Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jacob Darner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jacob, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It’s kind of funny actually – until about junior year in high school I had no idea what I was going to do/what I wanted to do. Up to that point I was committed to becoming a professional soccer player. I had a pretty big reality check with college coming around the corner and I realized that I just hadn’t been realistic. I honestly can’t say why I decided on being an artist/creative but it’s what I “fell” into. So my senior year I took all the art classes that I could and I was lucky enough to have an amazing and supportive art teacher (shoutout Mr. Fether) that really opened my eyes to what being an artist could lead to – helping cement ‘artist’ as my career choice. Flash forward to college and I was a little disillusioned – I had picked drawing/painting as my focus and the studio courses just weren’t clicking. To ease the pain I signed up for the intro photo class and I ended up never looking back. I switched my major and dove in head first, and thanks to professors like Christine Lenzen, I really felt like I had found my ‘thing’. That was about 2015 – 2019; there have been obstacles and challenges but here we are in 2025, I’m still going after it and I’ve expanded from experimenting with film and doing almost only portraits and landscapes to being a renaissance man of sorts. I’ve done weddings and what feels like every kind of event under the sun, product and branding work, headshots, and most recently property photography. While I may not have access to a darkroom anymore that hasn’t stopped me from expanding my knowledge and capabilities working with film, and whenever I can find an excuse to use it, you better believe I am.

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?

My name is Jacob Darner, or “Darn Good Art” (see what I did there?) – I’m 26, I live up in Marquette in Michigans beautiful Upper Peninsula, and I am a photographer. I’ve been doing this photo thing for about 8 years if my math is right, and I honestly can’t imagine making a career out of anything else. I’m a people person; it’s a big part of why I love taking photos – people need/want good photos of themselves or what they love and being a part of that just puts a smile on my face. Being trusted to capture intimate moments or big memories – like weddings/engagements or the grand opening of your business to name a few – is such a rewarding and wholesome feeling that nothing really compares to. I love being in the mix of things and getting all the angles. It almost doesn’t matter what – I want to help out and I want to make sure you have photos to look back on. You’re getting married and you want me there to document it?? Your band is playing somewhere, and me and my cameras are invited?? Chokes me right up, every time.
Someone once said to me, “It looks like outdoor settings and natural light are your bread and butter” and thats pretty succinct honestly. I’m keen on those natural and intimate moments, the little details and candids that often get lost in the mix of posing or the flurry of the big day – capturing those fleeting bits of sunshine, utilizing the environment to help ‘set the mood’, or getting those little tidbits that normally are overlooked. I like to joke that a shoot with me is a “walk in the park” because it literally almost always is – “a walk in the woods” might be a tad more accurate but clearly turn of phrase is important to me. My main goal is to make my client(s) comfortable and confident with themselves – I say “don’t overthink it” ALOT. We are out here to have fun and get some good photos while we do it. I feel like my job is to break the ice and make sure my clients are feeling comfortable and confident, I want to capture YOU as you are, NOT create some idealised version of you – when people tell me they love the pictures or that I did great, my response is usually “you did all the work, I just take the pictures!”. Getting photos taken shouldn’t be a daunting or stressful event, and if it is I don’t think I did my job right.
As time has gone on I have gotten more and more comfortable and proficient with film, and its always something I am quick to offer up to my clients. I think I lean on it a little too hard sometimes, but people absolutely love it and I think its a big part of what draws potential clients in. I am extremely proud to be part of the large ocean of artists that are keeping film from dying (as if it was ever in any real danger of doing so) and the only thing more satisfying than getting that *perfect* image is getting it on film.
If I had to chalk my work up to 3 things it would be: Natural Light, Candids, and Film.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’ve said it before but MEMORIES; especially as a photographer. There really is nothing more wholesome, and rewarding, than being trusted to be a part of something that is important to someone else. Whether thats celebrating your senior year or graduating, an engagement or a wedding, headshots, something casual or any kind of event – I’m just so incredibly humbled to be considered, every time. Delivering photos to a client that they can look back on and smile over, the “Oh my GOD, is that ME???” moments. At this point, “It’s what I’m here for” has become one of my many unofficial slogans.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Hire us, plain and simple. If you have something that calls for a creatives eye or touch – bite that bullet because I promise you won’t regret it. It’s easy to scapegoat AI as it becomes more and more prevalent, and it’s more and more important to support real artists to help deliver for your brand or business. Now I am not a huge fan of it, but don’t get me wrong, there are legitimate artists out there making really phenomenal work in that medium – so I’m not saying “dont use AI”. It’s a pretty hot button issue, like many things its not black and white, but it just circles back to; HIRE US. The danger is the precedence it sets; sure you can use it to cut corners and save money – and the graphic designers, the illustrators, the videographers and photographers are the ones that that harms. Sure its easier and cheaper to do it yourself but wouldn’t you rather a professional eye and touch for your business or brand? Please – hire us, trust real artists to do real work for you, and I guarantee you will see results.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darn.good.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darn.good.art/

Image Credits

Jack and Jacklyn Laurila, Luke and Paige Carey