Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeffrey Sun. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jeffrey, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Learning photography seemed extremely ambiguous. Creating a beautiful image felt so fluid with multiple variables I couldn’t control such as lighting and weather. It seemed to be it’s own language. Photographers that read light well, their subjects well, and felt in control of editing software seemed like wizards to me. I spent a lot of time on Youtube when I started and offered free photoshoots to anyone within earshot. I emulated the style of photographers I liked, bouncing from style to style until the landscape that was Lightroom seemed less intimidating. A place where I was brave enough to venture on my own to experiment with colors and toggles. So much of it was trial and error and I think it’s the best way to go about it.
Your only compass is your taste. This is something that builds over time, but the only thing you can truly follow is what you like. You’ll like multiple things and it’s good to see how far down those rabbit holes you’ll go. If I could restart, I would cycle between periods of learning and periods of doing more. So much of my time was spent in Youtube videos and so little of it was applied. Learn a technique or two, and go off to do a small project around it. Iterate, iterate, iterate. You can only learn from doing here. Try test shoots with your friends or offer to assist a photographer you know!
The one skill that photography is is noticing. Especially noticing light and how that frames the subject. This is so intuitive and can only be learned by going out with your camera. Learn how the weather and buildings disperse light. Learn how your camera settings change the minutiae of a photo. If you work with people, a lot of photography skill will be in relationship to your subject. Are you making them feel comfortable? Are you communicating well? Are you having fun? Yes, there are technical skills in the realm of gear and editing, but I find that inhibits more than helps early on.
My main obstacle was gear. I felt like I needed X, Y, or Z in order to make a beautiful photograph but often I was just giving excuses for myself not to try harder. I shift the blame to the equipment instead of myself.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hello! I’m a photographer/videographer in NYC that works with different musicians, events, and brands. I work on capturing authentic stories for my clients. In my personal work, I do a lot of street and travel photography. In recent months, I’ve dabbled with videography in creating short-form content featuring my writing, daily life, and travels.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The best way to land a good client is positive word of mouth. From my experience, so much of photography is the customer experience. No one is really focused on the photography during a shoot, they trust you to take care of all of that on your end. You’ll be the only one thinking of apertures and focal lengths. Their only takeaway is how they feel (and of course, the edits days or weeks later). Deliver a good feeling! Give lots of feedback, test, and make people feel comfortable. You’ll need to bring a lot of energy into these shoots. I’ve found my best clients to be ones that are recommended from other clients or friends. If you would like, ask clients you’ve done well with if they know anyone else needing your services. It has an incredible ripple effect.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think diving into your own creativity is one of the most authentic ways to learn more about yourself. The mind is so abstract and the process of creating art helps you communicate your internal world better and more clearly as you practice. As you build out your projects and share them, your honest portrayal online helps you connect with others just like you. It’s a beautiful cycle to help your self discovery and build your community. I still feel like I am at the early stages of this and am excited to see what comes next!
Contact Info:
- Website: jeffreyjsun.com
- Instagram: @byjeffreysun