Justin got his start working for a print lab. He fell in love with developing black and white images and was printing his own images out of his bathroom that he converted into a dark room.

Justin has a degree in Media and Arts for film making and a minor in business. Shooting weddings kept him busy during the summers away from school.

After graduation and moving to Sweden, he decided to follow his passion and opened a photography studio.

Justin’s studio, danielphoto, is located in Luleå, Sweden, where Justin specializes in highkey, black and white children photography. The studio is known for its babyplan program, but like most photographers he also photographs families, students, and seasonal summer weddings every year.

How did you get started in the business?
I got my start working in a photo lab as a lab technician(printer). After I became the lab manager, I was encouraged to take photography classes at the local art college to learn more about photography and fell in love with it.

Who helped/guided/mentored you?
Like most mentors, I have learn from others. I also find inspiration from interior design and popular trends. Online forums have also played a huge part in my success. I have developed my own style based on what I have learned and found a way to be successful at it.

Special message or advice to attendees?
If you want to improve, you need continue your education and ask for advice…ask for honest feedback from mentors who’s work you admire and are where you want to be within your business…you never stop learning…surround yourself with creative people as often as you can, it will only make you a better photographer. If this is your first After Dark Event, I recommend you figure out what areas you need help with along with new things you want to learn and make your schedule accordingly.

How many After Dark Events have you attended and what’s your favorite moment?
5 – “My favorite moment came after After Dark Vegas…an attendee wrote to me to tell me that she had taken everything I taught her, implemented into her studio, and it was a huge success.”

What are the top 5 skills you’ll be teaching at After Dark?

Highkey maternity/newborn/babies first year photography
Baby Plan and package sales
Creative children sessions
Weddings
HS Seniors

My work is surreal and whimsical, always focusing on the concept above all else. My aim is to shoot with intent, always planning my shots before they are taken and finding meaning in everything. Because of my background in filmmaking, I learned early on about how to get the shot without wasting film (or time), and that became a valuable lesson in photography as well. I believe that everyone has a story to tell, and no matter what that story is, how it sounds, or how it looks, it is worth putting into physical form. Photography allows everyone to share what makes them special, and it is my aim to not only teach how to create that perfect picture, but also how to find that story within.

From Brooke:

After Dark is the best possible place to grow as a person and as an artist. In every teaching situation I have been in, the people who get the most out of it are the ones who are willing to learn not only about photography but about life as well. I will be teaching many aspects of my photography, from levitation and editing to inspiration, and it is my hope that you will join me on this journey.

How did you get started in the business? Who helped/guided/mentored you?

I got started in photography online. I often say I was artistically born online when I started sharing my photos on Flickr. I began to get good feedback and encouragement and from there knew that I couldn’t do anything else with my life – photography is it. I asked myself one day, very simply, “what makes you happy?” and the answer was simple: Photography. I draw inspiration from many painters, especially from the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. I love the classic painterly techniques. I also love surrealism and fairytales, and often create dark, surreal fairytales in my images. I love the photograph work of Jamie Baldridge and Tom Chambers.

How many After Dark Events have you attended and what’s your favorite moment?

I’ve participated in 4 AD Events. Favorite AD moment…Sneaking off with a group of women who missed my levitation class earlier in the day to a parking garage where we used a dirty and smelly trash can as a stool and levitated a model until 2am. Also, flying a prop kite through the ballroom of AD.

What are the top 5 skills you’ll be teaching at After Dark?

Inspiration
Storytelling
Compositing
Underwater Photography
Business of Fine Art Photography and Social Media

After graduating from the University of Central Missouri in 2000 with a BS in Photography, he joined the family business. He is known for his high fashion creative images. Matthew has won numerous awards including National Photographer of the Year three times, Missouri Photographer of the Year, Top Ten Missouri Photographer four times, the Fuji Masterpiece Award and the Kodak Award for Photographic Excellence. He received the prestigous Master of Photography Degree in 2008. He is a speaker at photography conventions sharing his knowledge with others. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Professional Photographers Association and is a member of the Professional Photographers of America. He is married to Megan and loves playing with his two sons, Noah and Brant.

How did you get started in the business? Who helped/guided/mentored you?
“My parents started Lucas Photography 39 yr ago. I grew up in the business helping print back and whites and photographing my first wedding when I was 16. I went to college and majored in photography. After college I met Missouri photographer, Dave Swoboda who became my mentor and teacher. It was over that time period that I started seeing light, color and design.”

From Matt:
“I am Matt Lucas. I am a photographer and teacher but also a dad, a husband, a lover of college football and basketball. I like the beach, camping and baseball. I am a student of my customers and learn by listening to others. ‘Get to know people, ask questions and learn from each other.

Life is short and should be savored. To us great portraiture is much more than lighting and composition – great portraiture comes from a genuine connection between the subject and the photographer. Content trumps artistry. Our goal is to make images that combine content and artistry. Whether content be an intimate touch on a wedding day or an authentic laugh during a senior session, it’s what will stand the test of time.

As photographers we’re entrusted with the task of impacting people’s perceptions of themselves through our interaction and ultimately through how we choose to portray them. We love working as photographers because it gives us the ability to make people feel great about themselves and at the same time it fulfills our natural desire to play and create.

How did you get started in the business? Who helped/guided/mentored you?
“Dan and I started the studio when we got married the summer after graduating college. I waitressed part–time when we started the studio. When I first learned the proper way to calculate “Cost of Sale” I realized I was making more per hour waitressing than I was photographing weddings. I freaked out and decided that I would NEVER photograph a wedding again unless I was getting paid better for my time. I’d like to thank Lori Nordstrom for being honest. She’s always so real and shares her failures along with her successes. It’s that type of insight that’s helped us get started on the right path.”
From Alex:

“If you’re thinking about coming to another After Dark Event, remember with all the amazingness going on at the same time, you just can’t do it all. Your brain will explode after you’re done. Then once you’ve put it back together and applied what you’ve learned, you’ll be ready to kick it up to the next level. You can grow more and more with each AD. If you’ve never been to After Dark, before you come, look at your own studio and humbly decide what your biggest weakness is. Then research and find mentors who are really good at that thing, and make their classes your top priority. There are so many fun things going on at once so if you don’t have a plan, you may miss the class most impactful for you.

I think the more important details are much smaller:

I’m pretty reserved except when I’m quite the opposite. I do a lot of daydreaming. I secretly want to be Martha Stewart when I grow up (minus the fame and legal issues!). I can be quite impulsive (Ryan proposed & I agreed just 2 weeks after we met). We have no kids, but my dog owns a pretty big piece to my heart. I’d love to write children’s books at some point in my life. Some of my favorite things are the sounds of spring peepers, the call of a whippoorwill, strong breezes, watching bugs & birds, and dipping my toes in the creek. 80′s love songs are pretty fantastic, too.

How did you get started in the business? Who helped/guided/mentored you?

I picked the college I attended for its amazing theatre program, but ended up studying Speech Communications and English and spending many hours working for the campus television station. As graduation approached, I wanted to pursue a future in videography and carried my (cheap-o) video camera around everywhere I went. It was through those screen captures where I fell in love with the aesthetic of still photography and checked out practically every book on photography I could get my hands on at the library. I photographed nature, self portraits, food from the grocery store, and eventually found a job at a high volume portrait studio in the mall. It was a very humble beginning and, even though I felt creatively constrained in my photography, I learned a lot on the basic structure of running a portrait business.

How many After Dark Events have you attended and what’s your favorite moment?

STL with be my 5th! During a POD in Kansas City, one of my classes consisted of just 4 or 5 people. We went wildly off topic since it was an especially intimate group and got to connect with each other on a deeper level (tears, laughter, talk of struggles, insecurities & emotional/physical release). I’ll always remember when someone spoke on the unexpected twist; “This isn’t what I wanted, but what I needed”. I felt the exact same way.

Special Message or Advise for AD attendees?

You’re going to have a blast! My biggest piece of advice is to get out there and take some risks. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to strangers and spend some time with a mentor or two who you don’t necessarily see yourself having a lot in common with. This is how I personally learned the most at After Dark. Being a little more advanced, I’d already discovered many of the tips shared by those creating work similar to my own. When I sat in with a few mentors who were quite different than myself, I was pleasantly surprised to find all sorts of new information that I could tweak and apply to my own work.

What are your top 5 skills?

Connecting with Subjects
Creativity & Inspiration
Defining mood through lighting and color
Branding and defining style
Resourceful.. able to make something out of nothing

My desire to flash consumes not only my mind but also large amounts of Ni-mh and lithium batteries. This renewable resource allows me to run free at any hour. With the aid of Radiopopper, I am no longer bound by line of sight and distance. I am never hindered by weather, since Denny Mfg created Freedom Cloths, the magical fabric that allows me access to flash indoors during the most unfavorable conditions. Photogenic and Larson manipulate the light for me and Miller’s Lab immortalizes my handi-work. I am unstoppable in my quest for light, the perfect portrait…and, as always, the best grunge meal in town.

I am Jordan. Fueled by hot dogs, donuts, coffee and other heavily processed dietary products containing high amounts of nitrates. I seek light and a challenge. Sometimes, I have a salad and twitter my findings. 
I am a student of location lighting and I learn by teaching others. After Dark Edu is my institution.

How did you get started in the business? Who helped/guided/mentored you?
“I got started in the business photographing concerts and local musicians part time while working for HP. I joined a local forum, now know as Pixtus.com, and met Mike Fulton and Cody Clinton. When HP released my position, TriCoast added me to their roster. They are the ones responsible for making me thing that I might be able to make a few bucks off photography.”

From Jordan:
“My inspiration comes from photo journalists and commercial photographers. I learned off camera lighting from Dave Blacks websites back before the Strobist site came around. I’m glad because I prefer using TTL over Manual flashes.
Leslie Spurlock, a photo journalist turned wedding photographer, is someone I’ve considered as my greatest mentor. From her I’ve learned that every image should tell a story, using angles, lines and environment. She’s also the person that influences me the most as far as “style” goes.
If you’re thinking about coming to another After Dark Event, remember some experiences get better when relived time and time again. Its like a roller coaster. You get the the thrill/high when you’re spun out of control, but once you land, you’re ready to go again. If you’ve never been to After Dark Before, push yourself to challenge the mentors with questions and stay out past your bed time. ‘It’s always better to laugh at someone else than yourself.’ “

There is space and time for each student to find their own way….whether it is learning the “rules” stage, or the “letting go” stage. There are mentors teaching the basics and mentors being spontaneous and creative and just “playing”. There is a certain freedom at After Dark to create your own path…whether it is as a student, or as a mentor… we are given the freedom to learn and teach in an environment of “play”.

I am best taught by hands-on learning and dialogue….I love it when someone is speaking with me, not at me!!! That is how I love to teach too! I’d rather have a small group discussion about the things we deal with in our studio on a day to day basis, or visualize to music with someone, or really get into a shooting groove with someone…..than sit in a class listening to broad topics that may or may not apply to me. I want someone to really get into what is the unique set of needs and parameters for our studios…..how do we deal with things in real life….thinking outside the box for creative solutions and tried and true problem solving techniques.

So…let’s all meet up and play!

From Don:
“Love your neighbor as yourself. “ If you’re thinking about coming to another After Dark Event remember, one can never get enough education, & inspiration, can they? If you’ve never been to After Dark Before remember, don’t get caught up on the shiny lights. Come focused, stay focused, leave inspired, re-energized.

How did you get started in the business? Who helped/guided/mentored you?
Self taught… My ah-ha moment was when I realized that there was more to lighting than short light open loop!

How many After Dark Events have you attended and what’s your favorite moment?
I’ve participated in 7 AD Events and my favorite part was spending the afternoon on South Beach, Miami.

Why is education important to you? How long have you been teaching? What made you get into teaching? What do you get out of being a mentor?
You are either growing or decaying. Teaching for 8 or 9 years