Featured Photographer - Jared Gant

Jared is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of northern Colorado. He’s been photographing people in one fashion or another nearly his entire life. Jared is a speaker, educator, and brand ambassador for companies such as MagMod, SLR Lounge, and HoldFast, and he manages the Master the Business of Photography community. Outside of photography, Jared is a family man through and through. He and his wife of 13 years have two amazing children, and they spend all their free time together.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY?

For me, photography has always been about celebrating people and who they are in the moment. I first picked up a camera in middle school to photograph my friends hitting the BMX dirt jumps. Their enthusiasm, their fear, their exhilaration, it all got captured in an instant when I pressed the shutter. Back then, we’d have to wait for a camera shop to print the 3x5’s and then I’d take those moments in time and create a massive collage above my bed. Every day, I’d walk into a hundred moments and relive them all. As time went on, my subjects changed from friends and family to clients and community, but the heart of the matter stayed the same: it’s about the people.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?

My style of photography is founded in photojournalism with a deep, creative flair and bold color. I aim to capture moments as they actually happen, as creatively as possible.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN AN IMAGE?

Originality, authenticity, connection, clean execution.

WHAT INSPIRES OR MOTIVATES YOU?

Humanity. Whether it is the humanity that seeps out of the images I capture or the humanity of my community that drives me in my business, it always comes down to people, their love, and their connection.

WHAT CHALLENGES YOU?

Boots-to-the-ground, my biggest challenge is you never know what the weather will do, what the guests will say, what will happen to the décor, who will rip or spill or break something, how late the brother of the bride will be, and so on. This is what makes shooting weddings both challenging and exciting. It’s a constant challenge to try to predict the unpredictable.

Behind the scenes, I am challenged by those I admire. This is what continually pushes me to be better than I am.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT OF A WEDDING?

One of the most beautiful moments I have encountered came as a bride, her father, and our community came together to find a powerful solution to a heartbreaking problem.

The father was himself a photographer previously. He was in the midst of a shoot when his hand suddenly failed to function. He shook it off and finished the day, but soon learned that he suffered from ALS. His health steadily declined just as his daughter’s love for her soon-to-be husband grew. When the time finally came for his daughter’s wedding, he was no longer able to walk. One thing his daughter had looked forward to most was the father-daughter dance. But it wasn’t going to happen for them until perMobil stepped in. The week before the wedding, the father received a call that would change the whole day. perMobil had a wheel chair that could stand him upright. And they were going to lend it to him.

On the big day, the crowd roared as the couple made their grand entrance. Then the roar turned near-silent as the DJ announced the father-daughter dance. Slowly, mechanically, the father raised his seat to standing. Perfectly upright. His daughter gracefully stepped onto the chair with him, and her father whooshed them around the room with the push of a button.

Every, single guest was wiping away tears. I myself may or may not have used my camera to shield my face.
It was simply beautiful.

OF ALL YOUR IMAGES, DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ONE?

That’s a tough one. Like most artists, I’m always striving to improve create something even better. Maybe it seems like an easy-out, but it’s also true: my favorite shot is the one I haven’t captured yet.

ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT JARED?

I’ve motorcycled through all 49 reachable states.

TELL US ABOUT DVLOP

The presets are amazing, but even more amazing are the DVLOP profiles. I shoot with a lot different photographers and being able to have our photos start out at the same starting point, regardless of the camera brand, is such a time saver.