Christopher Michel is a success photographer who had made several career transitions in his life, going from the Navy, to work at Pentagon, to then living the life of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, only to change it all again and to become a photographer, with the goal to make a difference by taking pictures that people would love and remember.

Christopher Michel has been all over the world, taking pictures from Antarctica to the edge of space. He has an open mind, and an approach which has enabled him to make money from photography, while still enjoying the craft, in a time when many photographers are struggling with their future.

Fortunately for him, Christopher is not trying to optimize his new career for money at this point, but rather for a good life worth living. As the industry is changing and photos are becoming a commodity, one has to adopt to the current trajectory of social media and digital content, in order to continue getting paid for photos.

Christopher thought he wanted to be in politics and serving his country was the right thing to do. Also Top Gun, the movie, was very inspiring on him as a young adult.

Christophers Michel's mother and father were divorced by the time Christopher turned one. His mom remarried and the family moved to America, where his second dad took on a lot of different jobs in different places. Moving around a lot, Christopher was often an "outsider nerd kid", spending a lot of time observing.

Chris is the happiest when he is alone in far away places, capturing stories.

Many think of the military as a great job for people with only a few options, but Christopher says military service could be an all-together really positive and memorable experience.

It is not. Christopher says that while growing up a lot of people have idealistic views of their potential careers, which turns out to be different in practice. Much the same way, you are better off first succeeding in business, in order to become a politician, instead of starting your career as a public servant.

The truth is less important than support of your party, or your own candidacy.

An MBA could be a great way to realizing your options in life.

Before going to Harvard Business School, Christopher did not know what he wanted to do with his life. His options only consisted of what he knew at the time, which was operations and aviation.

One day in 1997, while at HBS, Christopher heard the inventor of VisiCalc speak to his class, and that's when Christopher realized the life of an entrepreneur was the life he wanted to live.

In 1999 Christopher Michel had an idea for Military.com as the first social network for military people. The military is a real community, with real needs, and that's why today, 20 years later, the company is still operational.

When in March of 2000 the bubble burst and the company almost failed, Christopher sold it to Monster.com

In 2008, after selling two companies, Christopher Michel realized he wanted to pursue the life of an adventure photographer as a way to live a good life and to preserve his memories forever.

When companies start offering to send you on trips for free, you realize that perhaps something is working.

When your life depends on getting something to work, you have no alternative and you need to survive, it's amazing how creative you become to get it done.

When things become hard in big companies, they just stop doing those things. When things become hard for someone whose life depends on that thing, they work harder, and that's where innovation happens.

The bar for being a professional photographer is very-very high, so Christopher is set to work hard every day.

Creatives are a close community and most of the time people want to help and to support each other.

Even though he was already pretty good at his craft, Christopher Michel says that taking a photography class from a professional was a transformation experience for him. He studied from an old-fashioned photographer from the analog age and learned a lot about the craft itself. Now that he's a professional, he is teaching workshops to pass it forward and to inspire new photographers.

Sam Abell has been a National Geographic Photographer for 35 years and an inspiration to Christopher P. Michel. He is not just a photographer, but a philosopher who takes pictures.

Sam taught Christopher to make the best photographer he can, every time he picks up his camera. It does not mean you would always make the best photographer, but when you put your best effort, using all the right techniques, you increase your chances of getting the best image.

Next time you take photo, even if it's just with your iPhone, instead of taking 50 photos, slow down and take one or two photos, but visualize what you want to get out and get that shot.

A great camera does not make a photographer.
Forethought and the scene setup is way more important.