Justin Tosch
Well, how did I get here..
I was supposed to be an engineer. I always told myself that I wanted to design rollercoasters. I actually went to college for mechanical engineering, but for a myriad of reasons I ended up doing photography. I actually loved photography my whole life, and started taking pictures when I was under 10 years old. A lot of my pictures got lost, either in a flood that ruined a lot of our belongings, or somehow got thrown away. I only have a few stragglers of film photos left from my childhood.
I took classes in high school for photography, and continued it as a passion of mine on the side all throughout my early adulthood. I never really put the time in to make myself great, it was just a fun hobby for me. I started a side business in 2019 selling some products that were very specialized parts for a rare car, and that’s what landed me here today. In my first 6 months, I made $5,000 extra. Since it was extra (stupidly) I went out and treated myself to a brand new Sony camera and lens that ended up costing about $4,100 of my just acquired money from my business. I justified it as just a present to myself, and quickly I would learn that I could make money as a full time photographer. Up to this point, I had done some portraits and photoshoots but only for friends and family. But I wanted more, so I started learning. I learned really quickly that I was actually kind of bad at composition, which was sort of depressing but also motivating to become great. I did family photography, and it morphed into weddings – which I then realized that I didn’t like doing those types of photography very much. I stumbled upon some really great headshots one day and thought I’d give it a go.
I was hooked. So much so, that I did a deep dive and ended up hiring mentors to teach me how to be great. Months passed, and I started to really stand out among other photographers. Of course, I get better every day – but I don’t have the exponential growth like I did when I was starting out. Now, I’m extremely confident in my abilities to take a great headshot – and it feels awesome. I love creating images people never thought were possible. Creating images that genuinely wow people. You know you’ve made it when the images you take are so good, the person cries. That’s what it’s all about for me.
Why did I give up my career in engineering? Well, I decided that I hated having a boss. I have always been more of a leader than a follower, and it was sitting in the back of my head that if I couldn’t be in charge, I didn’t want to do it. So, here I am – following my passion for photography and being my own boss, too.
If you come to me for your portraits and headshots, you won’t be disappointed.