Conversations with Casey JO Miller

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey JO Miller.

Hi Casey JO, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My arts education started in 9th grade at Cincinnati’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). I started as a double major in Vocal Music and Visual Arts, by the time I graduated I specialized in photography. At that time most of my creative projects were created in the dark room. Endless rolls of 35mm film developed of all kinds of subjects while applying the same art fundamentals learned in the painting classes.

After high school my father passed away. I spent a few years doing odd jobs here and there. Not really motivated to be creative. My father was the one who thought I should go to the arts high school. He was the one that bought me film, would take me to school on weekends to work in the darkroom. So for a time I drifted away from my artistic passions. It wasn’t until a wake up call from my older sister that I deciding to reconnect with my passion for photography.

I moved to Chicago and began studying commercial photography. A little money left to me from my dad bought me my first DSLR camera. The basics were mostly the same as my film camera but now included the outside influence of studio lighting. The normal daylight exposure calculations I was used to making now had to be altered to allow for man made strobe lights that behaved very differently from the sun. I quickly got swept up in the culture of Chicago’s photography scene.

Living in the city was always thrilling, Chicago has such a beautiful way of incorporating public art into daily life, from statues and parks to street performers and festivals. Each art medium seemed to have its community and I felt at home with the photographers. None of us were overly successful by any means, in fact that may have been what brought us together. There was this sense of pride from working in our creative fields. Even if the gigs weren’t always what we wanted or we had to scrape by at times, there was still that drive and passion. I would go to a bar and talk with the fashion photographer who just worked a photobooth but because of it can now hire a designer for a personal project. Or a wedding photographer who finally found a videographer to help with a gig they’re doing. For me it was any gig I could get my hands on. I cold emailed every photographer and company I could to try and get work. This lead to second shooting weddings, business portraits, event photography, food photography, and even a few celebrity projects like RuPaul and Oprah.

Unfortunately the starving artist lifestyle proved unsustainable for lots in my community. As friends started getting married and starting families the get togethers got smaller and smaller. Suddenly I found myself home alone most nights. With that I decided to make the move back to Cincinnati. I packed up my camera and the rest of my apartment into a truck, stopped for one last lunch with Lake Michigan, and drove home.

Suddenly I was back in Cincinnati and had none of the contacts I had created over my years in Chicago. Luckily the company I did food photography with was nation wide so I was able to continue doing that, but I still didn’t have a community. I moved in with my brother and a good friend from High School. She was a dancer back at SCPA and was dancing with a local company. She was the one who got me started on the path of dance. The studio needed a photographer for a calendar project they were doing and they liked my work so I was hired. The photo shoot was electric! We traveled to Hocking Hills with 20 or so dancers and did photos everywhere. The most I had done at this point were portraits, or event photography, most of my portfolio was from the shoulder up. Suddenly the whole body could be a shape, a feeling, an dynamic presence. I could direct for locations, for where the best light was, but when it came to posing I relied on the dancers. It was like its own language, terms like plié and arabesque were completely foreign to me. The studio was thrilled with how the photos turned out and I learned so much and became inspired.

Soon after I signed up for a dance class at a local place called DanceFix. I wanted to learn more. I wanted to know first hand what dancers did so I could do more photo projects with an understanding of what was considered good dance technique. What I didn’t expect was that I would fall in love with it.

The next few years of my life became a dancing flurry. I was hooked. The feeling if nailing a move you’ve been working on. The strength that builds making walking through daily life easier. And the community. I like for the sweaty hugs and high fives after an intense class. And my photography got better too. I started photographing dance studios, dance competitions, performances, even doing little personal creative projects like throwing paint around the studio. Dance also opened doors to things I wasn’t expecting. I started doing dance gigs, performances, this lead to new styles, new mediums, all kinds of new passions.

In the beginning, if someone asked who I was, I would say a photographer. These days when I get that question I laugh and say I spend time on both sides of the camera. I’m a photographer, a dancer, a lift coach, a synchronized swimmer, a social media content creator, a craft artist, and the list goes on.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t know anyone with a smooth road. Feels like bumps are apart of life.

My fathers passing was a big one. I spent lots of time mourning, this took all kinds of forms, mainly leading to abusing alcohol. Those years are a bit of a haze. I wasn’t in therapy then so burying feelings was my answer to everything. It wasn’t until a visit from my older sister who saw how I was living that I made a change. She was blunt about how I wasn’t doing anything with my life and, although I didn’t like it at the time, I realize now it was some hard truth I needed to hear.

Other challenges come from the evolution of the industry itself. Digital replaced film and smartphones replaced DSLRs. Not quite to the same extent, but you see it all over the place. I was in Chicago when the Sun-Times laid off all their photojournalists, even a Pulitzer Prize winner. The industry that used to have in-house photographers and editors is no more. At best we’re talking a catalog photography job with a place with lots of inventory but even then they don’t need an experienced photographer for that, it’s the same photo every time. Rinse and repeat. My clients used to be companies but I have since moved to individual customers. A nice photo is no longer something hard to come by, so I focus more on providing an experience. My creativity and knowledge of dance make working with me something you can’t get from taking a selfie on your phone or your friend who just bought a nice camera.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known for my creativity and most of my work revolves around dance. I like to joke that I spend time on both sides of the camera. I’m either the media team; taking photos, video, content creation, or I’m a performer; dancing, acro, syncro. Sometimes its both, which gets tricky.

It’s my experience on both sides that sets me apart. As a photographer who dances, I know how to direct clients into beautiful poses that achieve the type of emotions or effect we want. And as a dancer who is also a photographer, I understand how light wraps around my body, I know what poses look distorted or enhanced based on the lens and camera position.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Play. It’s what makes this life fun. Too many adults lose what it is to be silly, or have moments of levity, or they care too much about being seen in some specific way. Art is freedom. Dance is freedom. I once heard that when you get comfortable with being uncomfortable the world opens up for you. Dance especially makes you great at that. Ever tried doing a dance style you’ve never done? I don’t care if you’re a principal dancer at the ballet, taking on an unfamiliar style makes us all look like we have two left feet. And thats so fun! Laughing and making mistakes as you learn, its the best!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://CaseyMillerPhoto.com
• Instagram: @StrangelyCasey
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/CMillerPhoto
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/caseymillerphoto/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@StrangelyCasey