Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Visneau.
Steven, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always had an obsession with photography although I never thought I could actually become a photographer. I had dreams of being a musician, touring and waking up in a different city every day, staying in the best hotels, seeing the world on the dime of a band imagined all through a soft focus, black and white grainy glow. What I have now realized it was the photography itself of bands, models, and artists I loved that was fueling my want of being that musician. The photographs in Rolling Stone, Circus, Vogue, and countless other publications helped create my fantasy world of style, art, and music. I did go on to have an amazing experience as a traveling musician although Madison Square garden was never on my tour itinerary. The road life was fun yet not sustainable long-term but that love of the imagery that filled my head never subsided. I was able to get into the industry that created all my childhood fantasies as an assistant on a catalog photo shoot driving a box truck and moving furniture. It was not exactly the famed sets of fashion and rock magazines but I was still getting a glimpse behind the curtain of creating imagery, I was hooked. After that job ended I got a job at a studio and almost immediately started studying everything I could about the creation of imagery through photography. Books, chats with the lab guys after dropping off film (yep film), endless questions directed at photographers, stylists, or anyone who was in my field of vision that had knowledge of the photography industry. Along the way, I picked up a Nikon FA 35mm camera kit, which I still have, and started shooting everything and anything in my path. Film was always accessible to me as the photographers I assisted would always give extra rolls left over from our jobs to the assistants. I took photos of my friends, places I was touring to, as well as just experimenting with the creation of abstract forms of shape by using all the tools inside the camera to make an image that only existed by light, exposure, and depth of field. After a few years of experimentation, I decided to focus on making a fashion portfolio so I could possibly make the transition from assistant to Photographer. With the help and encouragement from working photographers, studio owners, modeling agencies, photo labs, stylists, hair and makeup artists, models, locations owners, I put together a cohesive 60-page fashion portfolio. Not long after that, I started showing it around and before too long I was picking up second shooting gigs along with some editorial work. I decided to try to make the leap from assistant to a full-time photographer after a lengthy and terrifying conversation about making that jump with the agency I have been with for the last ten years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Creative fields seem to have many struggles so it has not exactly been a smooth road. The constant worry of when the next project will be booked, what type of project it will be, if or how much you will be compensated, not to mention health care, no pays, etc.. In the end I feel if you have a strong vision and voice in your work you will be hired on a fairly consistent basis. I have been a freelance photographer for over ten years so it can be done. Has it been easy? Not always. Has it been worth it? Always.
Steven Visneau Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in fashion driven commercial lifestyle photography. I love shooting craftsmen and makers, it has been a passion of mine over the last 6years. I also have a love of shooting ballet dancers in a minimalist point of view much like the work of Alexi Brodovich. I believe my love of art, design and style help guide me in my work. I truly am inspired when I shoot by some reference that I have seen before in a painting, building or even what someone was wearing that I see on the way into my job. Art is all around us if you look at it right.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s difficult to state my proudest moment as I feel like I’m living in the proudest moment most days when I shoot. I did not think something was possible but I made it possible by focus, passion, and experimentation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stevenvisneauphotography.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: stevenvisneauphotography
- Facebook: steven visneau photography
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