Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Wong.
Hi Joy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I took a high school photography class and fell in love instantly. I was a high school senior that had been on the creative writing track for years, so it was an unexpected change to my career path. I immediately started taking classes to work towards an arts degree with an emphasis in photography. I started at a community college in Reno, NV where I grew up and then moved to Pasadena to go to Art Center College of Design. I was a recipient of the Wallis Annenberg scholarship and completed my BFA with an emphasis in photography. I interned and then studio managed, where I got a lot more insight on the business and was able to get set experience. After graduating, I freelanced doing retouching, billing, producing jobs, and of course shooting. I am now exclusively shooting and am agency represented.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing worth doing is ever going to be a smooth road, especially when you’re talking about a career path. I started in a small city and moved to LA with no contacts. I started from the ground up. I couldn’t even get one modeling agency to let me shoot with their models. I emailed every single one every month just to get denied or ignored. It’s always the little steps. Then one agency gave me a chance and from there, it was just about the small victories. It was all little by little and I think that was one of my biggest shocks to my system. I come from Reno, NV where the community is small and there aren’t many photographers there. I was praised by the people in my community for my skills and thought it would be the same in LA, but I realized I was very wrong. I had to completely reinvent myself and let go of what I thought I knew. It’s been a long road with a lot of failures, learning, and challenges to get to where I am now. There are still struggles and will always be struggling. That’s part of the territory of any career path and doing something you really love and care about. Without challenges, there is no growth.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a beauty, skincare, and portrait photographer. I’m known for my shooting style. I’m proud of how far I’ve come and my resilience.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Reach out to people who inspire you. Start a dialogue with people on set. Ask questions. Be hardworking, dependable, and show that you are valuable.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.joywongphotography.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/joy.wong
