We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon St.Jean. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

As a creative, sometimes you are put into a difficult spot where you are expected to either place yourself in a specific category of creativeness or be put in a category by your audience. When it comes to photography, a common question is “what kind of photographer are you?”. While this is a very valid question, it boxes in the artist that it’s asked to. Being a victim of this, until recently I’ve always found it difficult to explain the kind of photographer I am because I felt that my skillset and experience was broad. I always saw my multiple avenues as a jack of all trades, and I have love for every style that I’ve picked up. Until recently, I feel it was uncommon to see a photographer exhibit multiple types of photos. For example, from street photography to live music. If they are above average in multiple forms, they should definitely balance a few if they can. I believe the skills you pick up in one area will aid you in another.

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.

My name is Brandon St.Jean, I’m an artist based out of Brooklyn, NY. Growing up in the late 90’s, early 2000’s my interest in art came from consuming books, cartoons, and video games. I had a fascination with all types of art. My parents always had different types of cameras and recording devices to capture the lives of my siblings and I. Our home was filled with many photo albums from past and present, and I would spend countless hours flipping through them as well as watching old home video VHS tapes to cure my boredom. We had many albums filled with a lot of memories before I was born, and seeing the documentation of it all really intrigued me. I did not realize how much of an impact that would have on me. Up until I was about 6 or 7, it was a regular thing to see my dad videotaping memories with his camcorder. Around that age, I remember obtaining a plastic red point and shoot film camera. I would love to shoot almost anything on it and have it developed at a local pharmacy. It was always exciting to receive the envelope of prints and open it up to find out what I captured.

Using a camera became an on and off art medium for me, and I would eventually put it down for an extended period of time. I became a big fan of drawing in my spare time, even though I was nowhere near as good as I wanted to be. I exchanged one medium for another, this was around the time of the rise of small digital cameras. Around this time, either my brother or sister would have a pocket sized digital camera ready to capture moments whenever we went out. It was not until I left high school where I really felt the urge to have a modern camera of my own to tinker with. Truthfully, the inspiration was sparked from the birth of Instagram. It was so cool to use an app that allowed you to edit and share your creations all in one with ease. Eventually finding my photo quality was limited to my phone’s specs, I knew I needed an upgrade to achieve the vision I had in my mind. Towards the end of 2012, I acquired my first DSLR camera. My aim was to use this camera as a creative outlet and a hobby but everything moved faster than I could imagine. This is where my creative journey began.

My journey so far has been a wild one, I have dabbled in several different areas of photography since I first started. There’s been so many twist and turns but overall it has all benefited me going forward. I started off doing portrait sessions and moving on to street photography. From here, I went on to do weddings and afterwards branching off into live music and event coverage. Finally, I’ve come full circle to doing portraits and editorial work. I think what influenced me to come back to where I started was picking up medium format film photography. Around the beginning of the pandemic I felt a need to shift my work and reinvent myself, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. For a long time, shooting film was an intimidating medium for me and I always expressed that. It was probably due to being spoiled by digital photography for so long that I did not trust myself to shoot and not immediately see the results. Taking this new direction has allowed me to elevate my work to a new level as well as give myself a good challenge. I’m eager to keep going to see where it takes me.

Currently I provide portrait and editorial work for clients on digital and/or film format. I think what sets me apart from others is my perspective and creative eye. Every person has a unique way of shooting and post production, so it’s all up to the creator of the image to determine the final product. I strive to have my work resemble the quality seen in magazines, old and new. It pushes me to fine tune my photographs to be on par with other great photographers have presented before. Sticking to a specific style and showing a level of consistency will set you up for much success. I believe my passion for improving on my skillset also shows with each project and job that I take on. My biggest regret would be to stay stagnant for too long.

I’m most proud of the improvements I’ve made along the way and learning more about the creative business and photography. Im also proud of the art that I’m working on currently, it’ll be my biggest work to date and I hope that it’ll be as big as I envision it to be. Lastly I’m proud of the great talent that I have been able to connect with and the amount of supporters that show their love for my work. It’s difficult being an artist in such a fast paced environment that we’re in today, so it’s important to have a community that will hold you up even when you’re not constantly creating. I want the people who support my work to know that they are well appreciated. I’m working on great things so please stay tuned for more.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the process of creating. Building an idea up and watching it all come together is very fulfilling. People may not realize how much thought or energy goes into creating images, but there are many steps to arriving at the end goal. Even before shooting, the planning stages are very important. Whether putting together a team or not, you want to make sure you have everything sorted before the shoot takes place. Even after the shoot, the photographer’s job isn’t done and you’ll arrive at the stage of post production. It can be fun to take your image to the next level and give it a feel of your own. Overall, knowing you went through the entire process and ended up with results that matched or exceeded your expectations has to be the best feeling to me.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goals on my creative journey has changed countless times as I got older, but I would say my main mission has stayed the same. My mission is longevity, to eventually be solidified as one of the great artist of my time. I really enjoy what I do, and I’m grateful to be able to share my art at the capacity that I do. I want my photographs to be referenced years from now as a source of inspiration and for them to live on for generations. I’ll continue to strive to create timeless pieces and improving myself and my art in the meantime.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brandonjstjean.com
• Instagram: @brandonjstjean

Image Credits
Emily Voutes – Model Herrana Addisu – Model Christopher Hart – Model Kiara Ailene – Model Honey – Model / Patricia Darrabie – Stylist Aarron Wheeler – Model Taylor Hawkins – Model / Patricia Darrabie – Stylist Tim Chantarangsu – Model / Patricia Darrabie – Stylist