P#7 Intro: Roy Toft, Wildlife Photographer, Creates His Own Element

A photographer on location

Roy Toft: Well, being a wildlife photographer, it's kind of a crazy business. I spend about half my time in the field. What I mean by "in the field" is out on location, mostly international locations, photographing wildlife.

That can be for a couple different reasons. First, I could be on assignment. I just did an assignment for Audubon Magazine earlier this year in Honduras, so I was there on their dime, doing a story that they had in mind. That's one way I'll be in the field taking photos.

Another big part of the industry nowadays is stock imagery, which includes pictures that are taken by photographers and represented and sold by stock agencies. Photo buyers go to stock agencies and purchase these photos.

Stock photography is a lot of the photography business nowadays. Even with magazines, a big part of the photos they need for stories come from stock agencies.

Many photographers nowadays go on what's called spec shoots. We go into the field using our own money and our own thought process of getting out there, what we want to do, and we take photos.

After the fact, we put those photos into stock agencies and we try to generate some income from those photos. That's another reason I'll be in the field: doing a spec shoot.

The third reason I'll be in the field is a big part of my business: doing tours and workshops. I'll bring people into the field, usually amateur photographers, but sometimes professional photographers who want to come to a certain location and know that I am familiar with that location.

I set up all the logistics to be in a certain location and do the photo shoots. We'll be in the field, whether it is Africa or India or Japan -- I do a variety of these -- for several weeks. I'll be shooting as well as teaching.

These are the three ways that I'm in the field making pictures.

The rest of the time, I'm in the home office, trying to sell these photos, working with my stock agencies, making submissions, talking to editors, magazines, and trying to propose stories.

I also do private lessons here in my home office, so people who are interested in learning photography can come and spend time with me. Then I also spend time with my wife, three dogs, and my garden. That's a big part of my life, too. That makes up my life.

Summary

Photographer Roy Toft explains three different reasons that take him into the field. The first is an assignment, the second is to take stock photographs, and the third is to lead workshops. And of course, he also satisfies his own desire to take photographs.