Raymond J. Klein shares his life journey from a teen who did photography as a hobby to his life as a professional photographer life into his retirement in Aspirations: Earn Fantastic Income with Your Imaginative Photography. When Raymond’s hobby turned into his passion, his career was born. He joined the Air Force and worked as a photography instructor. When opportunities presented themselves, Raymond moved his career forward while making a good living photographing various objects, including displays for Sears. This book highlights some of his best photos as he explains what occasion developed into a photography shoot. Raymond also graciously includes sixteen steps that will help you discover how valuable your photography is. When Raymond started photographing, he used pre-digital cameras. His first real digital SLR camera was a Canon EOS Rebel 300D. He emphatically states that digital photography has solved many problems he faced in his younger days.

Aspirations is more of an inspirational book than a how-to guide. Raymond J. Klein writes with a passion and love for photography that comes through his words on the page. The book includes the various expenses involved in creating a great photograph. Raymond’s approach is more of a tour guide leading readers to discover how they can create a path to making money through photography. This book gives a lot of the history of photography from the middle of the last century up to today’s amazing digital cameras. Since Raymond made his passion into a lifelong career, his readers can surely turn their passion for photography into a money-making venture. Using modern equipment makes creating beautiful photographs much easier. I recommend this book to all readers who are interested in photography and how to earn money through it.

After his photographs appeared in everything from magazines to decorative art pieces, Raymond J. Klein wrote Aspirations: Earn Fantastic Income With Your Imaginative Photography to share how he became a professional photographer and tell others how they can have a photography career. Klein prepares readers by sharing his journey through the world of photography, detailing what you can expect, project expenses, and the intricate designs for the sets showcasing products. The author covers instances where his expertise was tested and he produced a result that surpassed expectations, receiving accolades for his success. Klein includes ways to promote your work through a business or sell the pieces with exceptional moments you capture on your own.

Raymond J. Klein presents a great history lesson in photography, explaining the tools he used for film development and color. Readers can see the evolution of photography over the decades as he explains the delicate and extensive work that went into putting products on film. Companies were specific with their requests, and Klein used his skills to set his work apart, building a distinguished reputation in his industry. It is amazing how long it took to set the scene for an advertising picture! Klein touches on his work with certain brands, some of which are still household names, and the magic created with a human effort that now only takes a digital camera or computer program to achieve. Some of the author's ideas motivated me, and I think his book will inspire many young photographers. If you've ever been curious about the way advertising photos are accomplished or you want to build your career in photography, you should read Aspirations.

Aspirations: Earn Fantastic Income With Your Imaginative Photography by Raymond J. Klein explores photography through the works and experiences of a professional photographer. The book serves as a source of inspiration for beginners with advice and examples provided that showcase style, purpose, and vision. Sixteen steps are featured which include being innovative, searching for contests, showing off your portfolio, and preparing images as hangable pieces. The basis of the book explores the value images can have, shown through supporting examples such as checks and certificates of merit. Using Klein’s career, the book summarizes what makes photography worthwhile. It is the ideal resource with four key pieces of advice: being prepared, being daring, experimenting, and aspiring to use the imagination.

Real-life experiences show the expertise behind the advice and as a basis for the inspiration that the book provides for beginner photographers. The book spans decades of Raymond J. Klein’s career and gives various examples to show the art of aspiration. Different chapters explore this fascinating subject matter through topics such as experimenting with light, multiple exposure extravaganza, and excelling in contest competitions. The images featured range from unique to insightful to lovely examples of how they can be used for ads. Facts show that a good photograph in an ad can help boost the success of a company. The sixteen steps are an easy set of rules that serve as a basis for beginners, showing what needs to be done to achieve photographic success and what goals they should aim for. Aspirations is a great resource for those beginning in the field of photography, offering advice and examples that aim to inspire and provide a basis for where to start.

In his informative guide, Aspirations: Earn Fantastic Income with Your Imaginative Photography, Raymond J. Klein documents his illustrious and inspiring career. He highlights the milestones that propelled his work and offers useful advice for aspiring and experienced photographers. In 1955, Klein photographed a beautiful Florida sunset during his time in the Air Force. The photograph would later appear on the vinyl record album cover jacket of renowned band leader Glen Millers’s greatest hits in 1962. Klein’s interest in photography began during childhood and continued throughout his life. He covers how his career began and how creativity, dedication, business knowledge, and legal experience played a role in his growth. He includes useful details about the places where he worked, the images he captured, and the money he made from his work.

As an aspiring photographer just starting out, this guide was incredibly eye-opening. I loved that each section was comprehensively covered with clear details about how Klein organized the items in the images, took the photographs, and the costs involved in acquiring the items used. I appreciated that the guide contains vibrant, colored photographs showing Klein’s work and his creative process in developing ideas for each image. I was inspired by Klein’s imagination, creativity, and ability to solve problems and capture original photographs with captivating detail. Including step-by-step processes of creating vivid photographs and growing one’s career in photography, Aspirations by Raymond J. Klein is an invaluable read that any photographer will find motivating and practical. I highly recommend it.

Golden Age of Advertising. This FANTASTIC Book transports you from a childhood of humble Midwestern upbringing to becoming one of the shining lights of creative Photography finest eras.
The 1960s through the late 80s was a period which captured some of the biggest ideas, larger than life personalities, that truly focused on selling products. The industry had created Master of Photography producing artful works in which Raymond J. Klein was one of them. Ray was my mentor for four great years. He inspired me to open my eyes to all options that led me to a successful Food Photography career in the city of Chicago for twenty-six years. I still practice my love for creating Fine Art in Photography in my retirement years.
Rays ILLUMINATING book brings you through the eyes and mind of a talent that has walked this road. Now in his present years still reveilles in the love of his craft, has mastered the digital era with camera in hand and computer manipulation. Encouraging others has always been a fine point of Ray helping others to also succeed. He is honored at Gallery showings and book publishing today.
Robert Sacco