If you’ve spent any time on paper republic’s website you will have seen his work. For the last decade, photographer Sean McCrossan has been snapping paper republic's journals, portfolios, pen loops and paper – bringing out their beauty in imaginative ways. But his career has not been linear. Today, Shaun shares this path from pie shop baker to pro photographer…
Your path to professional photographer has been a long and winding road. Tell us about it.
When I was three, I wanted to build bus stops. I followed that desire by studying architecture at university. I started taking photos to capture architectural details of buildings more accurately, and more quickly. Previously, I had been sketching them or doing watercolours. So I was using photography purely as a tool, rather than for artistic pursuit.
But when it came to working in the architectural industry, I quickly realised it wasn’t for me after all. I had been a huge fan of drafting plans by hand, but when I did a work placement, I found the technology had moved on to CAD (Computer Aided Design) and my role amounted to little more than data entry. That, combined with a major recession, meant my path to architecture got permanently roadblocked.
What happened next?
One of the industries that seemed recession-proof was catering. Because people still wanted to treat themselves by eating out. I already loved cooking, so I got a job in a pie shop in London. After a while there, I moved on to an Italian restaurant where I worked as a line cook.
I was living in London and not earning much. Wandering around the city taking pictures was something to do, because I couldn’t afford to do much else. Later I moved away from London and got together with a girl who was into photography. She suggested starting a photography business for weddings and kids’ portraits. I thought: “Why not?”.
That was my first paid work as a photographer, and we ran it as a side business for a while. I was still working in the catering business but one day, they hired a photographer to take photographs of the food.
Prior to this, it had never occurred to me that you could make money from food photography. I was not impressed with his pictures though. I thought: “Why are they paying him to do this? I could take better pictures!”.
On top of that, I was sick of the restaurant work because it was mismanaged; we were short staffed and over worked. It was a pivotal moment; I saw that I could make money combing my experience of the catering industry with my love of photography to pay my way as a food photographer. And that led to product photography, including the work I continue to do for paper republic to this day.
What journal and paper do you use and how?
I have a grand voyageur [xl] in petrol blue. Inside I have a weekly planner where I add in my jobs. I also have a book refill with dotted paper. I love the dotted paper because it gives me a frame of reference for sketching and writing. So I can draw a square for example and know that it’s a perfect square. I use my journal to plan shoots, write notes about what I need to do, and also sketching out ideas.
What project are you most proud of?
There's a film that I've been working on for the last two years. It’s for a fundraiser that I’m part of for a friend’s charity: Seventy Nine Club. It provides support to families who are experiencing neonatal care. We challenge people to run, walk or lift for 79 consecutive days to raise money.
Last year, I started making the film, and it's a really beautiful project, interviewing people who have had these very impactful moments, and seeing how they are dealing with it. Visually it’s very interesting, but it’s also for a cause close to my heart.
When it comes to my photography work, one of the things I enjoy most is building sets. As a product and food photographer, I get asked to create all sorts of backdrops. Over the years, I’ve become quite a handyman and have built sets that look like bathrooms, swimming pools, hospitals and conservatories. I love the challenge.
What do you like about the paper republic journal system?
I love how easy it is to switch the notepads in and out. When I was a kid, I used to have a Filofax. For me, paper republic’s system is the modern version of that. Depending on what I need that day, I can grab my watercolour pad and leave my writing book behind. The flexibility of the system works really well for me, because I do range of things: note taking, sketching and painting, planning in a calendar etc and it’s easy to have everything together in one place and be able to use things interchangeably.
What's your advice for people who want to take photography from a hobby to the commercial arena?
Firstly, never stop the creative side, even if you want to go pro. Always be creating your own work, and trying new shots. If you’ve come to photography because you love cameras, find a story to tell. Find something you need to say.
Also, it’s not just about the quality of your photographs, but how you interact with people. When I look back at some of my early work, I realise I wasn’t that good at photography. But people liked working with me.
So invest time in networking and building real relationships with people. A lot of the clients I have now are people who I have worked with for years. My clients tend to stay with me because I treat those relationships seriously and I nurture them.
Also, try to join design and photography communities and network with others. I have found that there’s no real competition with photography. There’s plenty of work out there, and if a photographer friend is too busy for a job, they’ll pass it on to me, and vice versa. So it pays to become part of the community and contribute to it by helping others. What goes around soon comes around.
What would be your dream photography job?
A lot of photographers say they’d love to bag a huge client like McDonalds or Coke, because they pay well and have prestige. I wouldn’t mind that of course, but I see such jobs as a means to an end.
I am a big fan of a German photographer called Candida Höfer who does beautiful, large format photos of libraries and museums. My absolute dream photographer project would be taking a 4x5 camera – a special camera able to capture extremely high resolution pictures – and shooting film of interesting architecture.
That would be my dream job.
See more of Sean’s photography at his website The Published Image or his Instagram.