Mike Larson was working in the photo department of a Long’s Drugstore when he was first getting into photography. Now, he’s an internationally renown wedding and portrait photographer, speaker, instructor, and a WPPI “Young Gun.” What does it take to go from Long’s Drugs lackey, to photographer superstar? In this free for all episode, Mike shares his passion and his heart. We spend a good amount of time talking about his love for surfing and how eventually how that relates to photography. He tells us about the time when he was so burnt out on weddings and turned his lens towards surf and sports photography, then how he made his way back to weddings. The lessons he learned along the way have greatly improved his business and his brand, not the least of which is having a balance between fulfillment in your job, and making a living.

With as many destination weddings as he does, and with his busy teaching schedule, I ask him how his business affects his marriage to his beautiful wife of three years, Rachel. He gets really personal and open about the challenges they faced, including getting out from under a lot of debt. We cover the whole gamut in this one. And yes, I do ask him about the origin of the photography stunt he’s famous for: tossing and spinning his Canon in the air above the bridal party to take a series of snap shots. Crazy man!

The musical outro for this week’s episode is “Surfin’ Party” by The Digbees, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music.