Russ Hons — Sports Photography, Running a Photography Business & Getting It Right In Camera
Inside the net, puck inbound. Russ Hons’ remote camera work in action. Photo Credit: Russell Hons Photography. Used with permission.
Russ Hons learned photography from his father, a law enforcement officer who taught him to shoot and develop film before he was out of middle school. Decades later that same skill set became the foundation of his career as a private investigator, using telephoto lenses on stakeouts long before it became his full-time photography business.
Today Russ shoots action sports, senior portraits, fine art, photojournalism, and still takes the occasional investigative job, all out of Grand Forks, North Dakota. In this episode he breaks down his seven-to-eight-minute hockey workflow, why he shoots overexposed on purpose, and the one thing he wishes he’d known before he went all in: how much work it actually takes to make a living doing this.
Why It Matters
Russ’s honesty about the business side of photography is the part most people overlook. It’s not just shooting. It’s marketing every day, having equipment ready, working evenings and weekends when you’d rather be at the lake. But he balances that against the messages from grandparents in Florida who get to see their grandson’s prom photos because Russ was there with a camera. For anyone dreaming about going full-time with photography, this episode is the real cost and the real reward, side by side.
About This Guest
Russ Hons is the owner of Russell Hons Photography, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota, shooting action sports, special events, senior and family portraits, fine art, photojournalism, and private investigative photography. His path into the craft started with his father’s film cameras and early law enforcement work, carried through a career as a private investigator using telephoto lenses on surveillance jobs, and returned to full-time creative photography about nine years ago. He’s built a workflow for live sports that allows him to deliver edited, ready-to-publish images to university marketing departments within minutes of a period ending.
Russ’s Bonafides
“
I wish I would have known how much work this actually entails to do as a full-time business and make a living at it. It’s a lot of work. But it’s so fulfilling. The messages I get from grandmas and parents, seeing their grandson in these sports photos, you wouldn’t believe how much that makes my heart flutter.
”— RUSS HONS, OWNER, RUSSELL HONS PHOTOGRAPHYHear This Episode
Episode Timestamps
Your ZoomPod — Exit Ticket
After this episode, you'll know:
- Why getting the shot right in camera saves you hours on deadline-driven sports photography
- How a seven-to-eight-minute workflow gets in-game photos delivered to clients before the next period starts
- What it actually costs, in time and effort, to turn photography into a full-time business
- Why diversifying across genres builds a sustainable photography career
Gear & Affiliate Links
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Explore More
Check out our other great podcast episodes. Link and follow for more great learn-photography content: IG @tvcommandomedia | FB @ZoomWithOurFeet.
Russ built his workflow on getting it right in camera the first time. Same discipline applies behind any lens.
Stop Shooting From the Stands →BUILD NOTE: Full transcript pending paste-in from Buzzsprout.
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