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Growing up my dad was always the photo man, operating his 1970's Fujica ST 605N. He taught me a thing or two about taking photos, but mostly that went in one ear and out the other.
I liked pressing the red button on the flash—it made the light go big. So it wasn't until I was 14 when I took my first job working at my Greek-Italian godfather's Bethesda, Maryland
photography studio that I really started to learn about photography. He taught me quite a lot actually. In high school I was lucky to have an amazing photography teacher in Mr. Foo who
taught me the finer points of the darkroom, and the value of assigned seats "people." It was in his class that the old Fujica became my workhorse. I frequently took "assignments"
with friends when I should have been in English class. I put the darkroom to a lot of good use; I even developed photos there.
Sometimes I miss those early days, exploring the boundaries of photography. And then other days I'm really glad I'm not in high school any more. |
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In 1997 after a referral for a video job from my godfather for a Bar Mitzvah client of his, I founded Foster Video Productions and Foster Photography. I had no idea then that
I had set events in motion that would take me on a most extraordinary adventure. As I learned more about filming, I created innovative ways to produce dynamic screen graphics
for my videos, and elegant brochures. This was the start of my life in design. In 1999 I won the contract to design the website for my godfather's studio. He was the
first client for Foster Design Group.
Over the next three years, Foster Industries, as the companies were collectively known, grew by leaps and bounds. After producing hundreds of hours of video footage and
thousands of photographs, I closed Foster Photography in December 2001. |
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Building on the strength of Foster Photography, I started Justin Schuck Photography as a part-time operation in January of 2002. While working on various other projects over the next
three years, I built my client base. In February 2005 I jumped into the little S.S. Justin Schuck Photography and set sail on the latest adventure. The early days were very rough, but I was
energized to again be working for myself. Through hard work and drive I created a very successful, and internationally-recognized photography company.
In 2008 as the economy was starting to slide, Justin Schuck and Company (the parent company) received a high number of client defaults (valued in the tens-of-thousands of dollars) that
paralyzed operations. This paralysis caused problems in all divisions, especially for Justin Schuck Photography clients and vendors. In October 2009 Justin Schuck Photography photographed its last client.
As I move forward I am excited to focus on the myriad pet projects that remain only partially completed. I am not ruling out working for specific clients in the future under a new rate structure. |
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I have been extremely blessed in my life. My work has taken me all over the world from Washington to London, from New York to Dubai—even Jamaica! I summered in Mykonos and wintered in London
and the Netherlands. I count clients on four continents and I hope to some day visit all seven. I love to travel as a temporary citizen of every country I visit, Rick Steves style.
I've slept on benches backpacking just so I could wake up to sunrise on the Aegean—the sun's rays reaching my face before anyone else. I've gone to bed in Paris as the bakery across the
street was opening. I've shared stories with a Zimbabwean friend and government official, and I have a 96-year-old pen pal Phyllis in London. She's always trying to set me up with a "nice dollybird."
There are so many countries and places I have yet to go, but here are a few that are at the top of my list: Cuba, Haiti, India, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, China, Iraq, Jordan, Russia, Egypt,
Japan and Australia to name a few. |
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In October 2009 I announced that I would not be seeking any new photography clients so that I could devote more energy to my artistic
endeavors including my first book. Take a moment to view selected work. You may also visit
Flickr.com/photos/JustinSchuck to see more.
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