Interview with NYC photographer Jon Taylor

I'm thrilled to premiere our interview with Jon Taylor, a renowned headshot and dance photographer in New York City, and a retired fashion photographer. His journey into photography has been anything but conventional, making for a fascinating discussion about passion, adaptation, and success.

Jon's photographic path began seriously in high school, where he learned the ropes in darkroom and yearbook. A pivotal moment came when he was given the school's only digital camera and tasked with learning and then teaching others how to use it. This experience showed him photography could be a "real thing." An early break came right out of high school when he secured his first newspaper gig photographing President Bush, thanks to befriending a sheriff. He then honed his skills shooting weddings, senior portraits, and families before dabbling in fashion, an unusual pursuit in his Virginia suburbs.

In 2014, Jon moved to New York to explore the fashion world further, working at agencies and shooting tests. However, he soon realized he wasn't finding his voice or fitting into the fashion crowd. A recurring theme emerged: every model he truly "vibed with" had a connection to dance. This consistent pull led him to make the switch to working with dancers, musical theater performers, and Broadway hopefuls. His background in fashion significantly influences his dance images, giving them an editorial storytelling quality that sets his work apart.

A surprising turning point in Jon's career was the COVID-19 pandemic. While the industry was decimated, it inadvertently opened many doors for him. Artists, suddenly with forced downtime, invested in themselves and their careers, leading to a surge in demand for new headshots and branding photos. 2020 became his best year financially, a fact he acknowledges with a sense of "survivor's guilt" given the broader industry's struggles. This period created a tighter, supportive "micro-economy" within the performing arts community.

Jon attributes his continued sharpness and learning to collaborating and hanging out with other photographers, noting it's how he learned photography in the first place. His primary inspiration is his peers, rather than historical "greats."

When asked about his creative process, Jon reveals he often likes to "wing it" on shoots, allowing for spontaneous and authentic moments, though sometimes a mood board or direction can be beneficial. He emphasizes the importance of trust between photographer and dancer. For dancers, his advice is to find a photographer you trust and openly communicate your strengths and weaknesses. For photographers, it’s crucial to educate yourself on dance technique to some degree, but also to set your ego aside and trust the dancer, as they know their body and lines far better. Every shoot, he stresses, is a 50/50 collaboration.

Jon's career philosophy is deeply rooted in its nonlinear nature. He believes in saying yes, staying available, and keeping an open mind, describing himself as a "tumbleweed" that benefits from trying new things and discovering unexpected passions. A recent career high point was being contacted by a close friend of Anne Hathaway to do photos, highlighting the power of word-of-mouth marketing and the importance of trust, which he sees as his biggest aspiration.

After 12 years of shooting out of various homes, Jon recently secured his own studio space in Long Island City. This decision was inspired by a friend who made the jump, reinforcing his belief in the influence of his peers. While dealing with burnout (he overloaded himself with work in Paris attempting to escape burnout at home), he shared that for him, photography is often less about the images themselves and more about human connection and learning people's journeys.

Finally, Jon confessed that curating his work is the hardest part of his job, with updates to his website photos occurring infrequently and Instagram posts taking a month to finalize due to overanalysis. He notes that Instagram has become a "pseudo de facto website" for many, as clients often make decisions based on his tagged photos there before even visiting his official site.

Dive deeper into Jon's inspiring story and insights by watching the full interview!