How Stories can Help You Sell with Photographer Collin Leeder
Today’s episode with Omaha, Nebraska, photographer Collin Leeder is a first for me in two ways. One, it’s the first time I’ve done a live, on-site interview at an exhibit. And two, it’s the first time I’m presenting an artist interview completely un-cut! Yep, you get our whole, raw conversation. Collin and I have known each other for well over 20 years. He began studying photography before I did, even getting my dad’s old darkroom equipment first. We attended the same photography school, Metropolitan Community College (MCC). And I’ve watched Collin grow and develop into a wonderful landscape photographer. His photographs are crisp, colorful, and just as alive as the places he takes his camera. From school to freelancing Right after finishing the photography program at MCC, Collin did what a lot of students do and started out shooting portraits and weddings. Between 2006 and 2013, he chased any job that got him behind the camera, including some sports photography. But after one of his most successful years in 2013, traveling from one end of the country to the other shooting weddings, Collin needed a change. “I think that was my biggest struggle when I graduated photography school, I didn’t really know what my specialty, what my niche was. Because I was just kind of like well-trained to shoot anything,” Collin says in our conversation. The rigors and rejections of being a freelancer helped drive Collin to ask himself why he was doing all this. What was it he really wanted to be doing with his photography? And that questioning compelled him to make the leap back into shooting landscapes. Being outdoors and finding unique ways of photographing new locations are what drove Collin’s early photography. And he missed that connection. Reconnecting with the landscape Making photographs outdoors in the landscape has always been more natural for Collin: “For me, being outside in nature, shooting landscapes, I get a lot out of that.” Now, in June of 2019, we sit down together at Collin’s fifth exhibit at the Thunderhead Brewing Tap Room in Omaha. He sets up here for an entire day, talking with the people who come in to enjoy great beers and even better conversations. Selling photography with stories Collin tells me that it’s when people share their own stories with him, from their own experiences in the landscapes he photographs, that his best sales come: “Every photograph has a connection. And every photograph has a story. And when those connect with the people that are coming to your art show to support you, that’s where the magic happens…If that person didn’t have a connection or a story with my image, there would be no reason for them to buy it.” We had a great time talking together, and I’m really glad Collin suggested coming down to do this interview live. I’ve really enjoyed watching Collin grow as a photographer. And I’m so excited that he’s found his niche, his style, and his community of people who love and purchase his work. Please enjoy getting to know my friend and fellow photographer, Collin Leeder. SHOW NOTES: Leeder Photography My previous video interview with Collin Thunderhead Brewery Tap Room