One of the great achievements that a photographer can attain in his or her career is to have people immediately recognize a photograph as one of his or her work. Only a handful of photographers like David LaChapelle and Annie Leibovitz (among a few others) can claim this feat.

Karron Clement by Joel Grimes
Karron Clement by Joel Grimes

It’s not hard to recognize a Joel Grimes image. His style is what I would describe as being a highly contrasted, desaturated HDR look. His style is his brand, and that is one of the reasons why he is so successful. It is a unique vision that did not come overnight, however.

Joel is a true inspiration and in this video interview, Joel sat down with us to talk about how photography played a major role in shaping his life from early on. He also talked about the kind of mindset needed to become successful in the photography business.

Here is part 1 of our interview with Joel Grimes!

What I really like about Joel is that he is first and foremost an artist. Driven by the creative process, Joel views himself as an illusionist, creating portraits larger than life. “There is no face on the planet that is the same, and my vision as an artist is to capture that individual uniqueness through the creative photographic process.”

The best place to learn more about lighting and photography from Joel is to watch his weekly lighting tutorial video on Framed Network called Lit Up. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite online photography shows and I’m always looking forward to a new episode every Wednesday.

Hope you enjoyed part 1 of the Joel Grimes interview, be sure to watch Part 2 to learn more! To see more of Joe’s work, be sure to visit his website, JoelGrimes.com.

 

Additional photos by Joel Grimes

Special FX-3 by Joel Grimes
Special FX-3 by Joel Grimes
Bianca Ventura by Joel Grimes
Bianca Ventura by Joel Grimes
Steven Stephens in New Orleans by Joel Grimes
Steven Stephens in New Orleans by Joel Grimes