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

Josh, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Getting started in photography was a round about journey for me. I picked up a camera in 2010 before going to Baghdad Iraq on a military deployment when I was in the Air Force. My Fuji super zoom broke within a week of arrival. At the time I was a HVAC mechanic working on the a/c systems during the summer heat. That line work tends to be hard on gear, so I picked up a point and shoot camera and attempted to document the trip. Our mission changed every week during that deployment so I didn’t really have any preparation or training for photography. Just snapshots of my travel from Baghdad, Balad air base, Kuwait, Afghanistan and then onto Kyrgyzstan for a large scale project. After that trip I bought a DSLR and started soaking up as much information as I could. I studied photographers like Steve Mcurry, Tim Heatherington, and Stacy Pearsall for their war documentary work.

I was also intrigued by portrait artists. I was just curious about humans in general and my personal memories of flipping through my mom’s old photo albums of all the images her dad had taken of them growing up. He passed away when my mom was young so having never met him I felt a connection being able to see what he captured of his children growing up. Being a single father at the time I felt a duty to document life so my daughter had something to look back on later.

Fast forward a few years and I had my kit together and I was shooting whatever I could to learn. I found out along the way that I really didn’t enjoy working with families and kids as a profession and I needed some help learning portrait photography. I came across Peter Hurley at WPPI in 2016 and it lit fire under my ass to perfect headshot photography. During this period I progressed quickly and my lighting and direction skills became more refined. I felt more comfortable and confident with portrait photography in general and loved doing headshots. The 1 on 1 with people, the laughs, the polished look, the whole process became addicting. I started my business soon after and moved from my garage studio to a formal studio in Las Vegas. I was still working a full time job, finishing my degree, married with 3 kids and pushing my photography skills further every day. I was determined to make this my full time profession.

I found out that portrait photography isn’t just taking photos of people. It can have a huge impact on the subject. I had a few clients that opened up to me and told me they had never had a picture of themselves that they really liked and they thanked me for that. It occurred to me that changing how people view themselves was a part of my goal and helping people this way is the most rewarding experience ever. We are our own worst critiques and having the power to change that to a positive experience will always be a pillar of my photography journey. Every time it happens now it’s just as impactful as the first time.

Speeding things up or changing anything along the way I think I would have just looked at people closer for how they see themselves. Being in front of the camera is nerve wracking for some and being aware of that sooner could have helped me learn faster. But I think everything happens for a reason and the journey had its purpose for me.

Now I work full time photographing people and events and it’s rewarding and exciting.

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

Photography was never on my radar. I was a blue collar worker my whole life. My first real job at 19 was a porter at a dealership in Livonia Michigan near Detroit. After a few months there they asked if I wanted to become a diesel mechanic. I took the opportunity and started learning the craft. Engines and transmissions were my thing and I enjoyed the work. Then the dealer went out of business and I needed work. I had the military in my sights and went to boot camp in March of 2001. After September 11th everything changed and deployments became a regular thing. I learned HVAC and took an interest in building automation controls at my first duty station, Dover AFB Delaware.

During this time in a/c systems and controls it was hard learning the software and it took a lot of effort to program systems. The attention to detail really came to light and it opened my eyes to programming, and complex systems. I didn’t know this at the time but these skills became helpful for my photography later on.

The technical aspect for me was easy. Gadgets and doodads with all the settings I could learn was pretty easy. The intangible component of how people feel and the creative process was the hurdle I had to climb. After learning headshot photography and finishing my business degree I was ready for the next level. Create my brand and full time business. Living in Las Vegas I knew that business headshots would be a great product. With business travel outpacing leisure year over year and conferences and trade shows being a large aspect I knew I could make it. My main focus is and will always be headshots and portraits. I have create a few different types of headshots and my color and creative ones I’m really enjoying. Business professionals need help looking their best and a lot of my clients have had poor experiences being photographed. I focus on their industry and goals and we create custom images that help marketing and sales efforts. Personal brands have become more of a household name and people are waking up to creating their brand. My goal is provide them with the best images they have ever had and that comes from learning who they are and what they want to accomplish.

I think what sets me apart is I listen to them and then develop images around their personality and goal set. Right now my color work I’m having fun with. The more I create these types of images the more people request them. Show what you want to sell right? Color and mood go hand in hand and the drama and uniqueness of a set of images can have an impact on the viewer and my clients brand.

What makes me most proud is when clients change their world view or how they view themselves. Usually we have a negative self image. Every time we look in the mirror we pick ourselves apart and have negative things to say. When people can pause and look at their image we just took and say “I like her!” or something similar it makes me know I did my job. Not just taking pictures but helping people see the best version of themselves. A few people have been self conscious of their smile for various reasons, and they trained themselves to hold back a full smile for years. Then we create an image that just bursts with personality and that paradigm shift happens. Why hold back your smile from the world? Self consciousness just melts away and it’s the most beautiful part of this journey.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When I was a mechanic I loved not having to deal with people. Now as an artist I thrive on working with people. The quirks and backstories that make us who we are. The joy and pain of life of who we are in this moment. It never gets old to me. I’m a curious person and I hope I never lose that.

Creating images and telling stories has the ability to help others. It has the potential to change outcomes and shift the trajectory of life. Hearing stories we can relate to stirs emotions and can resonate within for a long time. We never know when a story or image will have that ability so sharing and documenting these is incredibility important.

One of my favorite images of all time was before I was full time professional.

I was in Kandahar Afghanistan in 2012. The first week we were there it rained and stormed for 3 days. Hail and dust storms of biblical proportions. After the rain subsided the wadi near us broke and our camp was flooded with murky garbage water and the dog kennel near us provided some floating brown sharks as an added feature. We worked to sandbag our living spaces to keep some of the water out. Some areas was knee deep or higher. I took some pictures of the events and I hopped on a deuce and half truck to head across camp. Along the way a man was walking his bike and was about to get the full forces of the wake from our truck. He seemed unbothered by the events but when he saw my camera out of the window his face lit up and he smiled ear to ear. Despite the conditions he was happy to be photographed. My take away from that is that no matter what’s going on in life there are reasons to smile, so find some. Being knee deep in shit water wasn’t an excuse for my friend so don’t let the excuses find you.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Connecting with people and being a good listener while providing the best product I can.

The images we create are one thing. Truly connecting with people and helping them solve problems is another. My main focus for photos is to create impeccable true to life images. Connecting with people to solve problems is where the rubber meets the road. When clients go over the challenges they have I look at where I can help. Not just for photography. Maybe it’s connecting them to someone in my network. Or a bit of advice from my previous life. Giving them a hand with some community events. The list goes on.

A large majority of my clients are referrals and repeat clients. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust. In that order. Being likeable and building trust are two things you can’t fake. You have to take a genuine interest in people and their problems. Those will leave a mark on the world around you in a positive way.

Sometimes I meet people that just want to sell, sell, sell and shove their business card in your face whether you want it or not. I think that’s a really poor way of doing business. I’m in the personal services space more than photography itself. If people don’t like or trust you then you will always be chasing more leads. Building relationships and meaningful connections goes much further and sometimes we find out we have to do some work on ourselves in order for that to happen. So do the work and build a relationships with people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.joshline.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josh_line_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshLinePhotoCommunity/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-line-232197137/

Image Credits
Josh Line Photography