LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello and how the hell are you?  If this is your first time here thanks for stopping by.  In this blog we are going to talk about what is a Journeyman Photographer and why I consider myself this instead of a professional photographer.  To start this off right we have to look at what a journeyman is and how I came up with this concept.  The Journeyman is a person that is well rounded in all accepts of the trade or craft.  This usually takes a person around three years of learning the craft to become a journeyman.  He or she will learn more than just one concept of the craft in order to be able to accomplish just about any task within the craft of photography.  

He or she will be able to make money from what they have learned over the years and apply their talent towards creating a well crafted image.  They know the technical side of taking a photo and how to apply that to the artistic side of making an image.  They learn the skills it takes to form a image from their head to the screen.  They learn more and more everyday and never stop that aspect of the craft.  He or she will always encourage others to learn and teach them the craft so it never dies.  Holding back information is where the craft stalls and is never allowed to grow.  They know that if they teach others how to make an image they will benefit from the knowledge that one day that student will teach them something in return.  

Being a journeyman photographer to me means a student of light.  I am always looking at how the light hits the landscape, person, place, and athlete.  The way that light will shape an image is something that you have to learn and you are not just given the ability to put a camera to your face and become a great photographer.  I thought that I was going to be a star on instagram when I first started out and I quickly learned that it takes time to hone the craft that I picked up.  I had to start at the beginning and work on so many aspects just to learn how to shoot.  The learning curve was hard but I was willing to make the best of it because I wanted to be a photographer.  

My apprenticeship started at a pawn shop looking for my first DSLR to start really shooting.  I picked up a Nikon d3000 for 80 dollars and I got two lenses with that purchase.  Now this was in 2018 so that means that the body I was buying was rather old but it taught me the basics for shooting.  I then thought I would upgrade and buy brand new because that was the next step.  SO I bought a Canon Rebel t6 which was just a sideways step not really an upgrade.  I went on a self discovery journey on how to really take or make an image.  I stayed with that setup for years just learning the true art of photography.  What I am trying to get at here is we all start somewhere with no concept of what we are trying to do.  We just want to take photos and we love the learning aspect of what that means.  

The main reason that I choose to call myself a Journeyman Photographer instead of a professional is because when you put the professional title on there is a level of prestige that comes with that title and people naturally assume that you know everything there is to know about photography.  This is not the case because you can be a professional landscape photographer and know nothing about how to shoot a portrait. You could be a fashion photographer and know nothing about how to take a cityscape with a long exposure.  There are different levels and I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into one box.  I love photography and I want to learn as much about it as I can to improve my artwork. 

Being a Journeyman Photographer means that you can pick up a camera and shoot just about any genre that you want to shoot with little to no knowledge about that genre.  You just have to have an idea on what it takes to shoot that genre.  I have never really shot sports before and I picked up the camera and was able to walk away with great images not because I knew what I was doing but because I looked for key moments that I loved seeing in the magazines when I was younger.  You see there has always been someone before you that has taken a similar shot so you will always have a reference image to look at on how to accomplish said photoshoot.  

The journeyman aspect is knowing the basics of photography to the point that you can figure out what type of image you want from that.  I love the close up intimate shots of sports that show the face because that is where you will connect with the athlete and the match that he or she is going through.   When shooting my portraits I try to get the candid shots that tell the story of who that person really is.  The whole point of being a photographer is to tell a story with light.  The people are just part of that art form and the light that is happening at that moment is going to help aid you in telling his or her story.  

To wrap this up and put a bow on it for you a Journeyman Photographer is a person that is practicing all genres of photography.  He or she is a jack of all genres and a master of none of them.  He or she will be able to pick up any camera and tell a story with it.  They are the start of something new in this craft.  They will be the future of what photography is and how it moves forward.  There no photo that they cannot take if giving time to learn the small set of skills it takes to get that image.  He or she is the one person that can truly call themselves a photographer because at the end of the day a true photographer to me is a person that can make a photo anywhere with any camera.  Enjoy from St Johns Az y’all