THE NAME'S JIM

I was in the restaurant business for 25+ years. That’s over two decades that

I was on a different career path, going through the motions of what was comfortable rather than doing what I love. I decided to make a change, so I went back to school. I graduated from college in 2017 with a degree in photography, and I’ve been a professional photographer ever since – which brings you here, to my photography website.

As your atypical-career-path-guy, I didn’t quit the restaurant business and go back to school for photography. I’ve played in bands all of my life, taking on graphic design projects for each of them, so I went back to earn my degree in graphic design. While in school, I decided to fill one of my elective credits with photography and, you guessed it, fell in love. I knew immediately, from that moment on, that I needed to pursue photography. The chance to combine what I know about people from the service industry and my passion for the art and mechanics behind making photos gave me the chance to really be me.

I am Atlanta-based. I make a lot of pictures of a lot of different kinds of people, and I shoot video, too. I love engaging people, getting to know who they are and capturing their essence in a single frame. Sometimes it’s about who they are, and sometimes it's about how they want people to see them, but it doesn’t matter to me which one it is.

My passion in photography is project-oriented – the stuff that allows me to dig deeper and find creative angles from which to tackle the subject matter. I love the process of working with each client, helping them to develop and execute their ideas visually. At the end of the day, I am not just a photographer or a videographer because I walk away from each client with a passion to tell their story.

When I’m not working with clients, I’m honing my skills as a drone pilot and documentarian. I’m currently working on two personal projects, the first being a running documentary about what makes all of us similar as human beings called, Undivided States. I’ve been interviewing people who we interact with on an everyday basis that have faced great challenges to show their strength, as they strive to live normal daily lives. The second project that I’m working on is focused on urban aerial imagery. I was inspired by old aerial photos of cities, so I decided to create my own series of images, making them look like they did back then – black and white, raw imagery of urban areas.

When I am not behind the camera, I love cooking, listening to music of a wide variety, watching sci-fi or crime thrillers on Netflix, and spending time with my wife and 6-year-old son.

Jim Johnson