We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben Akers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I found my passion for photography during my freshman year of high school. I took an introductory photography course and fell in love with capturing images. I soon got my own camera and took more photo classes throughout high school. When it came time to go to college I was unsure of what to do. I knew that photography was my passion but I also knew that I could have a more stable job in Information Technology. I enrolled in IT courses for my first year of college and soon realized the program wasn’t right for me. I am now a year away from getting my Bachelor’s in Photography at Northern Arizona University. The program has helped me develop my skills, work with fellow photographers and make connections that will be helpful when I start my photography career full time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My portfolio consists of location portraiture and landscape photography. Landscape photography is always something I have enjoyed but I was never proud of my work until last year. Location Portraiture is new to my portfolio and I have shot more portraits that I am proud of in the past year than ever before.

When shooting landscapes I aim to capture beautiful light and scenery. I often have a large foreground subject to create a scene with lots of depth. I like location portraiture as it combines my passion for finding landscape compositions with off camera lighting which help to showcase the person in the photo.

It definitely took a long time to get to the point where I am today. Although I am a student and not a full time professional, the hardest part of the journey has been gaining experience with gear, difficult lighting situations, and creating a business plan.

My goal before graduation is to continue developing my location portraiture and landscape work as well as look into other specializations such as real estate photography.


Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If I had not enrolled in the Photo 1-2 class when I was high school freshman, I don’t know if I would be where I am today. I would like to thank Ryan Dimal and Lisa Baker for being amazing mentors and helping develop my passion for photography.

Website: benakersphoto.com

Instagram: @ben_akers and @benakersportraits

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-akers-447684140/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benakersphoto/

Image Credits
Megan Ford-Fyffe

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