Remembering a Giant
September/02/2009
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Last month the professional photography industry lost a giant, with the passing of Ted Sirlin, who opened Sirlin Studios in Sacramento, California, in 1946 at the age of 23. Prior to that he attended the Signal Corp Photographic School and the Pennsylvania Military College where he received a two-year Engineering degree. He served in WWII in the Philippines as a photographer. When he opened his studio, his goal was “to capture and reflect the beauty, strength and sensitivity of the subjects he photographed.” He did that and so much more. A past-president of PPA, Ted was a brilliant businessman who was known worldwide for his marketing and teaching skills. By the time I was building up my studio business, practically everything I learned about marketing in this industry was something that Ted was doing or that he had taught someone else to do.
When I began to teach business, whenever I found a gap in my knowledge I would call Ted, and he would patiently walk me through the problem to its solution, in his most patient and kindly way. And he had the most extraordinary way of deflecting praise directed at him to others. The most meaning complimentful I ever received in my life was when Ted wrote me a note after the publication of a marketing book, telling me that he was using it for on-going staff training. “Once a week we read a chapter as a group,” he said, “and when we get to the end, we start over.” I still have that note, and I still shed a grateful tear every time I read it. Especially now.
Godspeed Ted Sirlin!