SPOTLIGHT: James Johnston, Gittings Global, Connecticut

Inspired by beauty, James Johnston ensures his life is colorful and ever-evolving – whether that means moving across the USA to be with his lovely fiancée, changing his career path from web design to portrait photography, or erasing the boundaries between still photographs and video. Learn more about James in the following Q&A.

Q: Where are you based?
A: I am originally from Louisiana. In 2018, I moved to Rhode Island to be with my beautiful photographer fiancé, and we moved to Connecticut during the pandemic.

Q: How many years have you been a photographer?
A: I started learning photography in 2000. Through PPA and many photography conventions and image competitions, I have become a Certified Professional Photographer, hold a Photographic Craftsman degree, and am pursuing my master’s degree.

Q: What do you like most about being a photographer?
A: I mostly enjoy photographing high school seniors and business headshots. I love to teach photography also. Many times, I will attend a class or seminar and go into helping others.

Q: Who inspires you?
A: My dad, who was a photographer. I quit my full-time job to learn photography from him while running my computer and web design company (not the best way to do it). I remember my dad trying to explain the Trifecta of Exposure (ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed) and me going “what?” Now it all makes sense.

Q: When you are not creating portraits for work, what kind of photography do you enjoy?
A: I like to play with the camera. I will sometimes put it on a tripod and take pics of myself with multiple exposures in the same photo without photoshop. I also like to create cinemagraphs.