Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Prezant.
Joshua, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was drawn to the decisive moment even before I knew who Henri Cartier-Bresson was.
It all started out with an 8-year-old me flipping through piles of Life, National Geographic, Time and other photo-heavy magazines that my parents always had around the house. I would spend endless hours poring over every inch.
At some point, my father handed over his Vietnam Era Nikon F camera with a 50mm Nikkor lens and a roll of film and showed me how to focus using a split screen focusing mirror.
I was hooked.
I learned the basic ins and outs of the darkroom in my high school’s graphics art class.
In college in Washington, DC I ended up working for the school newspaper and eventually became the head photographer and photo editor. In between my junior and senior year of college, I earned a highly coveted internship at the Miami Herald shooting 40 plus hours a week. It was there that my thoughts of going on to Law School after college ended and I was full set on my path as a photographer.
After I graduated with a degree in Photojournalism, I headed back to Miami where I continued to freelance for the Miami Herald for more than 15 years.
During this time, I was able to learn from some of the best photographers and editors in the business. I grew into a well-rounded photographer capable of making outstanding pictures that not only looked great, but told a story. On any given day, I was going from photographing a protest early in the morning and then a portrait of a Fortune 500 CEO or celebrity in the afternoon.
But as the newspaper industry started to decline, I ventured out on my own into high-end editorial work for some of the magazines I grew up reading. I also began doing commercial and advertising work where I could combine my creative talents with the quick and nimble actions of a photojournalist to produce images that were truly put together rather than just captured. My background particularly came in handy while shooting celebrities where you often have a very limited time with each subject.
Today, you can find me shooting an advertising brochure for University of Miami one day, and then the next day doing a magazine portrait shoot with music artists like Pitbull, lil Wayne, or Flo Rida.
Has it been a smooth road?
What fun would it be if life was a smooth ride?
My friends that work in offices or “regular jobs” always tell me how lucky I am to be my own boss. And yes, there are many great things about it. However, I always remind them that while they answer to just one boss, I answer to hundreds! If they have a bad day at work, it usually is not a big deal. If I have a bad shoot, I lose a client.
Fortunately, I have never lost a client because of a bad shoot.
The biggest obstacle that I have faced over the years is the industry itself. Print publications are hurting. It has been really since the start of my career. It has just gotten worse and worse over the years. In a period of six months, three major publications that I regularly shot for closed operations. And most of the others had their budgets decimated.
Just look at the thickness of your local newspaper or favorite magazine and you will realize how thin it has gotten. The budgets and print holes for images in publication are simply gone.
This forced me go after more commercial and adverting work. But where for many years I was well-known in the editorial photography world and got plenty of work through referrals and word of mouth, when it can to commercial work I had to start from square one. I had to start knocking on doors and cold calling. Once I was able to get my photography in front of the right eyes I would take even the smallest jobs to gain the trust of art directors, creative directors and business owners.
Also during this time, I started a family and had two amazing daughters. Taking every job I could and being a very active and involved father was tiring. Thank G-d for Cuban coffee! At the beginning, it was hard striving for that perfect work/life balance. Waking up in the wee hours of the night to change diapers or give a bottle and then off to an all-day shoot was challenging.
But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. All the bumps in the road help make for an exciting ride and have prepared me to expect and be ready for any bumps to come.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Joshua Prezant Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
Joshua Prezant is a Miami-based Photographer specializing in Portraiture, Documentary, Editorial and Travel, and Photojournalism.
Since 1997 he has documented the sights, sounds and people of South Florida, from local folks like Missy Elliot and Pitbull to people passing through like Lloyd Banks and Jamie Foxx.
Has camera, will travel: I am available for editorial, corporate and advertising work. My work takes me everywhere from Tampa, Orlando and the Florida Keys, to Morocco, Poland, Thailand and countries in the Middle East.
Initially trained as a photojournalist working at the Miami Herald with some of the best photographers and photo editors in the industry, I have mastered “Making Pictures” and not just taking them. I work quickly and efficiently and I make pictures that not only tell a story, but are also visually interesting for the viewer.
Whatever your photo needs are, I am your person. From branding your product for a national advertising campaign to in-depth documentary stories across the globe, I will deliver! I love a photographic challenge and am not afraid to get my hands dirty.
When not shooting for one of my editorial or commercial clients, you can find me spending time with my wife and family…usually sticking a wide-angle lens in one of their faces.
Join University of Miami, Barry University, VH1, Newsweek Magazine, Vibe Magazine, Universal Music ( Def Jam Records), Entertainment Weekly, Canon USA Inc., Spin Magazine, Rolling Stones Magazine, InStyle Magazine, XXL Magazine, TV Guide Magazine, The Source, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquire, US Weekly, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, New York Post, The New York Daily News, The Miami Herald and the Associated Press who have all put their trust in Joshua Prezant.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I hope that in the next 5-10 years publications and companies will find a good way to make money from digital assets in a more robust way. This goes especially for news publications. The public really needs quality newspapers doing important work to keep everyone in check. They can’t do this without big advertising money. I see a continuation of smaller Snapchat and Instagram ad campaigns utilizing smart and funny photography to target very specific audiences. I see a trend of more documentary looking images in the commercial world once everyone gets sick of the Instagram-like filters and heavy Photoshopping on every image.
A few years ago, there was a big push for video. And for sure video and multimedia are great and serve a purpose. However, there will always be something special about that decisive moment that tells a story in a single picture.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joshuaprezant.com
- Phone: 954-394-2020
- Email: Joshua@Joshuaprezant.com
- Instagram: @joshuaprezant
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Joshua-Prezant-Photography-28703932123/
Image Credit:
© Joshua Prezant
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