DWF – Let’s start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about yourself.
JB - I don’t think many people know this about me but photography was not my first love! At the age of 14 I left the nest and enrolled myself in a Military High School in San Marcos, Texas (near Austin) hoping to have a better chance to get into the Air Force Academy and follow my dreams of becoming a pilot in the USAF. I did not make the cut into the Academy but I did continue my pursuit to fly and joined the AFROTC in college! During my Freshman year in college, my academic adviser recommended that I pick a major that I not only enjoyed but that I could make high grades in so that I could get into OCS (Officer Candidate School) once I graduated! I chose Fine Art Photography as my major and I also worked as a lab assistant for three years in Beginning B&W helping other students compose, take, develop, print and present their photographs. I found teaching very rewarding and it’s funny now that my wife and I are speakers in this crazy industry.
Through my years in college I worked hard to make good grades and focus on my goal of becoming a pilot and photography was just a way for me to boost my GPA and get into OCS. I received all A’s and one C in a beginning Photoshop class (ironic I know!). I remember going up to the Photoshop instructor at the time and telling her that Photoshop was a waste of my time and that I would never use such a program ever again! Little did I know that 3 years later my world would come crashing down all around me one week before I signed a contract to go to OCS and join the Air Force! After 9/11, I did a lot of soul searching and decided that going to war was not what I wanted anymore, I had fallen for a beautiful girl name DeEtte and could not stand to be away from her. Love does indeed conquer all!
Since that time DeEtte and I have grown closer than ever before and together we have done more in five years than we ever expected to do in a lifetime! We have opened up a thriving wedding photography business in a very competitive market, purchased a small Gallery in Las Colinas, Texas (6 miles from downtown Dallas), hosted 2 national tours in 51 cities and met over 4000 great photographers in 2008 & 2009, had our first child (Brinkley Raye Sallee) May of 2009 and won a few awards along the way! In the words of the great Joe Walsh… “Life’s been good to me so far!” and I am most grateful!
DWF – How did you become a wedding photographer?
JB - DeEtte and I tried to open a High School Senior Photography business when we first started out, but people just kept pushing weddings our way and we needed income to stay in business so we just kept shooting weddings! Before we shot our first wedding we had booked 28 others! After our first wedding we almost gave all of the deposits back because we hated the experience so much. We stuck with it and got better and better with each wedding. We noticed that by educating our clients on what we needed to give them a good coverage, We were able to come away with more and more good images to make their albums with! Albums became our hot seller and we started making a larger profit from each wedding enabling us to work less. Our first year we shot 58 weddings and now days we like to shoot no more than 20.
DWF- Who or what inspires you as an artist?
JB - Music! DeEtte and I grew up with MTV and I think it shows in our work!
Other photographers also inspire us but I don’t want to copy what someone else is already doing, It is not fulfilling to me.
DWF- If we needed a photographer today why would we book you? What makes you unique?
JB - Personality is #1! You can be the best of the best but if you have a piss poor personality, people will not want to be around you let alone book you for the happiest day of their life!
Our work gets people in the doors, but our personality is what sells us! I am a little goofy at times but DeEtte balances me out!
DWF- If you had to pick a favorite “Tool of the Trade” what would it be? and why?
JB - My imagination, tools can only get me so far.
DWF – Care to share your favorite photographs?
JB – (see even more of JB in the gallery below)
DWF – How about some final words to live by?
JB - Reinvent yourself every 6 months & don’t focus to much time on the competition! Be a leader and do something fresh!
Location – Dallas, TX
Business Name – Sallee Photography
Years in Business – 6 Years
Websites - www.salleephotography.com
Blog - www.salleephotography.com
3 Comments at "Featured Member JB Sallee"
I love your work saw you in KC.
BC(BEFORE BABY)
Love your actions use them every day way to go..
Looking forward to more learning from you your a GREAT teacher.
Thanks and
God Bless
I met you at the Photolux Workshop in Ottawa. Pleased to see that success has come your way but not spoiled you.
JB & DeEtte, you guys Rock! Looking forward to seeing you at Little Red School House
c…
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