I met Kevin a few years ago, at a dinner I’d arranged before one of his wildly popular Lightroom Workflow seminars . I had never met him before this, but we had some mutual friends so I invited everyone to go out the night before the workshop.

I tempted Kevin with local sushi, knowing he was a foodie, and was thrilled when he agreed to attend.

Kevin is the kind of person who lights up a room when he walks in. He has probably single-handedly changed the way most photographers do their post-production, with his amazing array of products designed to help professional photographers speed up their workflow and make more money in the process. Kubota Image Tools products have won multiple Hot One Awards as well as the Readers Choice Award, and if you have never tried them, you are truly missing out.

Here’s a shot of that night, with some of my favorite photographers, including Ann Hamilton, Robert Evans, and some previous Coffee Breakers Gene Higa among the crowd! American Photo Magazine named Kevin Kubota one of their first “Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World”. His photos have been featured on the covers and within the pages of many popular magazines and photography books. Kevin has been sponsored by Nikon and Adobe, and his work with the Nikon digital camera earned him a spot as a Nikon “Legend Behind the Lens”. Kevin is also a PPA Photographic Craftsman.

Kubota is an internationally recognized speaker and author, having presented for every major photographic convention in the USA. He created the popular “Digital Photography Bootcamp” workshop in 2002 and it sells out every year. A few years ago he invited Jules to come and speak at his camp, and I was lucky enough to be a classmate. If you can attend, it is worth EVERY penny. Here’s Jules and Kevin doing what they do best… playing around with a camera!

I love that Kevin is constantly trying to improve himself, to learn, to engage…even in his workshops and presentations, he never wants to give the same talk twice. Last year he developed a new presentation for the Imaging USA convention, interviewing 10 successful photographers to see what they could offer as their top success tips. He was so inspired by what he learned from them that he wants to keep interviewing other photographers and successful business people for a potential book in the future. You can read Kevin’s interview with Jules here!

Kevin works with his wife Clare in the sleepy town of Bend, Oregon, and even though he travels the world speaking, I know that coming home to his boys is the highlight of his day. I asked Kevin to participate in my Coffee Break because he constantly amazes me with his insight, and I knew that he would blow me away again with his responses to these simple questions of Learn, Grow and Share. Which he did. Keep reading, and you’ll be inspired by him too.

Learn: What’s something you’d like to learn more about, something you are continually learning? What is something you’ve learned the hard way?

Kevin: A while back, in one of my workshops, I had a man who was in his 70′s. He was as eager to learn as the 20-somethings fresh out of photography school. He said he attended several photo workshops a year and loved Photoshop, digital photography and all the gadgets that went along with it. I was so impressed by his enthusiasm; by his wide eyed approach to learning new things. I wish everyone could be this way, life is so much more exciting!

I’ve always loved to learn new things, in fact it may be to a fault. I dive deeply into new projects and opportunities to learn about something and once it’s figured out I need to learn something else. I think one of the smartest things a photographer, or any business owner, can do is to set aside time and a budget for ongoing education. You never reach a point where you “know it all” or even “enough”. The most successful and creative (educated creatives) people I know are constantly trying to improve and grow.

What else can you do? Our minds need to constantly learn in order to keep fresh. I often challenge myself by taking on something completely new, just to keep myself learning and growing. The most challenging thing I’ve done in recent years was to take on getting my pilots license. I’m still working on it, and it has been one of the most challenging things I’ve done. It’s pushing me out of my comfort zone, and that’s good, I believe.

I also think some of the best ways to grow are to occassionally study things outside your obvious area of focus. For example, a photographer can learn a lot by taking a fine art painting class, or a class on art appreciation, or color theory, etc.

What have I learned the hard way? Clear communication. I’ve only had a few real “regrets” in my life – I see everything as a learning experience. However, the few that I have came from a lack of clear communication. The issues were not insurmountable, but simply mis-understandings that could have been avoided by being very clear and open up front. I’ve learned to get every business agreement in writing up front. Tell people your expectations of them, and intentions with them. Be honest about what you want and will do. It’s also very important, I’ve learned, to commit to only what you truly can and want to do. Otherwise you can end up doing things out of a sense of obligation that you are not whole-heartedly committed to – and may hold internal resentments that are not really fair to the other party. You committed, so they believe you really are committed.

Grow: How have you grown in the past five years and how would you recommend others grow? Kevin: I have grown to learn to let go. In the early years of my business, I felt the need to be a control freak. I stayed up late worrying and working and didn’t trust anyone else to be able to do things the way I wanted them done. To a great extent, I have grown out of this. I learned to trust others, hire good people, and believe in their abilities. I caught myself in that never-ending circle where work consumes you and you realize time is slipping by faster than it did in previous years. I didn’t want to miss anymore time with my family, or forget the reasons why I moved to a beautiful, slower paced town. While my businesses have continued to grow, I’ve grown to work smarter and relax more. I’m still busy, but I feel like I’m busy doing the things that really matter now.

Continually learning is one of the best ways to grow, as I talked about earlier, but I really feel growth comes from putting ourselves in other people’s shoes – and in uncomfortable situations. This happens for me with travel, especially to other countries. My eyes have been opened, my tolerance increased, and my appreciation for life and the life I have has grown, through travel. As photographers, we have opportunities to create travel related work if we choose to. It’s a gift. Not many professions offer that possibility. Wedding photographers can market themselves as destination photographers if they do a little creative thinking. Fine art photographers can create sale-able image products, or offer their images as stock. At the very least, we can write off our travels if we legitimately use the experiences to create images for sale. (Please consult your own tax advisor!) I think the best photography workshops are those that take you, both physically and mentally, outside of your comfort zone. Push yourself to try something really different or challenging. Maybe try something that is not directly related to your current photographic direction. An art class abroad? A filmmaking class? Maybe something that is not even obviously related to photography, like scuba diving, or sky diving lessons!

Share: What is something you’d like to share with your colleagues?

Kevin: When I first started teaching photo workshops and presenting at conventions, I was driven by the thrill and satisfaction I got from seeing light bulbs ignite in the minds and eyes of the attendees. It energized me and became just as creatively satisfying to me as photographing. Eventually, the phrase “Empowering Photographers” became my business mantra and it guides everything we, as a company, do now. I’ve always felt that I’ve tried to make myself available to anyone who needs help (I probably get that “quality” from my mother), and I firmly believe that sharing whatever I know will not hurt my own business. As the supply of me lessens, and demand for help grows, I obviously can’t get to every opportunity. But, I try.

I know, and it’s widely known, that you learn more about your own skills from teaching them to others. I think every photographer can share something of what they are good at with others. Start a local photo group and do a short presentation. Teach a class at your local college. Take kids out and teach them to photograph. Mentor someone just getting started. Take the fear out of sharing your knowledge and you open an amazing door. I believe that photographers have an awesome gift that can benefit charitable causes as well. Every photographer, at any level, can find some way to give back to their community. Even if it’s just occasional office headshots for a local organization – make it a regular part of your job.

While recently we’ve been very moved to provide service to communities in Africa, the charity that has been closest to my heart is a local group named Sparrow Clubs. Sparrow Clubs connects children in school as a group, or club, to provide assistance to a child and family in dire medical need. The club at school does fund raisers, community work, and other activities to raise money and provide support to the sick child and it’s family. It’s an amazing thing to see these kids pull together and learn to share their compassion and caring. It’s amazing what they do and it’s such a valuable life lesson. The children and families in need are often transformed for life by the acts of generosity and caring. I was able to take photos of the children, both the clubs and sick ones, to provide promotional material to raise awareness for them. It was transformative for me to be able to visit the children and learn from their energy, love, and simple faith. I never felt so humbled, and yet proud to be able to offer so valuable a service with photography.

I think charity work is really a key inspiration for me as a photographer. I didn’t realize the power of it in the early days of my career. We can give a priceless gift with photography, something that transcends even monetary donations. Someone once said, and I agree, nothing matters more than knowing what you do matters.

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THANK YOU Kev, for your thoughtful responses to Learn Grow Share! I really enjoy learning from Kevin, and in 2009 Kevin was personally awarded the Monte Zucker Memorial Humanitarian Award for his work in Rwanda and other organizations, which is, of course, an enormous honor, but I think speaks more to who Kevin is as an individual. He is an inspirational human being and I am grateful to know him.

One last thing about Mr. Kubota.  He’s actually 12 years old. Well, at least in spirit (he’s gotta keep up with his two boys somehow!). Recently at the PPE convention in New York and again at PartnerCon in New Orleans, Kevin sparked a now nationwide craze, The Laying Down Game (and yes, it is grammatically incorrect thank you very much). I’ll leave you with this final image to spark your curiosity, and then make sure you check out Kevin’s blog to find out more! It’s fun to know that even though Kevin can be found anywhere in the world at any given time giving workshops or speaking, he still maintains a healthy photography business shooting weddings and portraits. I really love his fun, romantic, and sexy style. His images have been featured in a number of publications…

….and now the world-famous Jules Cafe!