late twenties with a full time academic position. I see in my own profession, and those varied professions of my peers, that the world is changing - we are no longer able to succeed following the formula that those before us devised - it is clear that we will need to write new rules to succeed in this new climate. The principles Dane lays out in this book are of value to a much wider audience than aspiring photographers, and I urge you to read it. If you, like me, have been searching for your place, then this book is for you - it asks thorough and difficult questions about who you are and what you want. With excellent guided exercises, it has given me great direction, not only in the business of photography but in a general approach to both my professional and personal life. The book comes with free access to one round of the online assessment tool `pDNA' - 150 multiple choice questions, the outcome of which is a breakdown of your personality traits as a photographer. This is designed to help you recognise where you are starting from, and it is suggested you take this test once a year to follow your development. You can also join the online forum to connect with other photographers who have used `pDNA' - another invaluable resource. I would strongly suggest that you take the test when advised to in the book (not before reading or when you finish the book) and follow the exercises through as directed, to explore your results and get the most out of it. Take your time with this book - I believe you will feel empowered by what you learn about yourself. Read `Fast Track Photographer' with an open mind and Dane's considered guidance will arm you with an incredible set of tools to allow you to flourish is what is undoubtedly a changing world. Read this if you don't have an open mind, and find your cynicism softened by Dane's honesty and genuine desire to help enable the success of fellow creative people. Whoever you are, I believe that you will take away something which will beneficially alter your perceptions.

I'm still in the process of reading and digesting this book and while I'm pretty wary of "career" books (most of them are written by people who have never actually done what they're talking about) Dane Sanders is actually a very talented wedding and portrait photographer and so he's succeeded at what he's writing about. (Interestingly, by the way, he didn't become a photographer until he was 35.). Also, I write books about photography and have been a photographer for about 40 years, so usually anyone promising a "fast track" to a profitable photo career is either a huckster or, again, someone who has never done it for a living. But Sanders is not a huckster and he does do it for a living--so again, there is some authority behind the book. Still, being a photographer is tough enough, making a career out of it is much tougher so when I come across a photo-career book, I tend to look at it askance. What I'm trying to say is that I approached the book with a fair degree of skepticism. But one of the points that Sanders makes in the book (Chapter 2: "The Power of Choosing Your Own Adventure"), and the one that caused me to give him more credence as someone who had something very worthwhile to say, was his very good advice to enhance the things that you are already good at rather than trying to fix all of the things you're not that good at doing. This is such fantastic (and rarely offered) advice. For example, I'm a travel photographer by trade and I realized, after a lot of frustrating years of trying to be all things to all clients, that what I was good at was revealing the soul of a place--period. (No doubt because I love to travel so much.) I'm not a wedding photographer, I'm not a very good portrait photographer, I'm not a great corporate photographer (don't tell my corporate clients that), but I am very good at landing in a far-off place and coming home with good photos of that place. So Sander's advice is to stop trying to get better at all the things you may not be that good at (you might need a second lifetime to get through that anyway--though it certainly can't hurt to get better at those things) but to show off and revel in the things that you are really good at doing. Accentuate the positive. The point is, I think, is that there is a *reason* you're good at the things you excel at--because you love to do those things. That actually goes to a significant point that Sanders makes time and time again in the book: be who you are. It's *you* that you are ultimately selling, not photography. This is another very valid point that is often ignored in the attempt to build your career from your portfolio instead of your personality. In my books, for example, I talk as much about my life and my own fears and failures, as I do about f/stops and shutter speeds. And when people review my books, the one thing they point at over and over is the warmth of the writing and the humanity (and the lame humor). I can teach you to take a good technical photog

FastTrack Photographer offers a career guide to photography in a way unconventional to photography books, but perhaps not to general career books. It's major thesis is 'know thyself,' and by knowing who you are and what your interests are (particularly in the world of photography) will give you the guidance to get on the right track to a photographic career. In this sense, I think a better title is 'The Right Track Photographer.' As someone who considers himself an artist (moi), it is refreshing to read someone who believes 'build it and they will come (but make sure you have a good marketing plan).' Another way of thinking about the "fast track" philosophy stated here is that your life in photography shouldn't be 'give them what they want.' Why? because they don't know what they want. If you're thoughtful and proficient and skilled, you will be selected by clients/customers who share your perspective. The writer provides a plan to identify your interests, and it's as good a plan as I can think of -- basically, a questionnaire (available on the author's website) to help you identify what interests you about photography. Now if this general advice and the specific exercises work in the real world is probably impossible to determine since there are so many variables. If you are successful, how do you know the book helped? If you're not successful, how can you determine your not because you didn't follow the author's advice. One side note the author doesn't seem to mention specifically is that if you're planning to figure out how to make a good income, and that's your main goal, why pick photography as a profession when there are so many other fields where you're chances are much greater? That's the first thing that came to mind as I read through this 'career guide.' However, the author suggests this is actually a good time to be a photographer, given the new markets and the need for photography in older markets where it previously wasn't a factor. But The author makes this claim and other global claims without providing much evidence. That to me is the main weakness of the book. There are no statistics, data, quotes from authorities, people in the 'business,' etc. I understand this sort of empirical evidence isn't relevant to much of the book, but why make statements about the great opportunities in photography at all if you're not going to back them up? Basically, I'd sum up the approach and method in the book as being something like this: "I'll show you the best way to focus your interest on photography so you know what to do with it (even if in the end you realize you don't want to pursue it as a profession). The rest is up to you." In that regard, it serves a good purpose.