“All it took was for the head of the photography classes, whose name I can’t recall, to tell me I was not ready for his class. Just by looking at me, that instructor told me I needed to take another course, Photo 101,” stated Roosevelt Sanders, a second-semester MATC Downtown Milwaukee Campus student who transferred from UWM. Sanders is planning to graduate on May 21 with an associate degree in Marketing Management. It was that teacher’s doubt which lit the spark to prove himself, along with a little bit of rebellion, which drove him to create his book titled, “Photo 101 Wednesday.” Sanders said the instructor recommended he take the Photo 101 class because he was not ready for that class yet. What upset Sanders, “was the fact that the teacher did not know me and would not let me explain that I was a transfer student in my last year of school. He just somehow knew I was incompetent for his class.” It was on a Wednesday when that instructor sent the 38-year-old owner of Sanders Image & Event Planning off to write his story. The book was written, photo-illustrated, copywritten and published all by Sanders.
Sanders states he wrote the book with hopes to take away the stigma that seems to cast itself around photography. Although it is quite an intimidating subject, Sanders stated, “No teacher should make anyone, especially high school students who never touched a professional camera, feel they can’t learn at MATC.” Not only did he learn photography well enough to publish his book, Sanders states, “There are many editions to Photo 101 Wednesday already on the market and more to come. These books are to help photography students ease into the field,” said Sanders.
His book deals more into his personal challenges, and with overcoming his own trials and tribulations such as being a father, businessman, husband and student. When asked what message he would like for it to send, Sanders stated, “I want young people to learn that there’s nothing out there they can’t do.” Sanders said each day’s challenges add another page to his book. “My wife gave me a pocket watch with the word ‘BELIEVE’ inscribed on the back.” It was that message which carried him on. He wants especially to send a message to young fathers. “No matter what designer jeans you buy your kid, it’s the lessons you teach them that they’ll remember you for,” states Sanders.
When asked if he’ll ever leave his small shop he started 19 years ago in the event one of his books make the bestseller list, Sanders stated, “no.” The proud father of seven children said, “The shop will be something I can leave my children. That’s something my father wasn’t able to do for me.”
For any aspiring writer, Sanders gives this advice. Send yourself a copy of anything you write to yourself via the US postal service. “That’s the cheapest way to obtain proof of copyright,” says Sanders. If you are going to use a publisher, Sanders suggest that you “market, market, market because the prices are competitive. The most important advice of all Sanders gives is to,”beware of editors.”
“Getting help with what you write is fine when it comes to grammar and punctuation, but never let someone change the meaning of what you’re writing,” advised Sanders. Sanders said he intentionally kept the misprints and typos in his book “just to prove that everything isn’t flawless in this world.
