Meet Keith Taylor
This blog is a way to help my clients understand how I work. It is a creative outlet for me. It’s also a way for me to express the range of feelings I have about various issues in the world of photography that I wouldn’t care to try and express through photographs. It’s a way for me to occasionally give back; it’s my way of helping aspiring photographers by teaching them different ways of approaching things from a technical standpoint, and more importantly, help them understand what the commercial photography business can really be like — the good and the bad side of it. I started out posting sporadically, but recently I have been working to post at least once a week. Please subscribe and give me your feedback by your comments and questions — I will make an effort to answer them. I’m not the best writer, but something about writing is very calming to me. This blog is my place to write, and at this point, it feels like a very personal portrait of who I am. It’s a portrait of me made up of words rather than shadows, midtones, and highlights.
Who am I? I’m a country boy that appreciates city life. I have a pretty deep southern accent. Some people love it. Some people don’t. I lived all over the United States as a kid and even in Europe for five years. By doing so I learned to love being around people from all walks of life. People are as much of a passion to me as photography is — photography is just my way of understanding people better. Music is a close runner up to both people and photography when it comes to things I’m passionate about — I play music almost nonstop as I’m working. What am I listening to as I type this? Amos Lee. Go ahead and check out his music now. You can thank me for the recommendation later.
I despise mayonnaise. Even the smell of it makes me gag. Beer? I love beer – or good beer at least. I’ve learned to abstain from drinking it though. Why? It seems that I’m allergic to it, along with other types of alcohol. It would occasionally result in nasty breakouts of stupid comments and bad decisions from me – not to mention a headache. So, feel free to drink all you like around me, but I’ll pass. Give me a glass of sweet tea and I’ll be just as happy with it.
Photography has been the main focus of my attention since late 1999 when I started pursuing it on a professional level while in college. In 2001 I took a leap of faith and moved to Atlanta to attend the photography program of my choice at a school called The Creative Circus. The name sounds like a joke – making it through the program there wasn’t though. I graduated in 2003 and still view it as one of the best and most challenging things I’ve done for myself.
Since then I’ve been doing something I once only dreamed about as a kid – working as a professional photographer. First as an assistant primarily, then as a staff photographer, and most recently as a self-employed commercial photographer based in Atlanta, GA. My clients range from small mom-and-pop business’s to conglomerate companies like Coca-Cola. I’ve also discovered that I love to teach photography. Teaching somebody else how to take a great photo can be just as rewarding as taking a great photo yourself.
I work very hard at what I do. My work is as much of a part of me as any part of my body is, I may be able to live without it, but I wouldn’t want to. I spend my days doing what I love, and for that I have my family, friends, clients, teachers, and God to thank. They all are the key to my success in life.
-Keith Taylor