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

Hi Tony, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from Liverpool in the UK – as most American’s see it, the home of The Beatles! Haha. It’s a blue collar city, very working class. Not the quaint English towns you see in the movies but a large city that i’m proud to come from. Coming from a background where resources are scarce can be tough as a kid, but also a perfect training ground for life, in retrospect; i’m sure a lot of people will know what I mean when I say that. Growing up I never in a million years thought I could own my own business, it just was never something people who I knew did. When I realized it was a possibility, I grabbed onto it by both hands, both feet, and anything else I could grab onto it with.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
There’s two words that describes my businesses. Headshot Photography! The first business I founded consists of two headshot photography studios where clients have the option to book a shoot directly with me or my assistants. The studios are based out of Scottsdale and Los Angeles, I’m so fortunate that I have great clients who refer their friends, colleagues and family, so the studios stay consistently busy. The second business I founded is a Headshot Photography company called Headshot Booker, which I founded after tons of clients had asked me to recommend a photographer in another city/state . I figured it was time to organize and mobilize the huge network of photographers I had come to know over the years of teaching headshot photographers around the US and beyond from the coaching community headshot crew.
Today, Headshot Booker manages headshot and event photography projects for some of the largest companies in the world, based all around the US, Europe and South East Asia. Who would have thought headshot photography had such huge growth prospects! In my eyes it confirms my belief that being a specialist and the very best at one subject is a great route to take in business.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite spots in Phoenix and Scottsdale? That depends on the time of year, let’s say it’s early new year. There’s not a better place on the planet that time of year than Phoenix. Perfect weather, good people, just before the Spring Training rush, you really can’t go wrong no matter what you do.

If my friend was on vacation, id say spend the morning lazy. Make the most of the pool. My guilty pleasure is Carolina’s burrito, so Uber Eats some Carolina’s. Head to the Fashion Square for some world class shopping, I’d get them a day pass at Lifetime in Biltmore to burn off the calories they’re about to eat, and then head to Hillstone across the road for a late lunch. They’d walk off the Hillstone cheeseburger and pressed sushi with a stroll around Old Town Scottsdale and finish the day with a light dinner back at my place. Can you tell i’m in bed by 9:30pm every night? My poor friend would need another friend to take them out partying.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The network of headshot photographers and aspiring headshot photographers worldwide couldn’t go without a shoutout. Creating a network of headshot photographers was an idea initiated by an old mentor of mine, Peter Hurley, when he created Headshot Crew, and the network has organically expanded in many different directions by many different people in the 15 years or so since. From the first day when I didn’t t have a clue about headshot photography, but loved the impact it could have, to now ,when I’m fortunate enough to be able to provide ongoing work and income for a huge network of headshot photographers, they’ve been a constant source of support and inspiration.

Website: https://www.tonytaafe.com/ and https://www.headshotbooker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony_taafe/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-taafe-4a547a125/

Image Credits
Tony Taafe

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