Meet Zach Adams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Adams.

Hi Zach, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always loved taking pictures. Whether it was with a Kodak disposable camera on a school trip or a professional camera. My high school art teacher asked me if I wanted to take his after-school photography class, so I did. He said when he saw all the other students standing up while taking photos vs. seeing me laying on the ground, he knew there was something different.

That was 2004. Life happened and photography took a back seat for a while. Fast forward to 2016, where I had been taking pictures with just my phone for pure joy until my dad got me a camera for Father’s Day. At that point, my love for photography got reignited! I started with just flowers and bugs, then that slowly moved on to people. Lots of pictures of friends and their kids and stuff to get used to having a new camera. From there, every year, I did a little more and got a little better. Then Covid happened.

2020 was the hardest but one of the best years for me. My daughter was out of school and just like a lot of parents out there, I became a teacher (lol). As much as that time was frustrating and hard to deal with, it was also very eye-opening as well. If Covid didn’t happen I don’t think I would have made such a bond with my daughter. I got to know her better and create something that I hope will last forever. I also took this time to document everything, every day during the stay-at-home mandates. I took pictures of life around my house, all the things that were on the calendar planned that no longer happened. All the stores closed. Black Lives Matter protests for George Floyd. Everything!

While doing that I saw that the Illinois state museum was asking for people to take pictures or make art representing covid and how what they are doing during this time. So every day, I turned in photos thinking nothing of it. Until I got an email from the museum wanting to talk about giving me my own exhibit at the museum. When it was final and they agreed on it I didn’t know how people were going to see my work with people not being allowed in the building. That’s when I found out that they blew up my images and put them outside on the front of the museum so people could still see them! That turned into me getting published in some magazines and getting way more eyes on me than I expected!

I know Covid was a hard time for a lot of people but I am grateful for it. It showed me that photography is what I am supposed to be doing with my life. I am slowly getting better and better and busier as time goes on.

I think the best part of all of this is now my daughter is asking me about cameras!

Thanks for reading my story!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth ride. Starting out in an already saturated market where I live, it was hard to find my way at first. I would see other photographers’ work and try to make my work look like their work because that’s what I thought people liked. It also took a while to get people to trust that I could do it.

As soon as I let all of that go and took pictures the way I wanted to and edited them the way I wanted to then, I slowly started getting more and more people booking shoots with me because they liked MY work. Not because it looked like someone else’s but because they liked the way I made the picture look.

When I figured that out everything changed. Now that’s what I tell people to do as soon as they start!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
To me, anything can turn into a photoshoot! I do lifestyle family shoots, senior shoots, boudoir, street photography, event coverage, (candid shots) really anything. Lately, I’ve been working more with women after gaining the title of them feeling safe around me.

It started with a shoot of a friend that just needed an esteem booster so we did a little shoot and when she saw herself she loved the pictures and became emotional. Since then, that has happened more than once. After hearing some of the stories that women have told me while doing shoots, I think being a safe space for women has become something I’m proud of.

If I had to pick something I specialize in or something that sets me apart is my black and white photos. I love doing them. People like my colorwork but they really like my black and white work.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Don’t compare yourself to anyone else! Do what feels right to you. Express yourself with your work. Make it how you want to make it. The people that like your work, like it because it’s your work, not because it looks likes someone else’s work.

Contact Info:

• Email: 1221photography1@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1221_photography
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/z1221Photography

Image Credits
Headshot photographed by Bridget Shaw Photography.