Meet Sam Johnson | Photographer & Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
What many do not realize is the amount of time and thought it takes to take a good photograph. Photographers are constantly thinking about how to use light and composition while framing a shot. Then comes the editing after all the photographs have been taken. There is an export process, where you have to get your photographs from your camera to your computer. Then uploading them into a professional editing software program, like Lightroom with Adobe. Then comes light and color corrections, and adding your creative style to the photograph. After that comes adding different brushes to create or remove aspects of the photograph. Then exporting and printing. The behind the scenes work of a photographer often last multiple hours. Sometimes even a hour or more with one single photograph!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am originally from Michigan but have been fortunate enough to have lived up and down the east coast. Being an adventure enthusiast, this landing spot in Miami has been the best yet. Prior to moving to Miami, I was living in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Photography and videography have always been a passion of mine that I never really invested in until about three years ago. At first, it was a hobby, just a boy playing with expensive toys (cameras and a drone). Then all of a sudden, I started getting featured on travel blogs, tourism Instagram accounts and online photography magazines. I was even hired to do some commercial work with local businesses.

What excites me most about this journey is the art I am able to create and share. Printing and gifting a captured moment to someone is truly special, because you are now making that persons moment a permanent document that they can share with others. The other thing that excites me is that I realized is that my side hustle/hobby is bringing about new adventures that I wouldn’t have even imagined. For example, recently I was hired to do content creation for a private air tour business in Fort Lauderdale. I went up on the small plane to take aerial photography. As we were over the ocean flying back into South Beach area, the pilot asked if I wanted to fly the plane! Being the adventure enthusiast that I am, I said sure and took over control of the plane. This was a wild adventure, all which would have never come to be if I didn’t invest into my passion for photography and videography.

There are so many things I have learned throughout the journey with creating content. The importance of sharing your work. The importance of social media. The importance of making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes. I cannot tell you how many photographs I have taken thinking I captured it exactly how I wanted to, and then later realized the subject wasn’t in focus. But that is part of growing as a creative content creator.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If you are coming to Miami, bring your tennis shoes because there is so much to see. I highly recommend walking around Brickell and Downtown. The architecture alone is beautiful, then to see it with the aqua blue waters of Brickell Bay. Just breath taking! Wynwood is another spot I would recommend if you are a creative soul. The art work and shops will definitely inspire your own creativity. If you are not exactly into the big city life, you need to be in downtown Coconut Grove. Just two metro stops down from Brickell, you will find yourself in a cozy downtown with restaurants and local shops. You need to check it out, and support the small business owners.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shoutout some of my photographers that I pull inspiration from with my own work. Those being Peter McKinnon, Eric Floberg, and Evan Ranft. Please go check them out.

Website: samjohnsonphotographer.com

Instagram: @sjphoto21

Twitter: @sjphoto21