Todd Surber- Founder / Owner Photographer

I don't really remember a time when I wasn't into pictures — something about them just always pulled me in.

Photography itself started here in Portland, where I grew up, messing around with disposable cameras and documenting whatever my friends and I were up to. No real plan, just something I loved doing. There was nothing like the excitement of picking up prints to see what I got.

When digital cameras arrived, I was completely hooked. Being able to preview a shot instantly and adjust on the fly changed everything — that's when the creative side of photography really clicked for me.

My early passion was live music. As a lifelong fan of live shows, photographing bands felt natural — a way to hold onto the energy and feeling of the moment. After a couple of years shooting locally, I moved to LA and dove headfirst into the music scene.

At the time, only a handful of photographers were shooting digital — I was running one of the first Canon Rebels. Bands and venues needed images fast for Myspace and their new websites, and demand exploded. Before long, I was touring the world with well-known bands, documenting life on stage and behind the scenes.

Then in 2006, iTunes upended the music industry, and touring slowed to a crawl. I used the downtime to drive across the country — and landed, unexpectedly, in Charleston, South Carolina.

After years in LA touring with bands like Papa Roach, Buckcherry, and The Cult, a small Southern town was about as different as it gets. It turned out to be exactly the change I needed. There, I built my first studio, King Street Studios, which grew into a thriving photography business.

Today, my focus has shifted. While I still take on select photography sessions, most of my energy goes toward teaching. Over the years, I've been fortunate to receive numerous awards for my photography, and I was featured in a 6-page spread in Professional Photographers of America magazine — one of the largest publications in the industry — sharing my work along with advice for other photographers.

That experience, combined with over two decades behind the camera, made me realize how many beginners get stuck spinning their wheels — trapped in an endless loop of conflicting, confusing information on YouTube, never quite understanding how their camera actually works. So I'm currently building a course to fix that — one designed to take beginners out of auto mode and into full manual, so their creativity can finally lead instead of their equipment holding them back. More on that soon.

Outside of photography, you'll usually find me with an acoustic guitar in hand. Writing songs and playing music is my other great passion — and honestly, on any given day, it might be my first.

If you're looking to book me for a shoot, I'd love to hear about what you have in mind. Feel free to message me anytime.

Cheers for now. Todd