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Nick Vedros: Born with photography in his DNA, and it shows
Nick Vedros, the principal of Nick Vedros & Associates, is a Kansas City photographer whose influence and inspiration have spread far beyond the Midwest. His enterprise, located in an old fire station, is full service in every sense. The studio has multiple floors (and yes, there is a fire pole) and includes a large first floor drive-in studio, two second floor shooting spaces, a digital suite, a full kitchen and client lounge, a penthouse apartment (and a rooftop hot tub overlooking the city skyline), and a work out room.
The studio has created images for a client list that reads like a Who’s Who of major corporations such as Apple, Compaq, Dell, Coca-Cola, Southwestern Bell, Eastman Kodak, Sony, 3M, Nissan, BP America, Shell, MasterCard, Royal Caribbean, IBM, Microsoft and Uniroyal. The walls of Vedros’s studio are lined with awards from art directors including recognition for the imagery created for the original Apple PowerBook campaign, which won a Grand Effie for agency BBDO/Los Angeles.
Vedros has attained two major goals aspired to by most ambitious photographers: a unique style and professional success along with the associated trappings of that success. Put more simply, he is in the happy situation of being able to produce images that he really likes shooting, and is paid very well to do it. Clients are eager to incorporate the Vedros look in their projects whether the images are of people, places, products or animals; high tech or low tech. If it can be photographed, Vedros can photograph it.
Vedros, who purchased his first camera at age 13, has always maintained he had a secret weapon. Photography, he said, was in his DNA: he was born to be a photographer. And so it has proved. Also, he is unstinting in sharing his extensive knowledge and is a popular speaker and instructor on the lecture circuit.
ASMP communications director and Bulletin editor Peter Skinner asked Vedros about his work, his philosophy and what it takes to get to—and stay at—the top of a competitive field. This interview with Nick Vedros was published in the June 2003 issue of the ASMP Bulletin.
Peter Skinner (Q): How did you launch your professional career?
Nick Vedros (A): After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, I landed a staff job with the Kansas City Star and Times and was given a dream assignment for a young photographer: covering the Republican convention with access to the party honchos of the day (people like Ronald Reagan and Henry Kissinger) to make portraits.
Virtually unlimited access included riding in the official motorcade but I made a monumental faux pas: instead of jumping into one of the press vehicles when the motorcade started moving, I pulled open the door of a limo, leaped aboard and found myself in the company of some very annoyed secret service agents who took extreme umbrage at this effrontery (and probably quite serious breach of security). They didn’t shoot me but they did tell me that if they ever saw me do something similar again they’d break my arms and legs—and they looked capable of doing it too. I lasted only about a month as a photojournalist.
Q: What then?
A: I decided I wanted to set my own career direction and do the kind of work that made me happy and enabled me to live the lifestyle I wanted; and I didn’t want to wait until I was 50 to do that. So, on July 7, 1977 (that’s 7/7/77) I struck out on my own.
Q: How hard was it breaking into the commercial world?
A: Well, it wasn’t all easy going. I learned that developing an individual and recognizable style, and being able to command good fees for making those images, was not an overnight jaunt. It took time, effort, commitment, and needed a lot of confidence in my own ability.
Q: When was the “breakthrough?”
A: In the mid-1980s I started developing a quirky style, making images that had an oddball sense of humor. That probably was because I loved things like The Far Side, Seinfeld,The Simpsons and other off-the-wall humor. I guess it was a bold move for a kid from Kansas City who wanted to get noticed by the creative community beyond the Midwest but it paid off. People did sit up and take notice, and work began to flow in, so I guess it was the right move.
Q: I know you like photographing personal work. What was one of your most successful projects?
A: Whenever I have the time, I like to work on personal and promotional images and will invest resources into them. The one that really worked out well was Rocket Chair. It’s a visual spoof of the hectic pace business people of the ’90s were locked into. It’s of a businessman strapped into a chair and shooting up as if launched by a rocket. It’s been a great stock seller and also is recognizable identity and promo piece.
Q: Your portfolio shows a great range of imagination and humor. Where do the ideas come from?
A: I draw inspiration and ideas from many sources. I read three newspapers a day, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and a local paper and that keeps me abreast of the times and I also scrutinize trends. I guess you could say I fine tune my visual instincts by observing closely the world around. I indulge myself by looking at visuals in many media—films, TV, magazines, newspapers, and cartoons. And I like to look at the big picture around me—on the streets, in public places, out on the highway when I am riding a motorcycle (Note: Vedros has five motorbikes—Harleys, Suzukis, and a Triumph). I also look for the small details within the big picture so the entire process is a combination of many things. Often the best ideas come at periods between intellectual efforts and invariably the first ideas are the best. Not always, but often. I think the creative process is like a very interesting road trip during which the original ideas march systematically towards a visual destination. Suddenly a new set of ideas from another direction converge on the process. I call that the “Y intersection.” Then I have the dilemma of what route to take from that intersection. That often means shooting something in two different ways and letting someone who is not so emotionally attached to the process to make the decision about which image to use.
Q: I hear you hit the ground running every day.
A: The routine starts from when the 5:30 a.m. alarm clock goes off. First, it’s two large cups of coffee, digesting the news and views of three newspapers I mentioned above and then off to the studio to work with my enthusiastic team of creative and business associates. Those folk are as energized as I am. By the time I get there, they’re already into the project of the moment.
Q: Sounds like you work with good people.
A: I have an unbelievable crew of people. Mike McCorkle is our digital genius, he’s been with me for more than 22 years. Gabe Hopkins is an associate photographer; Mike Lee is a producer; our set and prop builders, Dale Frommelt and Scott Murray, produce sets equal to any in the nation. And then I have two reps, Cathy Kudelko in the Midwest, and Robert Mead on the East Coast. These folks help create the images and generate the business that keeps the money coming in: keeping track of that money is accountant Jean Evans. We make a great team.
Q: Have you gone digital?
A: Yes, we have. However, until fairly recently virtually all our photography was on film and we used high-end scanners to make digital files. But we are now using digital capture with a Kodak DCS Proback Plus rotating back that works with my range of Hasselblad, Fuji and Sinar equipment.
Q: I gather that Kodak and Apple have put you to work on the seminar circuit.
A: Yes, I have just completed 14 seminars in seven cities. I think that to Kodak and Apple, I am a good example of how a photographer who is almost 50 can adapt to digital. I constantly try to stay up with technology. I don’t try and tell photographers what to do—I just show them what I am doing, then they can make up their own minds.
Q: You’ve got an impressive list of major clients and you’ve done a lot of technically challenging big budget projects. Do you still shoot for smaller clients?
A: Sure, we do plenty of bread and butter work. I’m realistic enough to understand that every shot has to be your best. Although a job might appear superficially to be mundane, technical challenges are always there. Even open lighting on a white background offers possibilities. If you don’t see that, you’re not looking hard enough.
Q: How about promotion and advertising?
A: It doesn’t matter who you are, you have to keep your name out there. It’s a competitive world and there are hundreds of really good photographers ready to take your business. That’s why I have two reps. Also, we still do the occasional direct mail piece, run pages in source books, and rely to some extent on the best form of advertising—word of mouth from happy clients.
Q: Would you advise aspiring photographers to get a rep?
A: The truth of it is that actually hiring a top rep could be nearly impossible. Most of the best reps probably already have a stable of photographers. And getting a rep too soon, before establishing your own style—something that usually takes years—should be avoided. I think the best thing they could do is to create about three to five great portfolios and go out and rep themselves for a while.
Q: Did you do that—rep yourself?
A: I sure did. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I took my portfolio around the agency circuit. It’s all part of the learning process. It was great experience and you can really benefit from the feedback—and even from the knock backs.
Q: How many portfolios do you have with your reps now?
A: At the moment I have 23 portfolios, each with 30-35 pieces. I think that number of pieces is too many. I’d recommend 20-25 really great images. Just keep in mind the difference between a professional photographer and an amateur—the amateur will want to show ALL of his work.
Q: You are a founding member and a past president of the Kansas City/Mid-America chapter of ASMP. Any advice to other photographers on joining trade associations?
A: It can be invaluable to your business education and career. There’s the network of peers you can get guidance from, programs and seminars, the huge amount of business information that’s been compiled by ASMP and is available to all members. As an ASMP member, you can get help from well-known ASMP photographers simply by saying, “I am an ASMP member and would like to ask your advice.” There’s a traditional camaraderie that goes back to 1944. Join and participate. It’s worth it.
Q: How would you sum up your philosophy as the consummate professional?
A: Can do! I am the eternal optimist and I always have the attitude that we can handle any project that comes in the door.
And for many years and for hundreds of clients, Nick Vedros & Associates have done just that. For more information: [www.vedros.com].