Meet Jaquan Brockman | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaquan Brockman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaquan, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
One thing about photography that most people are probably unaware of is the sheer amount of money, time, and energy that goes into our craft. Outsiders really only see the initial photoshoot and from their POV we’re only pressing a button, when in reality that’s only about 10% of what we do. We have to do the initial client onboarding which involves finding a date that fits both of your availabilities, sending invoices, collecting payments, and booking studio rentals. Then on the actual day of the shoot, we have to fine tune our lighting and exposure before we start to work on composing the shot. Then we also have to be able to pose clients that don’t have any modeling experience. Then we have to deal with the post production side of photography which includes culling the photos from the session which basically means we get rid of all of the unusable and unflattering shots before we send you over a gallery to select the images you want edited. From there we begin to edit and in some cases retouch and the editing/retouching process can take hours per image in a lot of instances, especially whenever you’re doing intensive edits that involve you replacing the background, adding additional elements to further accentuate the image, etc. However, all of the aforementioned tasks are made possible by a plethora of subscription services whether it be for client management, color grading, retouching, stock images for compositing, automated culling, or other creative asset based services. So I personally charge what I charge because I provide my clients with a unique value that is truly worth while because of the amount of time and energy that I put into their edits and make sure they have the best quality images possible!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
So I’m a photographer that specializes in portraits and I’m partial to studio photography, but I found myself enjoying shooting in natural light as of recent. As a portrait photographer, there’s a beauty in it that I honestly can’t find anywhere else, especially when working with predominantly Black clients and models. I also enjoy street photography and aspire to have my work featured in galleries across the globe. I’m most proud of the fact that I had my first solo exhibition a little over just two years into my career as a photographer. I believe that I am where I am professionally today because of God. While I may have put in countless hours of education, shooting, and editing as well as attending multiple networking events, I also believe that there is a purpose for my life designed by someone or something greater than any of us. While getting where I am was not easy, I wouldn’t change a thing. Every hardship, trial, and tribulation that I’ve been through has made me a better photographer and a better creative. One of my biggest challenges was and still is not being able to use my 24-70mm lens and being forced to resort to my prime 50mm lens. I shoot on a crop sensor camera, so a 50mm translates roughly to an 85mm which is actually ideal for portraits, but whenever I want something wider for things like street photography or urban portrait photography, I have to physically move my position rather than being able to quickly change the focal length. I plan on taking my lens to the shop soon, but this nonetheless has taught me how to work with what I have and make the best of it. Everything that I’ve been through as a photographer made me who I am today and I believe that the trajectory of my life has changed the moment I picked up my camera for the first time. I honestly can’t wait to see where life takes me!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Hmmm I’ll definitely take them to Oakland for the first day. I like to describe it as like a second downtown because of all the businesses, restaurants, schools, colleges, and accessible public transit. There’s a plethora of museums to pick from, but I’d probably start at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. After a day there, we’d walk down to Rita’s for some ice cream before stopping by Primanti Brothers then heading downtown to get on the Duquesne Incline which will take us up to the Mount Washington Overlook which has the most beautiful view of the city and definitely the second best place in the city to watch the sunset. The first is down at the Point where there’s this beautiful water fountain and it’s next to our city’s three rivers which is honestly a beautiful place to just chill, talk, and enjoy the night sky and breeze. I’d also take the through some spots on the South Side, in particular East Carson St because there are a lot of bars, restaurants, and small businesses. East Liberty, Shadyside, and Lawrenceville are also nice because there’s a lot of small businesses with a plethora of different cultures to enjoy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, I would like to shoutout my friend Josiah. He has been one of my biggest supporters since day one of my photography journey, has introduced me to my current partners early in my creative career, and modeled for me for one of my first ever photoshoots. Secondly, I would like to shoutout PGEnt, an organization based in Pittsburgh. I was introduced to them by Josiah and they introduced me to studio photography early into my photography career and has given me a plethora of opportunities to build my portfolio. They also given me the opportunity to have my first solo exhibition this past Juneteenth as well as provided me with the shots from our previous Juneteenth project in 2021 that would be featured in my first feature in an exhibition curated by the incredibly dope and talented Ariette Bahta. Thirdly, I would like to should put the aforementioned Ariette. I was connected to her through a mutual Facebook friend when she was in search of a photographer to be featured in her “Invaluable” exhibition back in January of this year. Since that exhibit, we’ve collaborated on my Hiphop in America project with her creating and installing the bald cap for my 2Pac model as well as us collaborating on an African heritage concept for this year’s Juneteenth project. We’re also in the talks of collaborating on a Halloween project with her being the lead SFX artist for it. Finally, I would like to thank Youth Enrichment Services for providing me with the opportunity to truly expand my knowledge of my camera and how to make my gear work in certain environments. They have also provided me with the opportunity to do my first photoshoot not too long after I purchased my camera. Finally, they have recently given me the opportunity to travel to Washington DC and capture candid photos of the Pennsylvanian Congressman, Bob Casey, inside the Capitol Building, making this the second elected official that I have photos of in my portfolio.

Website: jaquanbrockmanphotography.com

Instagram: ja.brock_