Rising Stars: Meet Joe Colón of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Colón.

Hi Joe, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I developed an interest in photography at a very young age. I remember always being fascinated looking at the pictures my father documented and took while serving in Vietnam as a Marine. I bought my first camera with my own money at the age of 16. Once I had my own kids it was just natural to always want to take pictures of them. I bought my first DSLR with a 70-200 lens when my son was playing sports and became obsessed with learning how to become better at capturing sporting events. I reached out to a local newspaper editor and received my first working stringer job about 20 years ago. From there I started to develop an interest in portrait work. An athlete I used to work with asked me to do her senior pictures, 10 years later I did her wedding.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Developing my brand has been a long journey. Learning the business on how to understand your worth and what to charge is something that was so new. There is time early I was doing a lot of promo work so I could build a portfolio. Trying to build a name so people would want to hire me takes time. You learn to deal with people that do not value your worth, time, and want things for free. Here I am with to say I have stood the test of time and have done over 600 senior shoots. I have done over a 100 weddings and 20 years working for local newspapers covering high school sports all over Lorain County.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in wedding, senior, and sports photography. I think what helps me stay strong in the business is I love natural light but I also love big strobes so I can control my light anytime of the day. I am very proud of the business I have built and I am proud to know I have helped others a long the way in their journey of building their own photography business.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I love collaborating with other local photographers and models because it is just so fun to be with people who have the same passion in the arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eyesofjoephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eoj_photography/#
• Other: https://eyesofjoe.smugmug.com