Serving up more fantastic photographers, we welcome the fabulous Christopher Becker to our Coffee Break series!  Jules Cafe is committed to providing you with great information from sources around the world, including this series featuring photographers who inspire and motivate in the Learn-Grow-Share spirit.  You can read last weeks’ interview with Gene Higa by clicking here.

Known simply as The Becker in photography circles around the world, Jules & I were thrilled when our good buddy Christopher agreed to be a part of our Coffee Break series.  Becker is a wedding photographer from Southern California who specializes in capturing relaxed portraits, amazing details and real moments for discerning brides worldwide. His unique gift for putting people at ease in front of his lens has helped him become one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the world.

Becker also co-founded www.thebschool.com which is a social referral network that helps photographers connect with their “competition”, exchange referrals, learn, inspire, be inspired, build their businesses and make more money. It’s only $10 per month for membership or you can check out over 150 videos for free on www.thebschoolblog.com

Becker has a personality that is larger than life, and a following on his blog that is the envy of many a photographer!  I’m so happy we are friends, and I always enjoy the times when I get to hang out with him.  I admire the way Becker pushes himself to learn, to grow, and to share.   No wonder Becker’s blog is so popular, he’s always got something new and interesting to share, and he is very real about it all.

Check out his blog post dated March 16, 2009.   Becker writes: ” I love my life… Between now and the first week of June, (that’s the next 80 days… go ahead, count it) I’ll be jetsetting around the globe for weddings, speaking engagements, workshops (teaching and attending), photographer get togethers, poker tournaments, photo field trips and a little fun and personal growth too. It’s going to be a crazy schedule but I’m really looking forward to it.”  Here are the places he’ll be heading:  Arizona, Santa Fe, Canada, Colombia, Denver, Sweden, Connecticut, Vegas and it all ends in Disneyland for his nephew Caden’s 4th birthday in June!

Way to go, Becker!  I’ll be keeping up with your travels from cyberland.  Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions for the Jules Cafe readers, especially with that crazy schedule you have.  I really appreciate it, and so do your fans.

LEARN:  What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, or something you are continually learning?

Being from California where there always seems to be a plethora of natural light, and I specialize in shooting in natural light, I often feel that I want to learn about using my flash more effectively. I’ve been dying to go to Zach’s One Light workshop, but it always sells out by the time I find out about it. Also, even though I think I have a pretty solid workflow, I am always looking to learn new tips and tricks to shave off precious time that I spend working on my images.  Lately I’ve also been learning quite a bit about video editing, Final Cut Express in particular. The industry is changing and I like to be on that cutting edge.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

I do feel as if I figured out my workflow the hard way. Back in ’01, very few photographers were 100% digital and it was hard to find the answers so we just had to figure it out ourselves. People are lucky now because a lot of folks are sharing knowledge.

GROW:  How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you?

I always like to think of myself as growing. Once you feel you’re reached a place where you know it all, the game is over. Each year I love looking back at my blog and the previous years weddings. I feel like my work is constantly evolving and my business continues to grow every year. In fact, my goal each weekend that I shoot is to try to outdo the last wedding that I shot. I shoot several thousands of images each wedding and I experiment a lot. I am my own biggest critique and I am always critiquing my own work and try to figure out what I can do next time to make the shot even better. I just got home from  the Blend workshop in Sante Fe. I was truly inspired inspired by some amazingly talented photographers, Jose Villa, Jesh De Rox and The Image is Found.

How would you recommend others grow do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

The other part of growth that is important to me is growing my network. After all, it’s not what you know, but who you know. I love using Facebook to connect with my brides and their bridesmaids (a.k.a. my future clients). I also love the community that we are building at thebschool.com. I truly believe we are changing the way photographers are connecting on the web and feel as it is the coolest site on the net for photographers to connect, get referrals and share knowledge. julescafe.com is a close second!

SHARE:  How do you feel that you contribute to the industry?  What is something you would like to share with your follow colleagues?  How can they turn around and do the same for others?
Well, I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job sharing with the industry for quite some time now. Long before the [ b ] School or even my blogs, I have always tried to contribute through various online communities and I have also been active in connecting with my fellow local colleagues in real life on a regular basis. My message has always been it’s better to look at other photographers as referral sources than competition. That’s one of the major messages we are trying to preach over at the [ b ] School and people are really starting to catch on.

Thank you, Becker, for taking the time to stop by for a cup of coffee with us today.  I love what you said about trying to outdo yourself at every wedding.  You are always setting the bar higher, and the industry thanks you.  Make sure you take the time to check out thebschool and tell them that Jules Cafe sent you!

You can see that Becker is all kinds of fun…

Ah, a delicious Bianchi Sandwich with Becker.  He might have coined the term, I’m not sure…

Sara France, Becker, and the lovely Jules Bianchi

And finally, I want to give you a taste of the kind of work Becker produces.  This is a peek at some of his latest images.  Gorgeous stuff!