Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Alton.
Dave, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started taking pictures in 10th grade in high school. In 2002, a friend asked me to take their wedding photos. I said yes and used an old Nikon F3 that I absolutely loved. I did a terrible job to be honest and really hadn’t done anything like a wedding. But I got bit by the wedding bug and started to upgrade my equipment and skills. I have since invested 10’s of thousands of dollars in equipment and training since starting my business in 2005. I have also gotten very good and understanding weddings and wedding clients. Weddings are a different type of photography than any other. It is an extremely high stress fast paced event where you can’t make a mistake. I found I thrive in that kind of environment.
I have since got my wife hooked and we often shoot weddings together. We love the to be the documentarian of that couple’s start. We see ourselves as time travelers. We are able to capture and retain moment that tell the story of the beginnings. To put it in super hero terms we tell the origin story of a family.
We have since been able to bring our easy customer service and can-do attitude to a lot of couples over the years. We know how to create the flow for a wedding and frequently become good friends with all of our couples. I think that this is what drives us to be the best we can be and why I still invest in training and practice the craft of photography.
Being a photographer today is a tough business to be in. Anybody can go down to Costco and for $1000 get a pretty decent photography setup. But the truth of the matter is that we are good at what we do because we love the people not the gear. We love the story telling that we get to do and the surprises that we are able to show a bride and groom who miss out on 60% of the moments at their wedding. We know that it is a whirlwind to get married and we allow our couples to travel back in time and experience those things they missed and feel what they felt the day it all started.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest obstacles to being a photographer these days is taking good pictures isn’t as difficult as it used to be. With the advent of digital cameras at a relatively low entry cost everyone is a photographer. It has been a challenge to explain why we can be more expensive than another photographer. A lot of that has to do with understanding your business and how you are serving your client.
Like any business, running a business is a challenge. How do you build a pipeline for more clients? To service them to the level you want and still provide for your family? I know it looks like a photographer shows up to a wedding is there for as little time as they can and then are gone. There is so much more that goes into being a photographer.
I think one of the biggest is that to truly serve your customers you need to be clear on how to listen to them.
I don’t think that owning and operating your own business are easy and when you are the “product” it makes it even more of a challenge. Just understanding how things work is a challenge every day.
One of our other biggest challenges has been the constant need to upgrade our gear and skills. These are seldom inexpensive endeavors. But if you really want to run a business and service a client in the best possible way you have to constantly take the time to invest. That investment is in the form of computer software and hardware, new camera gear, new lighting, new techniques and business operations.
Being successful and great at what we do isn’t something that just happens you have to work for it and sometimes it is difficult to see how to get from here to there.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Luminary Photo story. Tell us more about the business.
Luminary Photo is a family run photography business. We specialize in people photography. We can do family portraits, senior portraits, headshots and events. What we are great at is Wedding photography. We are great at it because we listen to our clients and work with them to make their day as easy and stress less as possible.
I am most proud that we have remained true to our values of providing amazing photography at a reasonable price. We are not the least expensive nor are we the most expensive but we know we deliver a lot of value to our clients. We were and always have been committed to finding ways to work with anyone’s budget that wants to work with us. This includes creating payment plans as well as customizing packages for all of our couples.
I think the biggest thing that sets Luminary Photo apart from others is our commitment to customer service. I know that sounds cliché but it is the truth. Listening is what we do as photographers to truly be great. We have to know our gear and techniques well but the one thing that really creates ease with our clients is our listening.
We find ways to make sure what needs to happen happens. We are not the photographers that are sitting around saying, “I don’t move chairs.” We are the ones saying, “Yes, it is going to rain but we gathered a ton of guests and we helped to move all the chairs inside, there is nothing to worry about. Getting married is one of those hugely stressful things and finding ways to make the day easier, regardless of circumstance, is how we serve our clients and customers.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think that there is a fair amount of luck in any business. It is being in the right place at the right time with the skills necessary to capitalize on that luck. While I think that there is luck involved I think being prepared for luck is more important that luck itself.
I think being open to opportunity when it strikes is key to being a success not just in business but in life. Creating the ability to understand when there is an opportunity in front of you is a critical skill. Also understanding that sometimes the best answer to an opportunity is “not right now.”
I have always been good at capitalizing on luck / opportunities when they arise. I always try to be prepared to be open to those opportunities when they make sense.
Where I have been the luckiest, has been with my family. I am so overwhelmed and overjoyed by the family I lucked into. I didn’t have the perfect life growing up. There is a lot of dysfunction in my family when I was young. I am now proud to be married to my beautiful and talented wife for 12 years almost. I have a college age daughter that is extremely talented and has a huge heart. I have my adoptive son who is now 6 years old and so belongs in our family. It is hard to imagine how all of that came together. There was a ton of luck involved. There was a lot of being very open to the opportunity.
In addition to a great family we have been able to be foster parents to some amazing children over the years and are proud of who they are and are becoming.
Pricing:
- Wedding Prices start as low as $1499
- Family Portraits start as low as $250
- Brand Photography starts as low as $500
Contact Info:
- Website: http://luminaryphoto.com
- Phone: 805-587-7611
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/luminaryphoto/
- Facebook: http://fb.com/luminaryphoto/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/luminaryphoto
- Yelp: http://yelp.com/biz/luminary-photo-simi-valley
Image Credit:
Luminary Photo
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