I’m a big proponent of that you don’t have to go far to make an interesting photo.
Your next-door neighbor is interesting, the softball league down the street is interesting.
It doesn’t have to be this, like, far-flung place.
The people around you are already interesting, you just have to pay attention to them.
Welcome brother, oh, man!
Hey, how you guys doing?
It’s good to see you, man.
Oh god bless you.
Good to see you Jared.
My favorite thing about making photographs at Jimmy Valiant's wrestling school is that there’s such a warmth and strong community at Jimmy’s that, you can’t help but feel, like included.
Everybody is on board, and I’m part of the scenery now, I’ve figured out a way to blend in.
I can be unobtrusive, and I can just observe.
For me, it’s easier to make photographs that are meaningful when you care about who you’re photographing.
I never want to be someone that takes.
I want to make sure that I’m collaborating with this group of people to make something that celebrates who they are, what they do.
The best type of portrait is when you’re able to connect with the individual and the individual’s actively participating in the portrait.
It’s just two people relating together and there just happens to be a camera in the middle.
Sometimes you have about 45 seconds to do that and sometimes you get two days.
There are little tricks of posing people.
Nobody looks good with their arms crossed.
Having them just turn towards you, kind of leading with the shoulder, can be kind of a more dynamic pose.
I would say my work sits somewhere in between fine art, documentary, photo journalism.
The hidden secret is that all the projects that I’ve worked on, these are already subcultures that I’m connected to, and that I care about.
The work that pays the bills is generally with magazines and news organizations.
For me, and my practice as a photographer, I need both the assignment work and the personal work.
You know the more photos you make, the more situations that you put yourself into, the more people you interact with, like, those are all opportunities to learn, and to grow and to push your photography.
I'm naturally a shy person.
It takes a lot for me to motivate myself to go approach somebody that I don’t know.
Bringing out a smart phone, asking somebody to pose, is a pretty easy thing.
The intimidation factor of having a giant camera, up to your face is gone.
But the best advice that I can give is, to have a conversation, find what blows your hair back, spend time with that individual, that place.
Once you do, and once you start the conversation, you won’t regret it.
Right there.
