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

Alright, Juneau thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Day after day I would sit at the front desk of my retail job and dream of what life could be like if I wasn’t a college student living in a small town in Washington state. I knew my passion and heart was in creating art through photography, but was unsure how to pursue that in a real way. Everyone I knew went to school with me and was on a similar path as I was- something along the lines of healthcare, business, or science. I had very few friends in the creative industry and the few people I knew of lived a life that seemed like a fairytale. It never seemed attainable. I grew up in a smaller town with no connections to Los Angeles or anyone who could help guide me if I were to change my life path and career.

It took a few instagram deep dives to discover that being a music photographer was a real job. Music and photography have always been my two loves, and the combination of both seemed too good to be true. I became obsessed with a select few music photographers that I followed and learned everything I could about how they got to where they were. What schooling was involved, where they grew up, what the first steps were in their journey, ect. The more I learned, the more realistic the concept seemed to. me. What I did know for sure is that I needed to drop out of my current schooling program and save my money for things that would become more necessary such as rent, editing software, a website domain, and gear. I had almost nothing in savings, but decided to finish up college in an online program and get a degree in arts and digital photography. It took me about a year to complete that, and from there I moved back home to begin scheming my next steps.

About a year later, I decided to officially move to LA. I still had almost no savings to work with, but managed to find a cheap arrangement sharing a room with a girl who was also seeking an affordable housing situation. I was able to scrape by there for a while, working the occasional low budget project to build my portfolio. There were many months where my rent payment would completely wipe out my bank account and I would have to sell clothes to make extra money for groceries and gas. I stuck with subletting and because of that, was forced to moved every few months. When my money would run out, I would move back home for a bit to save enough to find another spot. Lots of back and forth for the first two years.

This last year (2024) was the first year I was able to achieve some sort of financial stability. Luckily, my work over the past three years gave me enough of a portfolio and network to really pick up speed in the industry. I began touring with artists in March of 2024 and from there, was on the road for almost the entire year. This allowed me to save on rent payments for months at a time while also saving what I made on the road. I feel so lucky to have met the people I did in the first few years. I would not be anywhere without them and am so grateful for their support that got me to a sustainable place in my career. Not to say things are fully stable yet, but I feel confident that I can remain in a career that fulfills me and my heart for creating.

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

My name is Juneau, Im a 23 year old music photographer living in Los Angeles, CA. I had been a photographer as a side hustle for a lot of my highschool and college years, but really fell in love with music photography after shooting my first shows in college a few years back. My primary lane is in live music photography and show coverage, but I also shoot portraits for Spotify covers, album art, single covers, press, ect. I love getting the opportunity to build real connections with artists which is sometimes not the case when shooting shows. I also love shooting behind the scenes content on music video sets as well as studio recording sessions. Its an honor to witness artist’s work come to life and capture it in a way that allows others to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the project as a whole.
Aside from music, I occasionally work with couples and shoot engagements/weddings upon request, as well as graduation portraits in off seasons from tour.

In social situations, I often find myself most comfortable in the background, observing the room from a distance. I think this tendency translates into my work and influences how I capture a scene. Live music and BTS projects hold a special place in my heart creatively because I feel that I really get to capture my subjects candidly. Posed photos never quite feel right or genuine to me, so getting to document as a fly on the wall really allows me to select the moments that I find most captivating and helps me express myself in a way that feels real to me. When working with couples, I often will ask them to re-enact a moment they shared in the past, or I will direct them as if filming them for a movie scene. I love capturing motion and expressions that are impossible to recreate in a posed manner. In my opinion, photoshoots should just be a hang and Im just there to document the moment and learn about the clients and their story. Similarly, the gallery a client receives should evoke the same emotions that would be felt in any special moment shared between them. It is always my priority to achieve that.

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

I think the most rewarding aspect of my job is giving my clients space to feel confident and beautiful in their own way. I believe that regardless of the project in working on, my only job is to capture my client looking their absolute best (even if that means deleting photos that I love for technical reasons). There is nothing better than sending a gallery to a client and hearing them express how the photos make them feel so authentically themselves, sometimes in a way that they did not know they were capable of. Being in front of a camera is scary, so I try to create an environment that nurtures confidence and freedom to exist at ease throughout the shoot.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I will say, this career path has certainly challenged my resilience in a lot of ways. Starting out in this industry without any experience or portfolio is not for the weak. For the entirety of my first year shooting shows, I had to cold email and DM artists, managers, venues, and other photographers just to find opportunities to shoot. Not to mention that I would be shooting for free if I did get a response. In these cases, the only way I would benefit would be if the artist decided to share my work which was rare. Countless times I would sit an hour in traffic, pay for parking, probably have to convince box office that I actually had a photo pass, shoot the first three songs of the show, drive home, and edit all night just to potentially never hear from the artist again. Maybe a story like if I was lucky. I was humbled time and time again. Pushing through that era took a lot of persistence and a bit of delusion but I have to say, at the end of the day, it was worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juneaucamphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juneaujanzen/
• Other: Pinterest:
  https://www.pinterest.com/juneaujanzen/

Image Credits

All images by Juneau Janzen