Connections

Frustration can be a very powerful motivator. Just ask Jim Jordan. We recently caught up with Jim, who was a featured photographer in the Summer, 2003, issue of the magazine, and found out that Jim Jordan, photographer, has now become Jim Jordan, photographer/agency/production company.

Ten years ago he was a hair and makeup stylist on photo shoots. When he began noticing what the photographers were missing, he began taking photographs and using his experience with models to get the best they had to offer. With talent, hard work and connections, Jim became a fashion and lifestyle photographer.

And then he became frustrated because he was just a fashion and lifestyle photographer.

“I’d come in to pre-production meetings at agencies, and they’d have the storyboards, the layouts or the designs for the shoot,” he says, “and the next thing I’d be photographing their concepts and their ideas.” Nothing wrong with that—unless, like Jim, you had your own ideas that you knew were as good or better. “I had so much more I could be offering,” he says. “There were a lot of art directors who were so rushed, so busy with back-to-back jobs, that they’d come on a shoot and look to me to come up with great ideas on the fly for them. I was basically art directing a lot of my shoots.”

Once again, frustration sparked action. “I had a few clients who’d seen my creativity on the job, and when they suggested that I give my ideas on how I saw the job, I was ready.” Jim and his team presented storyboards, designs, concepts and sample photos. “It was all based on knowing the companies. There was a lot of research, and also sessions with the clients, looking at their history and where they’d come from and were going. They’d tell me about their goals and ideas, and I asked a lot of questions.”

The effort paid off. “A lot of the clients were blown away by the work and thought we put into our presentations and by the ideas we came up with.” From those presentations came imaginative situations and stylish images that reflected the clients’ needs and aims.

Doing away with the disconnect between a concept’s creation and its execution has made a connection to a singular vision and, consequently, better work.

“Now I have the paintbrush in my hands and the whole canvas to work on, rather than just being one among a bunch of people painting little sections,” Jim says. “It’s an easier, more creative way to work—I can devote all my energy to getting the photos, and I’ve got time to make changes, improvise and improve on an idea.” But, so far, no time to become frustrated.

Jim’s website, www.jimjordanphotography.com offers many more examples of his fashion and lifestyle images.