If you’ve come to my photos and videos through social media, you might be wondering “Who is Zach Dobson? What’s his deal? Does he actually know what he’s talking about?”
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The Beginnings
My interest in photography began in 8th grade on our class trip to Washington D.C. I found I liked organizing the sights I saw on that trip within the frame of my camera. It also provided a creative outlet that I could utilize in everyday situations, meaning I didn’t need to set aside specific time for art. Did I know this at the time? No, I wasn’t that self-aware as a 14 year-old. This is what I realized in retrospect.
In high school, the images that accompanied history affected me much more deeply than the words. I liked that I could be a witness to events and draw my own conclusions from what I saw. I decided my senior year to pursue photojournalism in college.
Photos From High School
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College Experience
At Indiana University I worked for the student newspaper (the Indiana Daily Student) and yearbook (the Arbutus), gaining skills in both photography and storytelling. Most importantly, I learned that if I wanted to be a good photographer, I had to go out into the world and make photos as often as possible. It also required gaining some MUCH NEEDED people skills if I wanted to gain access to individuals or events and help people feel comfortable being photographed by me.
During my junior year I acted as the paper’s photo editor, where I had my first real experience in managing stories & photo shoots and mentoring other photographers.
Photos From College
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Professional Photographer
After graduating in 2004, I worked at a few different newspapers (the Delaware Wave in Bethany Beach, DE and the Courier News in Elgin, IL) before going out on my own as a contract photographer in 2006.
Early News Photos (2004-2006)
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I moved to Indianapolis and photographed news (stringing for the Indianapolis Star), family portraits and weddings. Around 2008 I transitioned into doing more commercial & advertising work until that became my primary business in 2015. While those are still the primary focus of my business, my direction as a photographer began to change in 2020.
Recent Advertising Work
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![bloomington-indiana-coffee-shop](https://blog.zachdobson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/bloomington-indiana-coffee-web-1200x800.jpg)
Defining a New Purpose
During quarantine, since I couldn’t go out and photograph traditional photo stories, I began to look for ways to capture feeling and emotion in a less literal way, while still documenting the world around me. This was the start of a shift in thinking & approach. Here are some stories I produced during that time.
Some Quarantine Photos
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By 2021 I began posting every day on TikTok to talk about photography and show people how I work. When I shared a post about a photographer that inspired me (Fan Ho), I found that he was unknown to many people and they loved his work as much as I did. This caused me to dive more deeply into the history of photography and finding photographers who were new to me and learning about their work.
A lot of growth happened at this point; both in my audience and in my thinking about my own approach to photography. The photographers I appreciate most capture something much deeper than surface level. So now, more than telling literal stories, I want to document the feeling of experiencing a certain place and time.
What to Expect
This blog is where I’ll post my latest projects, behind the scenes and other work. I also have resources here for people looking for more info on the videos I produce.
I also have a newsletter where I share the knowledge and inspiration I find in hopes of it connecting with you as well.
Please share your thoughts about what you’d like to see on the blog or on my TikTok and YouTube videos!