Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Thorne.
Justin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey with photography started with my upbringing as child being surrounded by the art that my parents would collect and showcase around our house. In our home we had anywhere from canvas paintings, bronze statues, and imported pieces, if it was a type of fine art, it existed somewhere in our house.
Growing up we had a large collection of photo albums of pictures that my parents had made from their adventures and being with family. The pictures inside of them really told a story of what is was like before my parents immigrated to the United States. Seeing my parents work in photographs molded me as to who I am and my art style to this day. They captured a lot of realism in the Caribbean Islands and in Canada as to where they met, which showed not just life but also fashion in the 80s.
When I started my photography career I had followed the same path of showcasing life itself through events like weddings, quinces and baby showers. It really helped me get an edge up of what the market and having clients were really like. As I evolved , I wanted to have my own style or create a feeling behind my work. When both of my parents moved on I took a darker approach to my work, and my use of black and shadows enveloped nearly every photo I took. My use of color was very minimal and it reflected my mental state at the time, which was a result of depression. I looked at it before as a handicap and would tell myself, that “I wasn’t a true artist” if I could not produce what my clients wanted. After taking quite some time away from my passion that I had monetized, I had come to the conclusion that real is more attractive that perfect.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey with photography or art in general has not been a smooth road in the slightest. Mainly I struggled with identity and who I was as a person. There has been many times in my life I would go through hardships and those experiences would mold a different version of myself to overcome them, which intern would influence what time of art that I would produce. I would always read “coming of age” stories and how this individual was able to surpass their misfortunes to go to the next level but you never really know until you experience these things for yourself. The faults I would find within myself would be staying original to my own work, producing results that my clients would want, and how I was viewed in the photography community. Judgement and embarrassment were my main drivers. I thought of what others thought of me as well as what I thought of myself and the only way I got past this was getting out of my own thoughts and create a permanent identity that revolves around me being enough not just for others but for myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been a student that majored in biology and I still plan on pursuing a career in the medical field. Aside from my studies, what I am the most proud of is learning musical instruments and still having the skill of understanding music.
I believe what sets me apart from others is my ability to critically think and to get out of complex situations.
How do you think about luck?
I believe that (good) luck had nothing to do with my progress in life. A lot of everything that I had achieved was the result of hard work, skill and putting myself out there for opportunities. In this ever changing landscape business primarily photography, it takes a lot of work just to create especially if you have to use your own resources in a market where the economy is going down. When is comes to bad luck I had a fair share of those of not having my SD card in my camera about to photograph a wedding, or my battery for my strobe would die before I could use it before a quinceañera. All these things taught me how to prepare for the worst case scenario and how to work with difficulties
Contact Info:
- Instagram: justinthrnephotography
