We were lucky to catch up with Jordon Hon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordon, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I am fully aware that the (hopefully) 80-100 years I will be on this earth is a tiny speck on the grand scale of human history. However, I love photography for the fact that the way I made people feel by seeing my photographs or by being photographed by me, can have a long lasting impact. I always respect photographers who aren’t shy to document the moments that others may think are mundane and unimportant. Rather than taking the camera out solely on vacations and big milestones, the photographers who make images at the kitchen table, the post dinner walk, the backyard garden, the drive to the supermarket, these are some the true scenes and moments that define our lives. Time has a way of changing the way we see our photographs and others and the thing is, we can never really predict that change until it happens. I hope by that raising my camera to my eye and intentionally making photos everyday, whether it is through contracted work or by documenting my own life and my loved ones, that my legacy will be built through that and the moments I chose to freeze.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jordon Hon 韓寶軒 (he/him) and I am a lens-based artist born and raised in amiskwaciwâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ ) also known as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I have been making videos and photos for most of my life. I was always the kid at the family functions with my parents’ point-and-shoot camera snapping candids and being in charge of the group photos. I was the kid in junior high and high school with the video camera, making vlogs, music videos, and highlight videos for the school trips and sports teams. And by university, I started making more photos at first to save time, and then as a part time job throughout the summer and my semesters.

Fast forward to now, I am turning 28 this winter and started Be My Guest Portraits, a mobile studio focused on making timeless portraits at celebratory events. I first experienced this sort of service at my cousin’s wedding in Whistler back in 2019 and since then, I fell in love with the idea of documenting couples, families, and friendships at events through studio photography. I started my business in the fall of 2022 and I am currently in the middle of our first summer of weddings and it’s been flying by but it’s been so much fun. Most people have experienced a self-timer photo booth at an event but I wanted to evolve that concept and provide professional direction, lighting, retouching, and a full gallery as well as on-site prints for my clients’ guests to have as a keepsake and as a reminder of their meaningful connections. The feedback has been nothing but supportive and positive from clients, guests, other wedding vendors, and my family and friends so far and I can’t wait to continue this ride. I am proud to be told that couples haven’t had professional photos taken since their wedding, or being the first to photograph a pregnancy journey or newborn. When we gather to celebrate with friends and family, this is the perfect excuse to sit down for a portrait and that’s exactly what Be My Guest Portraits is for. A personable, caring, professional experience for every single guest that chooses to get in line. It’s a collaboration and a mutual respect for one another that results in our portrait photos.

Outside of BMG, I work on community projects in Edmonton’s Chinatown as well as my own personal photography that currently explores my relationship to my Hong Kong Chinese heritage while being part of the Asian diaspora that immigrated onto Indigenous lands. Photography is deeply embedded into my life and I can confidently say I will be making pictures until I no longer am able to.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

In many ways, I always knew I would eventually be a full-time photographer even while studying mechanical engineering. I knew because photography was the thing that got me out of bed and kept me up at night. I love photography in all its forms and the thought of not spending most of my time exploring this medium would bring a lot of sadness. But of course, it took time and I always encourage those who want to do photography as a full time career to be patient and not to expect to have it all figured out overnight. As with any business, there are aspects that you can only learn through experience especially when it first started as just a hobby. You need to constantly balance the fun and business and realize that the cliches of running your own thing are absolutely true. That really only 10-20% of the career would be making photos and the art form. I think I was always balancing client work with personal photography and therefore never really felt that I was losing love for the craft. At the same time, I poured my efforts and client appreciation into my contracted work and when you do that, I think naturally word will spread and you can start scaling up your processes, rates, and quality of deliverables from there. It’s a marathon and nothing will happen without a lot of work and constant re-evaluation but I’m proud of where I’m at and the trajectory I’m on.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Although I only really have a team during my events, I have learned by being on the other end, that you are nothing without your team. Emotionally and physically, your team members support you and you have to show them that you also have their backs. Ultimately, your team members can’t be as committed to this as much as you are since it’s not their business so you must be the one to lead with preparation, clear communications, respect, and appreciation. Whether that’s meeting them where they are to walk through processes, answer questions, provide feedback, and compensation for their time outside of the main events. Even though I run a small business, I try to never take for granted the team members that help execute Be My Guest Portraits through professional retouching, setup/takedown, transportation, and guest experience because I couldn’t do this without them. Compensate everyone fairly, make sure everyone is comfortable or comfortable enough to bring up concerns safely, and delegate in a respectable, clear way. I try to live by these standards when collaborating with others in the industry and any team dynamic.

Contact Info:

• Website:www.bemyguestportraits.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bemyguest.portraits
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bemyguest.portraits
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/87232449