Al Wright - Raintree Studios

Al Wright has been a professional photographer since 1970. He credits his father, an avid home movie maker and photography buff, with kindling his first interest in photography. His idols are the still photographers that created all the wonderful publicity stills of the stars during the Golden Age of movies- the Twenties, Thirties, and Forties.

Al feels his strength lies in communicating with his clients, to discover what they want, and then helping them plan their portrait so it is truly a reflection of them. He likes the challenge of working with children, and especially likes the parents' reactions to the completed portraits, when they tell him "No one has ever been able to capture my child like this!"

Al is dedicated to giving something back to the community that has been so good to him- you'll find him working with business, service, and school groups around town, and donating his time and talent to various fundraisers for worthwhile organizations.

His Tip to aspiring Photographers (Orange Road #1):

"I occasionally teach an Introduction to Photography course to high school students as an after-school career exploration program. During the last session when we are talking about a career in photography I ask them (and now I will ask you as well) "What are you passionate about? Are you passionate about children? Or cars? Or food, or nature, or breast cancer awareness, or soccer?" Whatever it is that you are passionate about (in addition to photography, I hope), I will bet you that there is a magazine, a newsletter, a documentary-in-the-making, a website, or a nonprofit organization that needs good photos, and there are at least a million people that are also interested in that same subject, and want to see images of it. Some of them are so crazy about the same thing you are passionate about that they will purchase your photos. You can search in online for images of your passion, and you will find page after page of images, and when you click on an image, generally it will show you the web page or advertisement or the context in which the photo was used. This search will show you what kind of photos are being used, how they are used, and who might be interested in using your photos."

This is where to start. Al has offered another great idea that I am going to share later in the month, but for now, think about what you love and are passionate about. Start searching for how images are being used and where you might submit your photographs for sale.

Al has a studio in downtown Alameda, CA. You can reach him and his photos on Facebook.