We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joshua Horn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joshua, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I’ve been independently making videos and taking photos since 2016. I’ve always had a passion for creating and finding a way to make that into a living. For some reason, i’ve always have been fascinated with how things are made. I’m the guy who will go to a craft show and go inside the tent to meet the vendor. I’m amazed with what ideas other creatives come up with and how they put it all together. In fact, very recently my wife put together her own business where she makes beaded accessories and oil diffusers. I went with her to her first market to help her put it all together and be there for support. I brought my camera with me to help take pictures and market her event, and thought it might be a cool idea to take photos for other vendors as well. It turns out that not only did my wife need help with the photos, but the other vendors as well. That same day I met a vendor who sold hand-made soy candles. Him and I shared common interest about our faith in God and using our passions that God gives us. I’m still grateful with that conversation him and I shared, because he offered me wisdom I haven’t really heard before. I guess I didn’t believe I could use a God given talent to make a living with until he lit a spark in me to do it and see what happens. After taking pictures that day I sent the photos I took and sent them to the vendors. They were so appreciative of them and even got my business going. There was a demand for content that the vendors needed but didn’t have time to do it them selves. That’s where I got the name Artisan Image Studio. I found a way to use my creativity and help fellow creatives get their brand out into the world.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’ve been all over the place in my video/photo career. I’ve done family portraits, weddings, corporate videos, youtube ads and even did voiceover work for a while. I’ve always been into products (especially artisan made). Getting the shot of a product takes a lot of focus and attention to detail. Weddings, or any other kind of “live” event is very “run-and-gun” or spontaneous. The idea of getting a shot of a product and having the ability to make it look tasty, interesting, or desirable fascinates me because we look at them all day long whether that be a billboard we see or a commercial on TV. Getting that perfect shot of it takes a lot of planning and pre-meditation. Mastering that craft and using it to benefit local artisans by building their image really got me going with my business. I love movies, and get a kick out of seeing how producers creatively input a product such as Pepsi or Sony into their film without it being obvious. I wanted to do that same thing for local artisans. How do we make a photo or video that promotes their product without it being in the viewers face? How can we show the product being used or applied in a relative way? Those are the questions I go off of each time i’m working with somebody.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I’m really focusing in on how I can make this business benefit both the seller and buyer of a product. It’s easy nowadays to take a decent photo of a product. Social Media has made everyone a good video editor as well. I guess what I mean is, it’s easy to make a decent photo or video. How can I make my work stand out? How is it benefiting the seller AND the buyer. What is the image or video communicating? is it moving them or just showing them? I want to dial that in a bit more.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Don’t make it a ME business. Meeting vendors or any small business that needs help promoting their brand won’t have your name on it. That photo or video is going to have THEIR brand name on it. When doing product photo/video, putting myself into their shoes helps me drive the message further. Any photo or video can look fantastic as far as quality, but if it looks like how YOU want to look, it won’t help the person you are working with. I make that very clear when working with someone. How can we make THEIR brand stick out. That means, colors, aesthetic, music choice, lighting, etc. Doing that has helped me build strong relationships with the people i’ve worked with so far.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artisanimagestudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artisanimagestudio/
Image Credits
I own all of the photos taken.