David L. Sanford began his photography career with uncommon speed, landing his first professional job just two months after buying his first camera. He has earned a living behind the lens ever since.

His first position was with Saginaw Valley State University’s Communications Department, where he spent two years photographing campus life, events, athletics (football and baseball), and staged promotional images. His work appeared in university catalogs and brochures, as well as in five regional newspapers.

After his fourth year at SVSU, Dave joined United Church Directories (UCD) in Galion, Ohio, then the largest church directory company in the United States. In that role, he managed the full photographic scope of a complete church directory, including interior and exterior architectural images and high-quality family portraits for parishioners. His friendly, confident approach and meticulous attention to detail quickly elevated him into the top five photographers out of more than 60.

Dave’s long-term goal was to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), widely regarded as the nation’s leading photographic program at the time. Recognizing his value, UCD transferred him to Rochester, New York, and established a new market around him. Dave worked weekends for UCD while attending school full-time. During summer breaks, he also served as a trainer, traveling to onboard and develop newly hired photographers. As a photographer-trainer, he worked across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Based on conservative production estimates, Dave photographed more than 65,000 people over four and a half years.

After graduating from RIT, Dave moved into commercial photography. A short period as a freelance photo assistant proved invaluable, giving him hands-on experience with several top commercial photographers and helping him refine his lighting technique and professional approach. In 1987, he opened Dave Sanford Studios, serving clients that included Xerox, Chase, Kodak, and Bausch & Lomb, among many others.

In 1999, the Dean of RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS) recruited Dave to develop and teach Reference Photography (Course 2019-307-01) for junior and senior illustration and painting students. The course was designed to bring students to practical camera competency so they could produce professional reference images for their artwork and build employable skills. Teaching students ranging from experienced yearbook photographers to complete beginners laid the foundation for what would become Sanford Seminars, built around Dave’s belief that strong photography is learnable, repeatable, and teachable.

Dave’s first formal teaching experience began in his early twenties when he was elected Vice President of Personal Development for the Greater Flint Area Junior Chamber of Commerce, where he taught five personal development classes, including lessons he still draws on today, especially in time management.