Meet Jason Cantrell | Photographer

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

Hi Jason, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I keep in mind that every day I need to be better than I was yesterday. Photography is an art, like most, that is impossible to master and sometimes hard to distinguish oneself in. Developing your ‘look’ without forcing something not natural to yourself takes decades and it should never cease to evolve.

Most of my clients have taken major risks involving tremendous investments and they’ve poured their hearts into their properties. The fact that they’ve entrusted me to present their dream to the world with the hope of standing our in an extremely saturated market doesn’t weigh lightly on me. I take my job very seriously and I give it my all, every day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I started in photography I was shooting the cliche bokeh pseudo-fine art garbage most of us start with. While that stuff is great for developing a small part of your skill set, it wasn’t helping me to build a brand or gain clients. Opening myself to critiques and acting on those pointers really set me on my initial path.

A friend, Justin Lago, told me my photography was missing one thing – people. As soon as I started working with families, high school seniors, weddings, and more I noticed a new excitement in myself. The emotions I captured were repeated tenfold during the photo reveal sessions. Creating something that meant the world to someone else and fed my inner hunger for art was exactly what I needed.

I spent years photographing life events, headshots, products, and anything I could get in front of my camera.

Like many others, the mental taxation of the COVID pandemic played hell on my mental health. I had a 1 year old daughter at home, a mortgage, and was holding down a corporate career I hated. The company I was working for was clueless with regard to personal safety and I was traveling the country again within a few months of the start of the pandemic. Being confined to hotel rooms, drive thru/delivery meals, and traveling thousands of miles one-way to work by car wreaked havoc on a social anxiety that I had never experienced prior.

Through a series of devastating events and irresponsible leadership at the corporate gig, I made the best decision of my life… to live for myself and my daughter again. I found myself shooting more interiors and architecture than anything else and I focused on learning everything I could about it. I love the feeling of being alone, inside someone’s beautiful dream atop a mountain, at an oceanside cottage, or in a penthouse suite. This feeds the urbex/abandoned obsession that has been at the forefront of my mind for so many years.

Today my goals are clear. I try to express them in every shared image. I want to expose the uncommon beauty of any space. I will give every ounce of knowledge and creativity to those who trust me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
VORTEX!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Road Trip Rentals, Mountain Laurel Chalets, The Short Term Shop, Mountain Comfort Cabin Rentals, Avada Properties, Mountain Comfort Cabin Rentals, West High School in Knoxville, TN, Compass Properties and Getaway and Stay, Knoxville Focus, and VIP Knoxville Magazine.

Website: www.cadencecaptures.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasoncantrellphotographer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasoncantrellphoto/