Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Keene.
Tom, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It began a long time ago, by most respects. But it really began in 2003 after I walked away from my full-time employment at Target as a store manager. I was already working 50-60 hours a week and doing my photography business on the side at the time when fate had it I was given a moment of clarity and realized that my work was eating my life away. After taking a few months off, I chose to take on the reality of running my own business. LAdigitalPhoto was born.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A smooth road, no, not at all. At first, I had some large very well-known clients, really by chance and a little luck as it turned out. I have shot for Rush Limbaugh, for Dodger Stadium, and was also working a few years for a man who later ended up in jail for a Ponzi scheme, John Favata.
Despite him being a fraud, he had very amazing contacts with people like Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ron Dante and Andy Kim among others. In the end I was drawn to weddings and working with couples to capture one of a kind moments in their lives. In 2008, the economy began to slide and fall apart. That year should have been one of our best and in the end, it was our second worse only behind 2009.
From 2010-2014, photography would have to come second in my priorities as I went back to retail working for Luxottica as a store manager. In late 2013, my then wife left my children and I and I was a single dad overnight. With pressure to provide for my family and juggle the need to be everywhere at the same time, I left Luxottica and began capturing memories again full time. Luckily, with the support of my girlfriend and my children, four – yes four, I am able to pursue the dream of once again being my own boss and bringing smiles and tears of joy to couples just beginning their lives together as well as shooting real estate photography, call it Uber for photographers, as I have had several clients who were real estate agents who wanted something more than their iPhone could capture.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about LAdigitalPhoto – Life Event Photography by Tom Keene – what should we know?
My company is all about capturing life event moments. It may be your wedding, a maternity session, or a first birthday or maybe even finding your new home. I capture it all. With the help of a very special set of amazing people who also bring their specialty of head shots, family portraits, videography and DJ/MC services, we can be as small or large as we need to be for your day or event. By having all the key vendors under one roof so to speak, we can make planning a wedding easy. I am most proud of my team who have humbled me and driven me to be my best. Even in all my years of retail, some 20 years of my life, I knew that being a friend first and a company second to people was what set us apart.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think my experience of running multi million dollar businesses, teams of people over 350 and some of the most chaotic moments over the years of retail, not to mention lunatic bosses, drove me to ensure that I was not only expected to be honest and focused on my clients as a person and not as a pay check. My business was grown not only from necessity but also from a love of what I do. I get better every time I pick up my camera. Each image might mean nothing to me, but in the eyes of those I am capturing them for, I bring them a moment in time, stopped forever that might illicit a smile, a blush or a tear. This drives me among all other things, the emotion of it all. You have to want to be better and not fall into an arrogance. Be humble. Be thankful and among all other things have integrity so you know you are always doing right. Yes, mistakes can happen, rarely but you have to be able to see them coming before it happens and have a plan on how to not repeat it and or avoid it. Over time, like anything else in life, you get in a groove. You will know it, when you see it.
Pricing:
- Weddings 8-10 hours $2000 including editing, on line gallery and full resolution images with print rights
- Engagement sessions $350 for up to 2 hours. No dress change limitations or locations other than time.
- Real Estate Photography $350 with same day editing and return of images to sell your home fast.
Contact Info:
- Address: 959 E. Colorado Blvd Suite #242
Pasadena, CA 91106 - Website: www.LAdigitalPhoto.com
- Phone: 714-394-4263
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ladigitalphotos
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/LAdigitalPhotos/
- Twitter: twitter.com/ladigitalphoto
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ladigitalphoto-pasadena-2
Image Credit:
Tom Keene
Tiffany Kyees
LAdigitalPhoto
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