Sometimes, discovering what you are meant to do takes you in a completely different direction than where you were headed before. One of our Imaging USA 2012 instructors experienced that very thing. David Beckstead is currently one of the most sought-after wedding photographers in the world. In fact, he was named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine in 2007. But before all that, he was fighting fires.

Finding His New Direction
Yes, Beckstead got his start in photography in a most unexpected way. He spent 12 summers working for the U.S. Forest Service, fighting forest fires all over the United States. When he wasn't fighting the fires, he carried a Nikon SLR and captured images of them. Eventually, the Forest Service offered him a full-time job photographing the forest fires.

"Although I loved fighting fires, this was an opportunity I could not pass up!" Beckstead recalls. "Yet no sooner did this great opportunity arise, than it was taken away due to funding issues."

However, that idea and experience inspired him to open a photography business...and start in a whole new direction.

While he started by photographing every job that came his way, from aerials to portraits, Beckstead really enjoyed weddings. He began to focus his business on wedding photography in 2001 when he attended a Gary Fong workshop and really saw the creative and artistic possibilities in it.

"My business has been exciting ever since, and I have been able to push my style and art to new levels," he says. "My brides and grooms love it!"

Today, Beckstead is a destination wedding photographer who has worked in over 70 countries. This career balances his two great passions--photography and travel--perfectly. Of course, being a traveling photographer also presents its unique challenges.

In addition to having to get on a plane to earn his money, Beckstead points out that he rarely meets his clients until he gets on the job. To overcome that challenge, "I find ways to sell my lifestyle and business to clients," he says. "I get them excited about who we are and what we do." And one thing that has helped him do this successfully is his style, a style that potential clients view as his brand.

Developing Your Own Style with Him
In fact, Beckstead believes so strongly in the importance of bringing out and refining your style that he is teaching a class about it at Imaging USA! He'll share tips on how to create a style that is unique to you in his "Power Style: Developing a Dynamic & Compelling Style" class on January 17, 2012.

You'll learn how to be yourself, press the shutter for you, create art, be different and find your style. "Plus, you'll be able to wrap it all up into a brand that sells who you are and how you shoot," Beckstead promises.

So, get ready to build your confidence, develop your own style and much more at Imaging USA in New Orleans from January 15-17. As Beckstead says, "Anyone who doesn't go every year is crazy!"

"There is just no other place in the world where you can get the Imaging USA experience!" he exclaims. "It is amazing what you can learn if you keep your eyes and ears open to new and exciting concepts. It may be something small. But that small idea can turn into a big money-making business decision that takes you in a whole new direction."  (And he would know, wouldn't he?)

Read more about David Beckstead here.
Read more about Imaging USA here.

ALL IMAGES © DAVID BECKSTEAD