Chase Jarvis Offers Photographers Some Words Of Wisdom

Chase Jarvis has become one of the most inspiring figures for both amateur and professional photographers alike. His successful career as an advertisement photographer has only been eclipsed by his overall entrepreneurship. Recently Chase sat down for an interview with Tamara Lackey to explain his self proclaimed "10 year overnight success". I absolutely love his statement "what makes you hirable is not your technical proficiency, that is assumed...it is your vision: how you see the world." So many photographers focus entirely too much on their lighting and completely overlook creating an image that resonates with their viewer. There is a quote that says something like "a photograph that requires a caption is a failed photograph" but I think a photographer could go further and say "people don't care about what you had to do to create the photo, they just want to be wowed by the final image."

Patrick Hall's picture

Patrick Hall is a founder of Fstoppers.com and a photographer based out of Charleston, South Carolina.

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12 Comments

I enjoy what Chase has to say here.. but who set up THAT shot??

There are some great topics covered here and a lot of industry knowledge in photography... but I just can't watch more than 20 seconds without cringing. If you get the opportunity to interview someone like Chase Jarvis you should probably have a more professional setup. i.e. Multiple cameras so we're not just starring at the side of the interviewer/interviewee's faces. Possibly hide the mic cable instead of throwing it next to Chase. Angle the background to add depth and make it look more interesting. If the guys studio is so nice then SHOW IT in the background of the interview instead of a flat, ugly & overexposed wall. Lastly, for god sakes hide your jump cuts with images or graphics.

Thanks Michael for saying all of what I wanted to say...

Get over yourselves and just allow yourself to hear the message. Jesus. Hipsters gonna hip.

Ha, yeah I don't know why an interview has to be super dynamic.  The only thing that bothered me was the audio was panned incorrectly.  The message was great though

I understand that the message is the most important part of anything, but it just doesn't make sense to take the time to set everything up and miss so many key details. If a photographer got the chance to do a shoot with Scarlett Johansson and half ass set up the shot, lights and background would it be worth showing the world? Everybody can use a critique every now and then. It helps increase the quality of your work. Just my 2 cents. Take it or leave it for the next guy.

Gotta be within my top 5 fstoppers post. Thanks for this.

Patrick. An interview doesn't have to be super dynamic. If the information is good, motivated viewers will stay tuned through lots of really bad stuff. However when you're trying to reach more than the dedicated viewer you need to jazz things up a bit (or at least follow the tv/film 101 suggestions from college). I watched the entire interview and enjoyed his information. He has a lot to share - this was however like watching someone read the transcript to me.. and you surely understand this point. The videos you guys produce are TOP notch. You guys go over and beyond EVERY time I have ever watched one of your stories. Even Lee's discussion of the real vs fake battery holder had more production value than this interview... and when production value or the lack of it distracts the intended conversion then it should receive a failing grade. Just saying....

Thanks Howell, we try to keep it top notch but I'm afraid at the expense of not getting enough videos out the door.  We are going to try to start making more simple videos that still share a lot about photography.  

anyone else notice the massive amount of blinking? :D

Ha funny, I'm laughing at people complaining about the set up.... I watched this video last week and didn't notice any of the things yall were complaining about... why? Because I paying attention to the message...

Always enjoy inspiring stuff like this. Chase is one of my biggest inspirations and honestly I could care less about the set up for something like this. It was doesn't that great but I don't think that's the point. I definitely thought there were good points in the message which is what I think they we're going for.