Meet John-Paul Wolf | Portrait Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with John-Paul Wolf and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John-Paul, what makes you happy? Why?
Today it is so easy to take a picture of someone you love or even yourself. Nearly everyone has a camera on them at all times. This means that we produce millions of snapshots a day and like most things that are routine as soon as we snap them we forget about them. Portraiture is different because it is not the mindless tapping the screen to take a picture but the intentional making of art with the people center stage. When I present my clients with their final portraits and Mom starts crying or the client exclaims that they have never seen a printed portrait of themselves (usually they just see pictures on their phones) and that they are beautiful and confident – that makes me happy. I am happy because I know in that moment that I have made a piece of art that this person will cherish. It will be looked at everyday. Someday it will be passed on to other family and in that way I am apart of that persons experience. I love that!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
There are tons of photographers out there so it is a very competitive field. You might think that to set yourself apart you just need to be the best photographer or the cheapest photographer. I have learned that what really matters the most (after great pictures) is the experience the client has with me. I make sure to meet every client prior to photographing them. I realized that lots of folks don’t know what to wear so I provide wardrobe resources and feedback. Not everyone knows how to do hair and make-up. So I work with hair and make-up artists. But probably most importantly, I set myself apart by helping my clients find the best ways to enjoy their images with professionally printed physical art. Now that people always see digital images they can’t imagine other ways of enjoying their art. I don’t just stick my clients with a few hundred images and call it a day. I take the extra step of making sure they get an album or image box. I make sure that Grandma gets a framed fine art print – I mean, really, what is grandma going to do with a jpeg?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In truth, I am a super home body. I love my home and backyard so that is where we would start. However, if I absolutely had to get out of the house. I would head to Duke’s Bar and Grill for Happy Hour and Karaoke. For Dinner I would go to the either the Salted Pig or Prohabition. I like the vibe in both places and the food is always great. Hopefully, we can see a show at either the Fox or the California Theater of the Arts (I am a sucker for live shows). At some point we are hiking Mt. Roubideaux then getting the best sandwiches from the Substation.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I first discovered a love of photography in the late-1990’s while I was in high school but it didn’t take root as a career or business opportunity until many years later. For many years I was a serious hobbyist. I took 20,000 pictures of my first child. I donated time to local Mom’s groups for Family Picture fundraisers and would take grad and senior pictures of students I knew and even did some weddings. I wanted to make the leap from hobbyist to professional but I had no idea how to make that happen. A friend told me about Inland Empire Professional Photographers and Videographers (IEPPV) and that they were having an open house. I went to that open house and found my photographic home. The current President Troy Miller took time to help me with so many aspects of starting and maintaining a photography business (pricing, taxes, marketing, business structure, etc.) and the group as a whole offered a ton of learning opportunities to give me the experience and confidence to make the leap and create my studio. IEPPV is an awesome group and you can learn more at www.ieppv.com

Website: www.johnpaulwolfphotography.com

Instagram: johnpaulwolf_photography