Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Opatrny.
Jack, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I first got hooked on photography when I was a teenager, I went on a hitchhiking trip through Colorado (can’t do that anymore!) anyway, I borrowed my stepfather’s Pentex camera and that was it – was the most natural thing for me. I went to a local college in northern Ohio where I grew up that had a great commercial photography program and it was instilled in me by my instructors that I had what it takes to succeed in the photography industry. Fast forward, I moved to Houston in 1990 and got my start here by shooting charity events for free. My philosophy was all about meeting people of prominence and business connections. It worked that was the start of a great career in the industry.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Working for yourself and having your own company in the photography business has always been a challenge for a number of reasons. The goal is to have steady clients that keep calling you back, I have been very fortunate in that regard- I landed an interview in the early ’90s with Academy stores and landed a job shooting contract for them that lasted 12 years- what a steady gig! The biggest challenge is keeping the phone ringing and generating new business every year- my friend Michael Briggs always told me that I would lose clients every year but new ones will take their place if you hustle.
Staying on top of technology is always a must, a lot of photographers didn’t do well when we went from film to digital, the film labs too suffered and they are all gone now. I always kept up with the trends, when photoshop came out I was on top of it from day 1. I would say today I see myself as a master retoucher. The biggest challenge today is the perception of quality – the phone has become the new norm and phone images are acceptable in most peoples minds, many almost prefer it to high quality polished images. Also, there are so many would-be photographers out there now, they buy a decent camera, watch some YouTube videos, then sell themselves as a professional and work for ridiculously low rates which has been bad for the industry.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I have always strived to be diverse and not specialize in one aspect of photography. I’m the best know now for business portraits on location but I have clients in architecture, food, fashion and still photographs. I am also a fine mineral collector and have found a niche market with high-end collectors and dealers. It takes a lot of skill to photograph them with all the reflective angles etc. I also learned video a number of years ago and got a gig shooting for The Travel Channel, Blue Cross Blue Shield, CBS, and the number of oil and gas corporations, music videos. It’s been a fun ride, I’m very lucky.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up was very antsy (still am), didn’t like school – rebelled a lot. I just wanted to be a rock star, I remember is 6th grade telling my mom Jimi Hendrix was going to change the world. I guess I was right, in the music world anyway. I learned the drums and played in a number of bands, I didn’t become a rock star but became a very well known Photographer. The next best thing in my mind. I always had a ton of friends and still do. I still have friends from 8th grade, life long friends are a gift in life I believe. Motorcycles were big for me, started riding at 12 and just sold my last bike recently – too many people on their phones – a recipe for disaster. I now have an electric e mountain bike that is a blast and still gives me that feeling of freedom that motorcycles used too.
Contact Info:
- Website: jackophoto.com
- Phone: 832-545-0403
- Email: jackophoto@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jackopatrny
- Facebook: Jack Opatrny
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