S. Dirk Schafer

S. Dirk Schafer is my pen name for projects like the CLICKittyCAT comic strip and my book: Don’t Shoot – 66 Reasons Not To Become A Professional Photographer. It’s a new world out there but most of the principles that I built my business on still apply.

Don’t Shoot was written as a cautionary tale for my 19-year-old self, I wanted to tell the young, dumb, and eager 'Me' some of the things I have learned growing my business. Things change, tastes change, technology marches on, but I kept clicking and never stopped. That’s the lesson of Don’t Shoot, if you think photography is easy, you’re in for a surprise, but with passion AND commitment you might have what it takes. Don’t Shoot is full of my stupid mistakes and hard-learned lessons from running a business and making a living as a working photographer. I wish I had this book when I was starting out.

I've been a professional photographer since 1987, moving from weddings to portraits to tabletop and eventually a full service advertising photography studio. Now specialize in location and architectural photography and teach at various colleges and workshops at LACP. Don’t Shoot, was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter in October 2015 and printed in spring of 2016.