Interview With PNCA Photo Alumni JD White
How would you define your occupation?
On paper, I'm the In-House Photographer at Solestruck Shoes. I am also a freelance photographer and a full-time Dad. Sometimes I tell people that I'm a "creative" but never call myself an artist.
How do you see yourself and your work as a photography student at PNCA compared to now? How much has your practice changed?
Haha. Good question. My work now is completely different from what I made in school. In school, I was confronting taboos in heterosexual masculinity exploring where I fit in as a man. It was a lot of self-discovery and a ton of nudity. I graduated from school and didn't make a lot of photo work for about five years, except a few shows here and there, sprinkled with a few failed blog attempts. I applied to grad school in Boston and was accepted but decided not to go because of $$$. I was really into riding my bike at the time and was into it more than my photography so it took up most of my time.Then In 2012, I was getting tired of my 9-5 job and began to miss taking photos. I took a gamble and risked any sort of savings and retirement money I had on a studio and some cheap photo gear. This move totally changed me as a photographer. I started working 5-7 days a week in my studio which was so important for me to get back in the groove of making again. I focused for 6 months on making commercial based work in hopes of getting some kind of job and it paid off! So now my practice is a lot more about experimentation, color, shapes, and constantly trying to impress a client.
I have a hard time saying that something these days is my commercial work and not my fine art. I just feel like its all "my work". While in school I felt this pressure to always know what I was making and why, but now that's changed and I try to never think of that shit! I want to my work to be fun and playful and I feel the best way to do that is to just make and not question it. I also think Instagram was a huge game changer for me. While I was in school, there was never a platform for sharing work in this way. It helped me find some really great artists (@gangculture @arnold_daniel @josecabaco @cschoonover...) that made me think differently about image making and what I looked at. Instagram also got me shooting almost everyday. That's the key- shooting, everyday.
It seems that your personal artistic concepts come across in your commercial work. What is your advice for combining these two aspects?
I think clients these days are looking for photographers that have their own unique look and vision. Lets face it, the market is flooded with so many "photographers" that your personal aesthetic is all you have to stand out. At times, you may have to tone it down depending on the client, but yeah you kind of have to have your own look. With that being said, for some clients you aren't always allowed to have a heavy stylistic hand and you have to be able to adapt to what they are looking for. But that's the fun part of making commercial work, always having to adapt and collaborate to create someone else's idea.
Currently, contemporary photography and fine art photography seem to be merging together and blurring boundaries more and more.
What is your take on the movements you see happening today?
I don't really think this is a new movement at all. Let me preface this by saying, by no means am I an expert on this subject but I feel that fine art photographers have been in the commercial world for a while. Like back in the day Irving Penn was working with Saks Fifth Avenue, you know? So, I think when it comes to photography it is very easy for us to float from the fine art world into the commercial and then back to fine art. It's all part of the photo world! I do however think the fine art work has a stronger influence on commercial work then the other way around.
Is working with fashion and product drastically different from the fine art world? Was fashion something that influenced you, that you could see yourself doing when you were a student? I was never a fashion follower. I was probably always 5 years behind in trends and music, not to mention I dress the same as I did in high school. Then I had an interview at W+K that changed my life. The position I was applying for required someone with a strong fashion background even though the position was for an image curator. It didn't make sense to me, but then they said, It's all starts at fashion. It made me think about fashion in a different way so I started to pay closer attention. Then I got my current job shooting shoes. I wasn't supposed to be doing as much styled work as I am now, but I just kept telling people at work that I could make that and eventually they gave me a chance, well several chances. It wasn't easy at first, but then you discover that fashion can be whatever you want it to be and has much more artistic freedom than product shots or ad work.
I can't really speak about working in the fine art world because I have spent little to no time there besides school. I now have a desire to get back into the gallery and find new avenues to show what I have been making so I might be able to speak about that in the next few years.
If you do marketing what is involved?
This is supposed to be my year of marketing. I had all these great plans but have yet to go beyond emails to agencies and publications. I do have plans to send out some mailers, cards, and small prints, or small magazine of some sort to get some attention from art buyers. Instagram is probably my greatest marketing tool for getting my name out there, but it makes me feel like a very small fish in a big pond. My last 3 clients came from word of mouth though so that still works!
What is your advise for getting yourself out there after we graduate or, even during school?
You're not going to make the football team practicing once a week! You have to create a strong work ethic that keeps you working like you are as a student, if not harder. One day turns into one week then one month, one year, then 5...It all depends on how you start that first day.
Also assisting for photographers is a great way to make decent money and learn a great deal about how to interact with clients, set up shoots, and generally what you will need to do to make it work. And don't be afraid to ask, I'm always afraid to but people keep telling me this and it seems to work for them.
Do you have any favorite inspirational photography magazines or websites you could share?
The one magazine that really changed the work I make is ToiletPaper by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, www.toiletpapermagazine.org I also enjoy treating myself to a full day by digging through all the publications at Riches cigar shop in town. That place has some really hard to find stuff that will keep you inspired but be careful, those things aren't cheap! I just picked up HUSK the other day and it has been great so far. I've never been one to know the cool new magazines, I should be asking you young students that!
What experiences and learning outcomes did you have at PNCA that relate you to what you are doing now?
PNCA taught me how to defend my work and to talk about art without saying "this is cool", or "I like that". I feel like this has helped when talking about images with a client or convincing a future client why they should work with me. I also went to school with some special people that are doing much bigger things then I am and so that has helped push me to make better work. No one want's to be the worst photographer/artist in the group!
Do you have any further advice for photography students?
This career doesn't happen over night so don't count on one image to make your career. But at the same time you need to get after it now because there are thousands of other people wanting it just as bad as you do. Keep shooting!
You can find JD’s Work at his website, jdwhitephoto.com!
