How long have you been a photographer? When and how did you get started? How did you learn photography?

My interest in photography began in 1956 at the age of 13. My Uncle who had been a Staff Photographer for the Pacific Stars and Stripes in Japan and the first American to be invited to the Imperial Household to photograph the Emperor, Hirohito and the Royal family, See http://web.me.com/david.lloyd/Apple_Web_Project/WWII_Japan.html gave me a Brownie Hawkeye Camera for my birthday and asked me to send him some pictures.

The high school I was attending in Ojai, CA had built a photo darkroom and I became an avid enthusiast. I continued my interest with the mind set that any place, worth being, had to include a darkroom. My Brownie Hawkeye was traded in for a Voitlander 35mm camera, similar to an early Leica. This later gave way to a Contaflex 35 mm and a Bush Pressman 2 1/4 by 3 1/4. I was the school photographer and photographed weddings and portraits and local events for my school friends. In 1965, I took my Contaflex overseas to Okinawa, Japan and utilized the Army base darkroom, which was staffed by a very knowledgeable local photographer who encouraged me to submit  scenic photos for the local Army newspaper photo contests. Okinawa provided me with a great diversity of photo opportunities and trips to the local pawn shops for used vintage camera equipment.

While at Vivitar, as I was designing electronic flash systems and color darkroom equipment, I had the rare opportunity to spend around 2,500 hours of color printing time in the on site color lab, and in the process developed a pretty good eye for color. Many of the other engineers were accomplished photographers and we all learned from each other. See http://www.davidlloydphoto.com/pages/vivitar/patent.html

I organized a photography class for the Vivitar Engineers and took them to Hollywood Fashion Studios for a hands on approach to designing photographic equipment. I then attended evening classes at Art Center in Pasadena where I discovered the magic of artistic lighting. Later in my Photography career, I joined a California PPC Affiliate and have attended West Coast School of Photography for several years.

While I have ventured into several areas of photography, my primary interest seems to gravitate towards photographing people, and Weddings and Portraits; Family, High School Seniors, Modeling Portfolios, were the primary focus of my Photography Business in California. I had learned print tinting and retouching in the early seventies and have become quite adept with Photoshop as a graphics and retouching tool. I have several years of experience teaching photography and digital workflow and have taught these subjects as well as Graphics and web design as a professional tutor and as a college instructor and am very comfortable in a classroom or workshop environment.

What are your goals for your business?

Setting Goals as a business and in one’s personal life is the definitive roadmap to success! I am exploring several avenues at this time, as to whether I would like to rebuild a Photography Studio, Travel to destinations for photography, tutor and teach photography and business, create photographic workshops, become a stock photographer, or re-explore photography as an avid personal hobby. I love the photographic image and that passion has propelled me through a long and successful career in photography, as a student, design engineer, college instructor, professional tutor and photographer. So, I find myself once again, in the formulating stage of the creative process for opportunities and reinventing my relationship with photography.

What has been your most successful marketing effort to date?

My most successful marketing strategy was in staging mock Romantic Wedding couple photo sessions at several local Central California Coast Wedding venues, using students as my models. I pre-arranged with local Florists and Wedding Boutiques to provide Floral bouquets, wedding gowns and tuxedos and created several signature images as free advertising collateral for the participating vendors, who then, having an array of my beautiful images, that I had created for them, were only too happy to recommend me to their bridal clients. I also tried the local phone books and wedding magazines, newspaper and internet ads, only to find that I was only one among many contending for the same audience. My recommendations are: Build strong relationships with the Wedding Venues, photographing mock Bridal couples as described above. Attend Wedding Fairs and have the BEST booth there. Place full page ads in the upscale magazines and create an amazing web site. Note: Many photographers have resorted to using the popular Flash based web site templates, which are easy to update, however, have the downside of looking very similar to everyone else’s. Market your web site for Organic Search Engine ranking, not sponsored links.

Why did you join the AzPPA? What has been the best thing you have gotten out of being a member? Or what do you look forward to the most out of being a member?

Becoming a member of AZPPA was a very natural extension of my having been a long standing member of my California PPA Affiliate group, where I had built lasting friendships in an environment positioned for learning together. I look forward to that environment at AZPPA and have thus far very much enjoyed the members I have met and the programs I have attended. Moving to Arizona from California at this late date in my career has certainly provided some challenges, particularly with today’s economy and the accessibility of exceptional digital cameras available to the general public. I am reminded of the time in the mid seventies when the Fair Trade Act was lifted, allowing the easy importing of Japanese and German cameras and photo gear, putting established local camera stores and photographic distributers, such as Ponder and Best into a different market place. Amateur Photography was at an all time high and 35 mm cameras were easily accessible allowing relatives to photograph weddings. We all adjusted to purchasing from warehouse types of stores for expensive photographic and electronics gear. Professional Photographers had to work harder and raise their quality standards to compete. As professional photographers, we have to find new ways to market, present and provide; to once again separate ourselves from the crowd of amateurs, and we do so through continuing education and participation in professional organizations such as AZPPA, PPA and WPPI.