Dale Martin Is the Most Prominent Truck Photographer in America
And he’s only been shooting for three years.
About five years ago, Dale Martin of Dallas, TX, bought himself a Mustang GT and a digital camera and started taking pictures on the weekends. Even though Dale had shot a few weddings in the ‘90s, he was far from an automotive photographer. Dale had recently walked away from a six-figure career in IT to follow his automotive passion, working at an exotic car dealership. Two months later, he was laid off from the dealership and that’s where his photography journey began.
After losing almost everything, Dale was essentially forced into freelance photography. By chance, he was urged to connect with Shaun Freilich of Complete Customs in McKinney, TX. At the time, Shaun had a wild Jeep that was more than worthy of a feature and it just made sense for all parties involved. That connection resulted in a cover shoot for the first issue of DUB Magazine’s off-road spin-off,LFTDxLVLD. That cover officially kickstarted Dale’s career in automotive photography.
“A lot of my peers in the industry told me I was crazy and wasting my talents shooting ‘bro trucks’,” explains Dale. Clearly he had located a growing genre that was in desperate need of a high-level photographer to properly expose the movement. Thankfully for Dale, he didn’t pay attention to his peers and followed his passion.
So how does a photographer become the go-to guy in an overly-saturated environment in just a few short years? Hustle. Plain and simple. And perhaps a bit of talent, too. Dale says that the key to his success in the photography field comes down to consistently grinding and putting in the extra time that others may bypass. Dale’s mixture of work ethic, attention to detail and pure talent ultimately helped him achieve his goals.
, Advertisement shoot for Specialty Forged Wheels.,
What Dale enjoys most about his job is the ability to shoot amazing vehicles at breathtaking locations on a regular basis. He truly receives joy from exceeding his client’s expectations and believes there’s no downside to his chosen career path.
, Dale's favorite shoot in Silverton, Colorado during a blizzard.,
So where does Dale take his budding empire from here? He wants to go to the big show. “One of my goals is to one day do an ad campaign for a major automotive manufacturer,” explains Dale. “I hope to have a chance to do that one day!”
With the amount of ground Dale has covered in a relatively short amount of time, there’s no doubt you’ll one day see a Dale Martin Ram, Jeep or Ford ad in the future.
DALE MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY
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