Today we’d like to introduce you to Jared Kuzia.
Jared, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I think I got my first camera around my freshman year of high school. I know, cliche. It was game over after that. I pretty much stopped focusing on everything else and put all of my energy into making pictures. It was the dawn of digital so I started off shooting black and white film and color slide as digital cameras weren’t really up to par yet. I can’t stress enough how much of an influence learning that way had on me. In the digital age, it’s so easy for anyone to pick up a camera and quickly learn enough to be dangerous. I didn’t have a job at the time, so a lot of effort went into making sure my money spent of film and darkroom supplies wasn’t wasted!
I had a couple of internships during this time and a great photography teacher that strongly supported my decision to pursue an education in photography after high school. I moved from my beloved home state of Vermont to Boston and enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. I shortly thereafter transferred to the Art Institute of Boston to pursue a less interdisciplinary degree; I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Throughout college, I had zero interest in commercial photography. I was super into conceptual art and my plan was to continue my education in a couple of years and teach at a college level. After teaching a couple of entry level classes, I quickly learned it wasn’t for me, at all! I started assisting and over the course of the better part of a decade got the opportunity to work with probably over a couple hundred different photographers from all over the country and from every niche of the commercial trade. I got to work on everything from small editorial shoots to big celebrity and advertising shoots with huge crews. It took me all around the country. It was a pretty amazing experience. I spent two of these years working exclusively with a high end architectural photographer and that niche stuck with me the most. I’ve always been on the introverted side and a bit fastidious. The process of architectural and interior photography really spoke to these parts of my personality. I’m detail oriented, almost to a fault and my job lets me put that to work for the better.
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?
I made some great connections while assisting that helped me slowly transition into shooting but that’s not to say it has been easy at all. I think that architectural and especially interior photography are difficult fields to get a foothold in. It’s not like you can just walk into a nice residential home and start shooting. For me, I had to start off shooting friends and acquaintances homes to start building a portfolio with that. I was able to get a job or two shooting slightly better spaces after showing those images and that cycle continued to snowball with a lot of persistence!
It also took time to learn how to best communicate with my clients as much as is needed and figure out all of the right questions to ask. It’s such a beautiful collaboration between architect/designer/art director and photographer when everyone is on the same page. One of my favorite things about working with other creative people is that there is this kind of this silent language that happens. It happens when you’re both making critical decisions that’s reasoning couldn’t really be put into words and you both just get it.
Please tell us about Jared Kuzia Photography.
I focus specifically on architectural, interior and some still life photography. My client base consists of designers, architects, builders, magazines, developers and commercial clients like HGTV, Homegoods, Restoration Hardware… that kind of stuff. Aside from high end residential design, I also photograph a lot of commercial spaces. Marketing firms will hire me to shoot restaurants, luxury condos and neighborhoods for their clients. It’s such a pleasure to get to meet and work with so many people that are so, so talented. I learn just as much about how to be better at my job from them as I did in school. It’s always such a mind opening opportunity for growth to see someone else’s approach to creative problem solving. I wouldn’t have anywhere near the ability to style and arrange a space if it wasn’t for them.
I think something that sets me apart from others in my field in education, I got working for established photographers when I was younger. I really enjoy using tricks and lighting techniques that are native to say, a product or fashion photographer. You get to see how a myriad of people do things and take the techniques you like best for your own bag of tricks. I think that has given me the ability to get great results from less than desirable circumstances. It’s never the camera that takes a good picture, it’s the photographer but something that also sets me apart is that, I shoot with a medium format digital camera. It’s a bit quirky but the quality of the images produced far surpasses say a Canon or a Nikon.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was just talking to a friend about this today. I’ve been skateboarding since I was a little kid. One of my favorite periods in life is when I was just old enough to go out and skate in Burlington, VT with my friends. It’s a small city but it felt so big at the time. The sense of independence and freedom exploring the town was unreal!
Contact Info:
- Website: JaredKuzia.com
- Phone: 617-817-5672
- Email: jaredkuzia@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jaredkuziaphotography
Image Credit:
Capello Design, Feinmann, Haddad Hakansson, Kristina Crestin Design
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