SP: Please give our readers a little background information on yourself?

TR: I was raised in a beautiful little town in PA, and my introduction to photography began one night during a cocktail party at my parents house when a family friend arrived with 2 large silver suit cases, walked up to my bedroom, and in an instant opened the cases and emptied their contents onto my small bed. Cameras, lenses and objects of all shapes and sizes consumed my bed and fueled my imagination. I was 7 years old. And for a few years after I played around with a Kodak Instamatic, but the real journey began when I received my first 35mm camera at 11 years old. I was thrilled and photographed everything that caught my eye. I explored different angles and perspectives and climbed up on the roof of our house to get a better view of the rolling hills during sunset.

A photography class at school was offered when I was in the 10th grade and I enrolled. I also began entering my snapshots in local contests and won many awards. I continued with the courses offered at school and graduated with honors in Overall Performance in Graphic Arts. After graduating, I worked for one year as a personal photographer to a local government official and in my free time discovered fashion photography through the pages of Vogue and GQ magazine. I was inspired and photographed girls I dated, although the results were good I was not satisfied. I thought I needed more advanced training and was accepted for the BFA Photography program at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. I liked school but didn`t feel challenged, and than one day I discovered a bulletin board at school advertising for freelance photographers assistants.

I answered an ad placed by a very well known fashion photographer and began working as a 3rd assistant, earning $35 per day and learning more in one day than I did in one year of school. Needless to say I didn`t return for my sophomore year but continued working for the next 4 - 1/2 years traveling all over the world as a freelance assistant for some of the worlds best photographers before starting my own successful career. I currently work with national magazines, graphic design firms, advertising agencies, book publishers and private commissioned executive and family portraits. I`m also happy to reveal that I`m working on my first book of new work

SP: We see that you`re into a LOT of things (photography, race cars, cycling), is photography your full time career?

TR: I`ve been operating my business full time for almost 20 years. And I`m drawn to cycling and racing cars because it challenges me and I feel the same passion and dedication to succeed as I do with my photography.

SP: As a freelance photographer, can you remember what your first paying gig was?

TR: I shot a small assignment in my little apartment in Alexandria for an advertising agency in DC. I created a still life using objects that were provided by the art director and used for a real estate ad and I earned about 12 times the amount I was earning as an assistant.

SP: What kind of start-up costs did you encounter when you began your business?

TR: I borrowed $10K from a bank and purchased a minimum amount of camera and lighting equipment.

SP: What was your first big break as a photographer? The one job that got you recognized?

TR: I was doing a lot of small, regional magazine assignments and I took my growing portfolio to Regardies magazine. It was a local cutting edge business magazine with national, cult like status. They were using some of the best photographers in North America (and much to the dismay of local talent) and only hired out of town photographers. I met with the assistant art director who liked my work and after his boss was fired he became the art director and for the next few years a steady stream of important and highly visible assignments followed. In short, it launched my career.

SP: Who have been some of your biggest clients and tell us how you found them (or they found you)?

TR: Business Week, Forbes, TIME, Rolling Stone, GQ, American Express, IBM and Revolution, to name just a few. Creative people in my industry in a position to hire make it their business to know who the best photographers are for their needs. Many of my best clients contacted me after seeing my work and through research I`ve nitiated contact and developed the relationships and work.

SP: Do you do your own photo developing, or in this day and age of technology, have you switched to all digital cameras?

TR: All of my work is created with a high end digital SLR camera system. With 16.7MP capture, I afford my clients the highest quality and best value for their money. And instead of shooting a Polaroid and waiting for it to process; I shoot a digital frame and proof the frame instantly via the LCD on my camera or my 17" Apple Power Book computer. In addition, I use the latest Apple computer hardware and software and deliver the finished photograph(s) via DVD/Fed Ex or FTP directly to the client.

SP: Do you advertise your business or do you get clients through word-of-mouth?

TR: Both. I have a data base of over 10,000 contacts and market to this list through a specialized email marketing company on a quarterly schedule. I can specifically track who opens the email and when and a whole lot more. It offers a lot for a reasonable monthly fee, compared to the costs of a traditional mailing campaign.

SP: I`m assuming as a photographer that you have no employees. Correct? If you do, what are their roles, and do you offer benefits of any kind.

TR: Their are many types of photographers and specialties: Photojournalists (work for newspapers and wire services) typically carry one camera bag and don`t require additional help. Studio and high end location photographers carry as many as 10 cases or more of equipment and require the help of 2 or 3 assistants. There is a good network of freelance help (locally and global) and I hire the help based on the assignments needs.

An experienced assistant (3+ years) knows what needs to be done and anticipates my needs. Loading and unloading the gear from the car. Setting up and testing the lighting, and in the old days of shooting film, that meant loading film backs and keeping track of what frame I was on during the shoot. The assistant now keeps track of empty and full flash cards and depending on his or her level of experience, downloads the flash cards to my laptop.

SP: What would your typical client expect to pay for your services?

TR: My creative fees range from $750.00 + expenses for a small magazine assignment, to $4000.00 per day + expenses for a corporate annual report. In addition to assignment creative fees, I also license my existing work which is referred to as "stock photography". My minimum licensing fee is $300.00 and the maximum has commanded many times my highest corporate creative fee.

SP: How has the internet transformed the way photographers\artists do interact with prospective clients?

TR: It`s similar to riding a horse most of your life to get around and then one day you buy a jet and you can`t believe how you got along without it.

SP: Did you form a Sole Proprietorship, LLC, or anything else in preparation to do business?

TR: I operate as a Sole Proprietor, but in the near future my accountant has advised me to form a LLC.

SP: Where does your company operate (home based, company owned building, rent)?

TR: I have a terrific office in my townhouse that I share with my lovely girlfriend.

SP: What is your projected revenue for this year?

TR: I appreciate the question but I prefer to keep that private, but I will say I do very well.

SP: Share with us anything that a budding entrepreneur might need to know before starting his/her business based on your experiences: