Life & Work with John McSweeney of Genesee

Today we’d like to introduce you to John McSweeney.

Hi John, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a passionate photographer. I focus on Nature Fashion and Music photography. I started doing nature photography many years ago then got involved with the music scene in Asbury Park NJ. Music and performance photography. It is challenging due to the erratic lighting and motion on stage. The goal is to capture the energy and emotion of the performers as well as the crowd. I do everything from Punk pop country Indie and funk.
I was photographing some dancers one evening and one of the ladies said she was a model. She asked if I wanted to photograph her runway show. This led me into the fascinating world of fashion photography. I have done countless studio and runway fashion shoots as well as outdoor nature shoots. Most people do not realize is that fashion photography is a lot about body positivity. There is beauty everywhere. Today my photographic worlds have blended. I do band nature shoots all over from frozen waterfalls to the desert. It is truly about capturing the essence of who that person is as they fulfill their dreams.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is not always a smooth road. There are creative droughts when I can not see anything. There are magazine rejections. Times when you can not match the vision the person you are photographing. Those times are fortunately rare. I always tell them I can make you look how ever you want to look. Sweet romantic crazy punk powerful etc. but I want to also show you what I see in you. It is often something you can not see or you block due to insecurity. The creative drought are the roughest then one day you wake up and you can see everything. The lighting speaks to you.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a retired pharmacist. I am an immunizer and was a former Regional pharmacy manger overseeing 38 stores. I worked with managers technicians and staff and most importantly patients. People trust you as a pharmacist. They let you into their life. It was an honor to use my skills to help them with their physical and emotional challenges. It gave me a deep understanding of what it means to be a human. This led naturally into my photography career.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Now that’s a question! With cell phones everyone is a photographer which is good. I always ask beginning photographer who are unsure of your skills the same question. Does the picture make you happy? Does it capture what you saw in your “minds” eye?

The next big thing is AI. My thought is that AI can do many fantastic things. But. There is still nothing like a photographer and his/her subject when they connect and develop a rapport. I would challenge any computer to capture the tears in the eyes of a young couple when they hold their baby for the first time. True photography will never die because it is much more than simply pushing a button or creating an image.

Pricing:

• My pricing is affordable
• i do band shots,live performance
• Senior shots
• Fashion shoots
• Sweet 16

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @johnmcsweeney
• Facebook: @johnmcsweeneyphotography

Image Credits
All images were taken by myself John McSweeney