He fought the law, and the law won.  But then, so did photography.

"I practiced law from 1996 to 2000 and then decided I couldn't do it anymore," says Joel Silverman, a commercial and advertising photographer in Atlanta, Georgia, who has served as a national officer of the Advertising Photographers of America; teaches at The Creative Circus, a two-year school offering programs in photography, advertising, and design; and he has been recognized by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin as one of ten Outstanding Young Atlantans.

"I wanted to do what I love," he explains, "which is photography. I quit my job at the biggest law firm in Atlanta and went to the Portfolio Center," a graphic design and advertising school in the city. "I'd shot as a hobby, and had a darkroom in the house."  So why did he go into law?  "I was committed to environmental causes and social change, and I thought I could do some good in the world as a lawyer.  But in the end," he realized, "I wasn't the kind of person to sit behind a desk.  If you need to be a photographer, if you need to create images, you can't not be doing it.  And I figured there are other ways to save the world."

To that end, he does what might be called pro bono photography.  "I've donated time and work to groups like Rivers of the World," for example, "which delivers school supplies and medicines up and down the Amazon in Peru.  I went to photograph children in remote indigenous villages for the group to use in its marketing and fundraising."  He also donates his efforts to Atlanta theater companies and to political candidates devoted to environmental causes.

Born in Atlanta, Silverman attended Oberlin College in Ohio, earned a degree in government with a focus on environmental studies.  He returned home for law school at the University of Georgia, and went on to work as a corporate attorney and as an aide to two Governors of his state.

Married and the father of a two-year old little girl (with one on the way), Silverman today shoots for everyone from Playtex to People.  "I typically do advertising photography for corporate clients," he says.  "and I shoot for ad agencies. I also do technology and interior-design shoots. I photograph kids a lot for the agencies, and also some editorial photography with kids for Parenting" and similar magazines. "It's kind of funny how varied my work is."

The hardest part of being a freelance photographer, he notes, "is that you're on your own. That's why it's important to be involved in trade organizations." Groups like the APA "create a forum for photographer to talk to each other and learn from each other – about  technical standards that are always changing, and good business practices."  One might assume, as in many creative fields, that the competition is more cutthroat than cooperative.  But Silverman swears that's not the case.  "The success of someone else doesn't mean less success for you.  A job not right for me might be right for you.  Trust me:  A professional photographer who's stuck on a tricky shot knows he can call up one of his peers and ask, 'What's the best way to handle this?'"

As an instructor one afternoon a week at The Creative Circus, "I try to teach students that photography is more than just being creative and a great imagemaker – there are also business skills, personal skills and marketing skills.  There's a very low threshold to enter photography," he notes. "Anyone can.  You've got incredibly talented people who never went to photography school but just have the knack, and others who work as an assistant for years and years before hanging out a shingle.  As high-end digital cameras get more and more affordable, more and more people are going to consider themselves photographers."

And speaking of high-end digital cameras, Silverman says he's excited about the Panasonic Lumix's "cutting-edge features, like the dust elimination system, and that high-quality Leica lens.  I think it's just a camera that's designed incredibly well, and all photographs admire well-designed gear. The best design attribute of a camera is that you forget about it, so that it's just an extension of your hand – like a paintbrush in the hands of a painter."

www.silvermanphoto.com

Bio written by Frank Lovece