The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own. I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before. In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find. Please DO NOT send me your work. I do not take submissions.
Today’s featured artist: Greg Latza
Throughout my 27 years of freelancing, I’ve constantly needed book projects to maintain my sanity.
Back in October 1999, my talented editor/designer/wife Jodi and I ambitiously published my first photography book, Back on the Farm. It was self-funded and wholly terrifying…but also thrilling. We printed 4,000 copies and I figured that if we could sell them all within 10 years, the book would be a success.
Two months later, the book had sold out and a new side business was born.
Over the next ten years, we published seven more photography books about various South Dakota subjects, including a children’s book written by Jodi, and books about the Missouri River, small towns and World War 2 veterans.
After that furious decade of publishing, our three busy kids needed more of our time and the books took a backseat. But it didn’t take long to realize that these book projects had been my main creative outlet. The freedom that book photography offered was something I sorely missed as my stable of advertising clients grew and my assignment work squeezed out any spare time for book projects.
I’d been photographing western South Dakota for my fine art catalog for years, and I always knew that another book was hiding among those images. I assembled the bones of the book during the pandemic and shot the remaining 60% of the photos between 2020 and 2024.
We published West River in October 2024. The book is a tribute to ranching families and the amazing landscape they inhabit, as well as a few other uniquely western South Dakota tidbits. The title is derived from how the Missouri River splits the state into halves, known by residents as East River and West River.
We are planning to publish East River in late 2027, and it will be an equal-sized companion piece to West River.
With these new book projects to work on, most of my sanity has returned! They’ve been great fun to plan and execute, and in turn I believe these personal projects make my corporate work better
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West River
Clothbound hardcover
12”x11”
264 pages
178 color and B&W photographs
$50 cover price
Available on my website at www.greglatza.com
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Greg Latza is a freelance photographer based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The majority of his work is for agricultural, industrial and energy clients, most notably Tractor Supply Company and Kubota.
To see more of this project, click here
Suzanne Sease is a creative consultant and former ad-agency senior art buyer. She works with both emerging and established photographers and illustrators to create cohesive, persuasive presentations that clients can’t resist.
Suzanne offers something rare: an insider’s perspective on how client’s source creative talent. Her deep understanding of the industry is underscored by her impressive resume: 11 years as senior art buyer at The Martin Agency, seven years as an art producer for Capital One, and stints with the art-buying department at Kaplan-Thaler and the creative department at Best Buy, where she applied her expertise to reviewing bids to see which were most likely to come in on budget. Over the years, Suzanne has worked with a wildly diverse range of clients, including Seiko, Wrangler, Bank One, AFLAC, and Clairol Herbal Essence. Now, as a consultant, she is equipped to problem-solve for her clients from an unusually dynamic point of view.
As a longtime member of the photo community, Suzanne is also dedicated to giving back. Through her Art of the Personal Project column on the popular website aphotoeditor.com, she highlights notable personal projects by well-known and up-and-coming photographers. The column offers these artists excellent exposure while reflecting Suzanne’s passion for powerful imagery.
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