Zack Arias

We are excited to annouce that Atlanta based editorial music photographer Zack Arias will headline this year's PhotoCamp Utah.

Zack's Bio

For Zack Arias, the path to success has been an exercise in self-discovery. In danger of failing out of the University of Georgia, the Atlanta native took a 100-level photography class in hopes of boosting his GPA. Something clicked. Arias's professor noticed his talent and encouraged him to pursue photography as a career. It was the first time in his life that anyone had pushed Arias in a certain direction. Despite his talent in photography, it would take Arias several more years of bouncing around, fading in and out of school, working different jobs, and road tripping around the country in a VW bus before he decided to get serious. He ultimately returned to school at a technical college, graduated with a 3.8 GPA in commercial photography, earned best portfolio in his class, and landed a national photographer of the year distinction from the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America.

Still, the gates of the photo Promised Land didn't simply open. Pro photography is a tough field, and Arias would spend the next couple of years trying to find his niche. He worked a random assortment of jobs without ever really gaining a foothold. Then, in 2001, he left photography completely to deal with some personal issues. By 2003 Arias had sold all his equipment and was working at Kinko's. In October of 2003, Arias's friend Marc Climie, a successful wedding photographer, convinced him to shoot some weddings with him. He quit his job two weeks after shooting his first wedding with Climie. The sum total of his photographic equipment was a Nikon D100 and a Vivitar 285 flash. He had to succeed.

With those tiny toeholds, Arias decided to jump back into photography. He quit his job at Kinko's and launched a fulltime career in music and wedding photography. The work, which involved a mix of photojournalism and commercial techniques, suited his style perfectly. Arias researched the Atlanta music scene and found a profitable niche doing promotional images for up-and-coming musicians. At the same time, Climie continued to hire him as a second shooter, packing Arias's weekends with fast-paced wedding jobs. Before long, Arias had a full client roster, a jammed schedule and a rejuvenated career on a rapid upward trajectory.

As Arias's reputation spread around the photo industry, he started to receive speaking requests. Three years ago, a group in Tampa asked him to give a presentation on location shooting techniques. Arias showed up with an old, beat-up Vivitar light and titled the seminar the "OneLight Workshop." It was an instant success. Word of Arias's simple yet insightful approach to location lighting raced across the industry, and workshop requests started pouring in. Last year, Arias visited eight cities and conducted 24 intensive workshops. The classes typically last 14 hours, cover loads of lighting nuts and bolts, and sell out within minutes of going on sale. To expand his teaching, Arias developed the OneLight DVD, which sold out its first run within a month.

For Arias, all of this demand and attention is still a bit awe-inspiring, especially considering the twisted road he took to such acclaim. Equally awe-inspiring is his schedule, which involves commercial shoots, a headshot business, music photography, teaching, hosting events at his new studio space and 15 weddings a year with Climie.

Please visit zackarias.com for more information.