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VTalk Radio Photography Spotlight
Today's Guest: Ben Shirk of Shirk Photography in Wilton, Iowa
Today's Host: John Bentley

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ANNOUNCER: Welcome to VTalk Radio Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.

JOHN: Today, we are in the studio with Ben Shirk of Shirk Photography of Wilton, Iowa. Welcome, Ben, to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight.

BEN: Hi. Great to be here.

JOHN: Now, you're pretty busy down there in Iowa. Tell us a little bit about your photography business.

BEN: My photography business is relatively new. I started up almost two years ago, and it has just taken off exponentially since then.

JOHN: Tell us a little bit about the kind of photography that you're doing.

BEN: I do a little bit of everything and anything that I can be creative in. I do maternity, infants, all the way up through seniors. I do a lot of sports photography and just about anything else that comes by way; I'm willing to give it a shot.

JOHN: As a sports photographer, when you go shoot an event, do you take more than one camera or are there more photographers going at the event, or how do you work that out?

BEN: It's mainly just me. I was a Division 1 Athlete, All-American, so I love sports and just have a great time doing it. I take a couple of cameras and go out there and get a bunch of creative shots and meet a lot of people and have a great time doing it.

JOHN: I suppose you are pretty busy with weddings this time of year.

BEN: Yeah. There's a lot of weddings going on and that's always fun. You get to meet a bunch of great people, and especially when they are willing to be outgoing and do some creative shots of that mind form, it can be really fun.

JOHN: What if somebody was interested in taking you with them to a destination wedding, perhaps, the Bahamas or something . . . is that something you would be interested in doing?

BEN: That would be great. I would definitely be interested in that. It would be really fun, I think, spending some time with a couple in an exotic location, getting shots and having fun. I couldn't think of a greater time. You know, I adore the outdoors anyway and I also love photography, so it's an awesome thing.

JOHN: Now, as well as weddings, I suppose this time of year you are relatively busy shooting seniors, are you?

BEN: Yep. I've got a lot of seniors coming my way, too, right now. Seniors are one of my favorite things to shoot. I'm also a graphic artist, and so I can use a lot of those talents toward putting some special effects on their pictures and coming up with some really unique poses and effects for their pictures.

JOHN: Family photography; that's got to be another big part of your business there.

BEN: Yep. I come from a real small town, so everybody knows everybody here and I get quite a few families coming my way. I like shooting them, too. We've got a lot of different locations to take them, especially outdoors. We've got some great backdrops, outdoor trees, barns, lots of water around here; just about anything you want, I've got a location for here.

JOHN: And, why did you decide to become a photographer in the first place, Ben?

BEN: I have always liked the human figure. I did a lot of drawing and studying on form, and kind of found a few classes in college, and I really like photography, but never got into it until my first son was born. My wife took him to a photographer when I was at work, and I came home and she had some pictures, and I was kind of a little jealous and I told her, I could have done that, and she's like no you couldn't have. So, it kind of became a challenge. So, I got a camera and got set up and I started taking pictures and it kind of just went on from there. I took some with family and friends and then I got hooked up with MorePhotos, and then it just went crazy from there. MorePhotos was a great addition to my business.

JOHN: Now, you shoot in primarily digital now. Have you ever shot film or get requests for film?

BEN: In college, I took . . . all my classes were with film, but now I do all digital. It's a lot more convenient, especially with the graphics that I like to include in my pictures, you know the collages and all that stuff that make it so much easier to deal with digital.

JOHN: Sure. Now would you please tell our listeners your website address and contact information, Ben.

BEN: My website is www.shirkphotography.com and my telephone number is 563-732-2432.

JOHN: We are in the studio with Ben Shirk of Shirk Photograph of Wilton, Iowa. You are listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. We are going to step aside for a break here. We'll be right back after this.

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VTALK RADIO: This VTalk Radio Spotlight is sponsored by morephotos.com, the online photo sales solutions for professional photographers worldwide.

ANNOUNCER: We now return you to the VTalk Radio Photographer Spotlight, with your host, John Bentley.

JOHN: We are speaking with Ben Shirk of Shirk Photography of Wilton, Iowa. Thank you for joining us on VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight today, Ben.

BEN: Sure. Glad to be here.

JOHN: Now, we have been talking about your business in Iowa, and it sounds like you're a pretty busy guy down there, shooting weddings and families and sports activities and seniors and what have you. What about some of the other services that you offer?

BEN: I offer . . . for my sports photography, I do a lot of posters and things. I've got a couple of contacts with some of the schools around here to do all of their sports posters; and especially if I go out and do individual stuff, I always offer posters to them to. Anything creative that they want done, I am more than willing to help them out with. I do baseball cards and magazine covers, posters like I said. I also do . . . for weddings, I will do announcements or invitations, just about anything. I have experience in graphic arts, so I like making and designing stuff, doing logos and everything else.

JOHN: You do magazine covers? You know, I've always wanted to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone. Is that something you could do?

BEN: I could definitely do that.

JOHN: Alright. I might have to call you up. That's great. What about some of the cities and communities in the area that you cover?

BEN: I'm from a small town and right between Iowa City and Davenport. They are a little bit larger towns, and I get a lot of business from both of those and from a million other small towns around Iowa, through my website. People are going to my website to look at family pictures or sports pictures, and they get my name and number and give me a call, so it's just a ton of little towns here in Iowa.

JOHN: And, of course, you're willing to travel. That's a good thing.

BEN: Yeah, definitely more than willing to travel, too. If you give me a call and want something creative done, I'll be there.

JOHN: Now, what is your most important goal when you're shooting a client, Ben?

BEN: It's just to give them what they want. Every client is different. You've got to kind of read the client and see what they are looking for. I usually start out slow with a few simple pictures and see how their reaction goes from there, and then I can tell what they are going to be looking for for their pictures and what they would be willing to do.

JOHN: What makes your services unique, and what separates you from the competition?

BEN: The one thing; I absolutely love what I do. I am more than willing to accommodate anything that you're looking for. I also have a degree in graphic arts, so I am graphically trained to give you very creative pictures and designs with your pictures.

JOHN: And, what does the future hold for Shirk Photography?

BEN: I guess we'll have to see. The sky's the limit right now.

JOHN: Will you give your website and contact information, Ben?

BEN: My website is www.shirkphotography.com, and my phone number is 563-732-2432.

JOHN: We have been speaking with Ben Shirk of Shirk Photography of Wilton, Iowa here on the Photographer Spotlight on VTalk Radio. I want to thank you for joining us today, Ben.

BEN: Sure. Yes. Thanks for having me on your show.

JOHN: Well, we appreciate you joining us. This is your host, John Bentley, signing off.

VTALK RADIO: You have been listening to the VTalk Radio Spotlight. Only on vtalkradio.com. Radio for the 21st century.

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