We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jason Sinn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jason, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
If I had to pick only one, then I would say it was when I created my photo titled “The Clay Man” and it was commissioned by Profoto for their national EDU poster campaign. At that time I was still finishing up my final year in photo school and I wanted to shoot something very emotional, yet also universally relatable.
I called my friend and actor, Tory Scroggins, and after covering Tory in heaps of clay I used a very simple lighting setup of only one large octabox. When the clay dried on Tory’s face it drew out incredible, surreal features, and his ability to convey subtle emotions underneath it brought out a beautiful sense of soulful introspection. It looked natural and somehow symbiotic. It reminded me of the countless stories that we hear from multiple cultures – the ones that talk about how humans were molded from the very ground we stand on.
A few months later, one of my photography instructors, Paul Estabrook, showed that image to a representative from Profoto (a popular, high end photography lighting company) and before I knew it it was chosen for a printed poster campaign where it would be sent to hundreds of photo schools across the country. That was a significant moment for me because it was my first taste into the advertising world.
It was also wonderful to know that my work was going to be shown to new generations of photographers who were pursuing a challenging life in art just like me. I feel a lot of happiness knowing that I could inspire them even in a small way.
Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a Commercial and Advertising Photographer working in the greater Denver, Colorado area. Most of what I do revolves around portrait, food, beverage, and product photography where I help companies, marketing agencies, and businesses create eye-catching imagery for their marketing campaigns, stores and websites. I’ve now been in business for 8 astounding years and it has been an absolute blessing to have this career.
When I first decided to become a photographer, it was in 2010 while I was working for the U.S. Coast Guard at the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. My usual everyday job was doing search and rescue in San Francisco, but when I volunteered and arrived in Louisiana they needed more people called “Field Observers” so they put a camera in my hands and had me travel up and down the coast taking pictures of oil sheens. Prior to that assignment I had never held a proper DSLR before, but as I began to experiment with it more an artistic obsession suddenly awakened.
After my deployment was over I returned home and immediately enrolled in the photography program at Sacramento City College. That turned out to be a hidden gem and during my three years there I had the most encouraging professors, loads of studio time, and hyper-focused career classes. I also became a studio assistant and apprenticed for three different commercial photographers, which further springboarded me into my future.
Today, 13 years after those life-changing days in the Gulf of Mexico, I’ve had the pleasure of not only owning a successful full-time photography business, but I’ve been contracted by numerous international companies like Total Wine & More, New Belgium Brewing, Embraer aerospace, Tama Drums, and Leprino Foods. I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with some of my favorite publishers like The Financial Times, Decibel Magazine, 5280 Magazine, and The Brewer’s Association. It means the world to me to be recognized and trusted by so many creative authorities within the industry and thanks to them I’ve been able to have a very active life full of exciting opportunities and artistic freedom.
I always keep that thankfulness in my mind and like to return it as I work, and I think that’s one of the major aspects that sets my personality apart from others. In every step of my productions, I like to provide an upbeat, polished, and collaborative experience. I’ll always save the time to hear my clients out and encourage them to take part in the creative process. I also feel a lot of pride in being reliable and efficient.
On the artistic side – I’m always thrilled by the challenge of being brought on to a new project and discovering what hides within. Every production is wildly different with its own unique needs, and doing my part to help refine a concept, push it to its artistic limits, and elevate it to its fullest potential is incredibly rewarding. Everyone and everything, no matter how big or small, has something emotional, awe inspiring, and visually grand to be shared. It all just comes down to giving it the time and constrictive frame of mind it deserves.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The biggest pivot that I made with my business was during COVID-19. At that time, I was doing a lot of corporate headshots, musician portraits, and shoots for local magazines, and all of those sessions required me to work with my clients in person. Then the social distancing and shutdowns came and all of my contracts were canceled. My entire income and client base fell away – as if a rug was suddenly pulled out from under me – and I quickly learned that I had to diversify my portfolio and shoot more remotely if I was going to survive.
I quickly created food, beverage, and product portfolios, and then after marketing them for a while I actually did start to receive more contracts. It helped me get through the worst of times, and after the shutdown was finally lifted my business exploded with an even larger variety of assignments. It turned out to be the best decision I had ever made and it taught me the valuable lesson of not depending on just one or two niches. In order to make a photography business successful today, you have to diversify your portfolio.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The first thing that comes to mind is the amount of freedom that I have. Every day I get to be my own boss, I get to manage my own schedule, choose my prices, and pick who I work with. If a day is particularly slow and there are no immediate deadlines, then I can even choose to take it off! This career definitely didn’t start out that way – in the beginning it was a lot of stress and sleepless nights – but over time it has turned into an amazing resource for my time and mental health. That change ultimately came when I perfected my portfolios, built a solid client base and learned how to better prioritize my time.
Another aspect that I love is the sheer variety that I get to experience every day. I get bored very easily and love learning new things, so instead of doing the same repetitive tasks each day, I get to travel to different businesses, meet different people, and step into their worlds. On one production I can be meeting an intellectual chef and take pictures of their gourmet French dishes, on the second I can be hanging out with a hilarious airline pilot and capturing them during a ride-along, and on the third I can be talking about philosophy with a kind Native American healer while shooting their portrait for a book cover. All of those interactions have happened, and every new experience continues to be beautiful and uplifting. Thanks to photography I’ve been granted access to all of these universes and in return I’ve grown more curious and free spirited. I can’t think of a more fulfilling way to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jasonsinnphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonsinnphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonsinnphotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonsinnphotography/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jason-sinn-photography-highlands-ranch
- Other: https://g.page/r/Ccr9J7YO9wYyEBA
Image Credits
Models: Chase Vaughn, Hector Martinez, Candice Betz, Tory Scroggins