Meet Justin Le

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Le.

Justin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, I am an Asian American from the Bay Area, and my love for automotive is what help push me to start doing photography. Growing up in the bay, there was a big scene in the automotive community and back then, every week at the quickly’s parking lot there would be car meet where all these modified cars came out to show off what has been put on their vehicles. I would see so many nice cars around but I would also see other people with cameras out and taking pictures of all these cars that came out to the meet. At the time, I was in high school and only really cared about the modified cars so I never paid attention to the photographer. It wasn’t until I got out of high school when I got more interested into photography.

The group I was hanging out with at the time brought me along to a lot of their scenic drive and we would usually have a person with a camera with them. So I would see how the photos turn out before after because we would go to the house after and they would edit the pictures. Sitting there while I watching them do their magic, I was amazed on how everything was developed. Which pushed me more and more to get a camera even faster. I was so lucky enough that about two years ago, my friend decided to sell his Canon 6d with a couple of lenses that I could not pass up this so I bought it. Well, it took some time for me to get the hang of things but after sticking it out, I was able to get through it. I am grateful for the support of the opportunities that have come along the way.

Has it been a smooth road?
All roads have their obstacles, and I’ve run into some along the way. After high school, I decided to not go to college or community college, I went out to find a job to help my family with bills. I moved around retail jobs through the years until I decided that I wanted to do something in hospitality, so one of my friends were able to get me a job at a hotel. Once I got my foot into the door of the hospitality industry, it took about a couple of years to realize that I did not want to do this for a living, everyday I came home wishing I could just quit. It was hard to leave because I worked my way up to being an assistant manager of a hotel so the money was pretty decent but luckily, I had stress reliever. I would just get in my car and just hit up some friends to just go for a drive so it would help me get my mind off of the thing and on those drives, we would always have someone who had a camera.

I was lucky that most of my friends had cameras because I still wanted to own one so bad but don’t have the money for and they would let me use theirs to mess around with. I would say about almost three years after getting out of high school, one of my close friends Billy, decided he wanted to move over to the mirrorless side so he was selling his canon 6d with three lenses for a decent price. What sucked was that at the time, I did not have enough money saved up so I asked him if he wouldn’t mind if paid him in payments and it took him a little to decide, but he ended up agreeing to the deal.

The day finally comes where I will be picking up the camera I was so excited I wanted to go take pictures with it right away but sadly, I had to be an adult and go to work right after so I wasn’t able to. Because work was always intervening making me do open and close shifts that during my breaks/lunches, I would start watching youtube videos to teach myself canon because the friends I drive with had Sony or Nikon not a Canon. Luckily it did not take long for me to learn. When I felt like I was ready to start doing photoshoots I asked my automotive friends how I should start and they said why not practice on theirs until I feel confident. So that was exactly what I did almost everywhere we drove to. I always had my camera right next to me so I could practice. With persistence and the help from friends and family helped me get to where I am right now.

What else should our readers know?
I am a photographer and I mostly do automotive photography but I have been venturing into portrait as well.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, I love LA because there are many different areas in the city that you will never get bored of.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 4086807878
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_lephotos/

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.