FROM BEHIND THE CAMERA TO THE STAGE - Becoming a photography speaker
I never planned to become a speaker. I just realized I had something worth sharing. For a long time, I was simply the guy behind the camera. I was photographing. Learning. Trying things. Making mistakes. Getting better. And somewhere along the way, I became very specialized in one thing:
01 – Natural light. Portraits. Working with people
I had never planned to build a career around teaching it. Then someone close to me said: “Why don’t you do more with it? Go on stage. You have something different to say.” At first, I thought: „Why not?“ So I decided to try.
02 – My first talk was in Tyrol
My first speaking opportunity was at the Foto Messe Tirol. The topic was something I knew from experience: „How to photograph international models.“ I didn’t want to stand on stage and give people a list of settings. I wanted to tell them what had actually worked for me. How I approach people. How I find natural light. How I work without a huge amount of equipment. How I create portraits outside. And then I wanted to do something even more important: „Take them outside and show them.“
03 – I was fucking nervous
I remember thinking: „Hopefully there are three people in the room. That would already be amazing.“ Three would have been enough. I would have been happy. Then I walked in. The room was full. People were sitting on the floor. People were standing all the way out. And suddenly my little calculation of “maybe three people” was completely wrong. I remember thinking: „Shit. They actually came to see me.“ That didn’t make me calmer. It made me even more nervous.
04 – Then I started talking
And something happened. I realized I wasn’t trying to pretend to be an expert. I was simply telling people what I had learned. From experience. From mistakes. From years of doing. And then we went outside. I showed them how I actually work. How to find natural light. How to create a strong portrait without a giant lighting setup. How to work with the person in front of the camera. That felt familiar. That was my world. And suddenly, being on stage didn’t feel completely foreign anymore.
05 – I think people connected with the reality of it
There are a lot of photography workshops and talks where you see incredible equipment. Huge lighting setups. Expensive cameras. Gear that costs more than some people’s cars. And yes, you can make great pictures with great equipment. But I kept thinking: „What happens when you take all of that away?“ What happens when you go home after the workshop and you don’t have a €100,000 lighting setup sitting in your living room? You still have to photograph. You still have to see. You still have to understand light. And you still have to work with another human being. That’s the part I wanted to teach.
06 – I wanted to meet people where they were
Because I had been there. I knew what it felt like to start with almost nothing. I didn’t begin with an arsenal of expensive equipment. I learned by doing. So my approach was always very simple: „I’ll show you what you can do with what you already have.“ And I think that’s why people connected with me. I’m not standing on stage pretending to have all the answers. I’m one of them. I simply kept going a little longer.
07 – Then the phone rang
I had just left Tyrol. I was on my way home when my phone rang. It was Photokina in Germany. One of the biggest and most important photography events in the world. They wanted me on stage. I remember thinking: „What the fuck?“ I had just started speaking. And now Photokina was calling. That was a pretty surreal moment.
08 – But going on stage taught me something bigger
You can be a good photographer and never stand on a stage. You can make beautiful pictures and never teach anyone how you made them. And that’s completely fine. But for me, teaching became another part of photography. Because I realized I genuinely enjoy taking what I know and making it useful to someone else. Not through complicated theory. Through experience. Through real situations. Through showing people what is actually possible.
09 – And maybe that’s why I still teach the way I do
Very directly. Very honestly. Without pretending. I don’t want people to leave a workshop thinking they need more gear. I want them to leave thinking: “Maybe I already have enough.” Enough equipment. Enough knowledge. Enough possibilities. They just need to start seeing differently. Because the best equipment doesn’t matter if you’re fucking blind. See the light. See the details. See the person. And then make something with it.
10 – From behind the camera to the stage.
Looking back, I never planned this part of my career. I didn’t decide one day that I wanted to become a speaker. Someone simply reminded me that perhaps my experience could be useful to other people. I said yes. And then I stepped onto a stage. Nervous. Probably more nervous than I wanted anyone to know. But I did it. And sometimes that’s all a new chapter needs. Not certainty. Not a perfect plan. Just the courage to say: “Okay. Let’s see what happens.”
