Mark Sacro began as a professional photographer at age 30. He quickly rose in the ranks of photographers around the globe. His work can be seen on respected blogs and magazines everywhere. He is an awesome guy who loves what he does and loves the life that he leads. This interview is a peak inside of how he became a photographer.

We hope it inspires many more to pick up the camera one day and make beautiful art with it like Mark does. Enjoy!

 

How did you know that you liked to shoot photos? How old were you?

Mark Sacro: About 6 years ago, just turning 30, I was going to go to Europe for the first time and decided that I would “splurge” on a Nikon D80 kit from Costco so that I can, hopefully, take better vacation pictures.  The camera itself is pretty amateur compared to what we work with now, but at the time it felt like a huge investment into a hobby.  I did this a few months prior to the trip so that I could learn how use all the controls and features of my new DSLR and even took a class at Samy’s so I could learn what shutter speed, aperture, and ISO was.  I started practicing on my friends and family who in turn would post their pictures to MySpace at the time.  Surprisingly they got pretty good responses on their pictures and people started to contact me to shoot them.  I was immediately hooked on people and portraits and about 3 months after I bought that first camera, was published in my first fashion spread.

 

How long have you been a photographer?

6 years

 

What are some of the things along your journey that helped you become a professional photographer? (school, teachers, books, etc)

I obsessed with shooting people and fashion and constantly would look through magazines for inspiration on ads and spreads that caught my eye.  When I saw something I liked, I would try and reverse engineer the lighting and practice relentlessly until I achieved the effect or discovered something entirely new that I also liked.  Fortunately, my friends were patient with me through hours of testing that I put them through.  Through social media, I met and befriended other photographers and people in the industry to help shape my style and hone my craft.  Youtube is also an amazing resource when learning the technical aspects of photography and retouching and I would tirelessly watch and learn what other people were doing and try to add my own spin to what other people had already discovered.

 

Are there any people out there that really helped you along your journey? If so how?

Coming from a real estate background, I knew no on the fashion industry or art community, but as I started to get deeper into photography, there were a few people that were very instrumental in launching my career.  First off, Katie Pegler, an amazing writer and then editor of 944 OC Magazine, gave me a chance to shoot my first editorials even though I barely had a portfolio.  She saw what I was trying to go for and took a big risk on me giving me assignments so early, but we ended up becoming inseparable creative soul mates.  Also, one of the most creative and respected hairstylists, Linh Nguyen, and a phenomenal makeup artist, Alex LaMarsh, who were close friends before they met me, had great faith in my talent and decided to take a risk on me even though I had only been shooting for a few months.  Alex, who is also the beauty editor for J’Adore Magazine asked me “Would you be interested in shooting this model/socialite for a little lingerie spread in J’Adore?”  Without even asking who it was, I said yes.  Turns out the model was








 right when Keeping Up With the Kardashians had just aired.  The shoot gave me a lot of credibility and opened the door to more and more opportunities.

 

What are some of the hurdles that you had to overcome to becoming a well respected working photographer?

I’ve had to overcome the big hurdle of not knowing anyone in the business when I was starting out.  What I took from my background profession, which was actually real estate, is that you can’t stop knocking on doors.  And I was knocking down everyone’s door in the beginning (and still am) until people started to notice.

What is your favorite part about being a photographer?

All the free clothes.  Just kidding.  My absolute favorite part about being a photographer is being entrusted with capturing some of the most beautiful things in the world.  For people to hire you to capture things and put them out in the world the way you see it, there’s no greater feeling.  It’s like for a moment you can let the world into your mind.  Did I mention the free clothes?

 

What are your favorite photo-shoots to shoot?

My favorite are high fashion shoots because it’s where you can see the art of every one involved, from the models, to hair, makeup, and the designers.

 

Are there any photographers that you look up to?

Mark Sacro: I look up to a lot of the big ones: Mario Testino, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, Annie Liebovitz.  Then there are others who aren’t as big but well respected in the community, and I can look at their work all day:  Michael Donovan, Henrick Purienne, and Bruno Dayan.

Do you ever collaborate with other photographers?

Yes, I love to collaborate with other photographers, especially my close friends that are a part of what I call “The Warehouse Collective.” It’s a group of my super talented friends and we like to hang out at my studio, create and problem solve photographic challenges.

 

Are there any models that you love to work with?

I actually like to shoot a variety of models and not stick to the same model for too long, no matter how much I like her look.  It’s the same reason I feel that people should shoot with different photographers.  It’s about keeping things fresh.

 

Are there any models that you haven’t worked with yet that you want to shoot?

Oh wow, let’s see…Karli Kloss, Abbey Lee, and of course, the queen, Kate Moss.

What are some examples of locations that you have been to while shooting?

My absolute favorite place to be in was the Virgin Islands.  It reminds me of Los Angeles, but surrounded by tropical beaches.  The one place I will never forget is Haiti.  It’s so tragic what happened to a beautiful country.

 

What are you currently working on? Projects, companies, etc.

Right now I’m excited to be working with Young & Reckless.  It seems like they’re brand is right up my alley and I’m enjoying every moment creating concepts for them.  I’ve also been involved in a lot of branding of NFL athletes lately.

 

Where can we see examples of your work?

You can follow me in instagram @ and my website is www.marksacro.com

What advice do you have for anyone out there who is thinking of becoming a photographer?

Someone once told me “It’s about the Indian, not the bows and the arrows.”  A lot of photographers, beginning or not, get stuck on what equipment to buy and use.  I’ve seen this hamper a lot of beginning photographer’s creativity because they forget the emotional aspect of photography.  And if you learn to capture that, everything else follows.

What are you looking forward to in the future

I’m looking forward to being more involved in charities around the world and hopefully my second trip back to Haiti at the end of this year to help build urban farms.  Please contact me through my website email if anyone is interested in helping out.

We want to thank Mark for such a candid interview! We hope it inspires many of you to follow your heart and dreams and never forget to… “Live life with passion!”

Thanks 7 Days Theory!

 

 

 

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