Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Schoenfeld.
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Michael Schoenfeld, and I have been a practicing advertising photographer for over 40 years. I have bought real estate, put kids through college, and had a wonderful life, all thanks to stubbornness and a camera.
What began as a simple excuse to get out of elementary school, (developing film in my family bathroom), turned into a lifelong adventure as a photographer. Decades later, it’s become a defining characteristic of who I am. The process of photography helped me understand more about myself than I ever thought possible. I consider the goal of intimacy in my images (hopefully), the end result of a successful image.
When people have asked me how did I “make it”, I usually tell students that the secret weapon for success boils down to just working harder than anyone else……it costs you nothing, and always pays dividends. Study the great artists, and without exception they out-worked everyone else.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Interesting question – The road became a whole lot smoother as you say, when I stopped trying to “be” anything artistically”, and simply chose to please myself with my intention and efforts. It’s like being a songwriter and trying to write a hit. The odds of writing that memorable song increase greatly is you just write from the heart, and please yourself.
Additionally, I believe many people pursuing photography lean too heavily into the technical side of things, whether it’s analog film processes or digital imaging and photoshop. With the advent of Ai based image generation, the technical “goal posts” have once again been moved; now, it will be one’s ability to verbally and elegantly describe what their intent in the image is; that will define what “technical” means for the foreseeable future. What’s next? Brain implants that translate our thoughts directly into images? Who knows?……
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Living in a relatively small market like Utah, you by definition are going to start as a “generalist”, or someone who creates what they are asked to do. I actually like a generalist’s work load, as it was so difficult to for me to choose a genre that rises above everything else, but if I had to, it would definitely be photographing people. I try and create a sense of intimacy with all of the images I create, especially portraits. I believe I succeed if you can “feel” the person or subject in my images. This realization came one afternoon when I decided to “dig in” and understand just what I considered a successful image to be. I like to take a portrait from what many would consider uncomfortably close place. That naturally stirs up emotional mojo for both me and my subject, and hopefully that shows up in the image. I reverse engineered that knowledge, and it became rather obvious that it was intimacy I was trying to capture.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Today’s networking world is 180 degrees different than the world that existed when I started, so take any advice with a grain of salt. That said, the fundamentals are still the same; are you willing to work hard, in an honest way that your clients can count on? You’ll do fine. That will never change.
Mentoring……anyone who concentrates on the technical aspects of photography is probably not the best mentor, because I still believe great images are about great ideas, far more than great technology. Tech is a rapidly moving target that is about to hit warp speed, so yesterday’s lessons in tech won’t apply directly to tomorrow’s needs. What will apply, in my opinion is “how” you see the world; does that come through in your images? Can you find a mentor who concentrates on vision rather than gizmos? You will also do fine if so, and that will be a person to learn from. I would also say that the history of image making, be it painting, photography, illustration or whatever, is so important to study, for your entire life. No stopping! It will make you a better creator of visual ideas and help insulate you from repeating other’s ideas, a common curse.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.michaelschoenfeld.com
- Instagram: schoengram
Image Credits
© Michael Schoenfeld 2025 all rights reserved
