LOVEe

Celebrating 18 Years of Business!

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Today marks 18 years of business. Wow. What started as a little dream of being a photographer and working for myself, has turned into four separate but connected businesses. It has also required me to show up – every day – for 18 years; it has taught me tenacity, resilience, and just how believing in yourself (and more importantly, those around you) can lead to creating such beautiful things. 

I’ve always been an advocate of collaboration and building the businesses over the years has happened very organically because of it. I’ve been so lucky to have such talented artists come through our studio doors and be a part of the work. I’ve been even luckier to have retained such incredible talent for so many of these years. The work that we create together is what I am endlessly proud of.

So, where are we now? At Year 18, here’s an update on all of the things we’re doing at our NE MPLS studio:

The Restaurant Project™: This is the youngest but fastest growing branch of our business. Over the last 6 years, TRP has grown into a collective of photographers, creatives, videographers, brand builders and content strategists who make marketing easier for restaurants and food brands. This year, we're working to refine our processes, make space for artistic exploration and develop a few new packages to offer, particularly for businesses in the startup stage looking for a one-stop creative shop. We're very excited for what's to come here—for our clients and our team!

Rivets and Roses: Our wedding photography studio currently features the work of four AMAZING photographers. As Melissa, Jess, Ben, and Tara embark on this year’s wedding season, I am so excited to see the work that they will all create for our clients. Every season I am endlessly inspired by their work! Our mission at Rivets is to support all couples getting married. With PRIDE month coming up in June, our studio will be rolling out information on the ways that we are continuing to support the LGBTQ+ community. I am so very proud of this work and the impact it is making for our clients.

Eliesa Johnson Photography: I’m still rolling along with this work! Eliesa Johnson Photography encompasses all of the editorial and commercial work that I personally lead. It’s a beautiful place where I get to go on assignment with just me and my camera or even better, a large production crew of the best freelancers around. There are some very exciting projects I’ve been working on that I can’t wait to share once they are released! 

Photogen Inc.: This is the original company; the foundation of it all. It has been steady and strong over the years. Photogen Inc. is the space where I come to photograph luxury weddings, which have taken me around the world. I am so grateful for these opportunities! Photographing weddings is still something that I greatly enjoy and it grounds me. I have had the pleasure of working alongside some of the absolute best wedding vendors, who are true artists in their own right! While I only choose a select few weddings each year now to photograph, I am always excited to see where each season will take me and the amazing couples and families I get to spend time with! 

What are my hopes for the future? 

To empower our clients

To support our artists

To create iconic images

To continue to have longevity in our industry

2018 PDN TASTE AWARDS | THREE TIME WINNER!

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We’ve got some very exciting news that we’ve been waiting to share! The results of the 2018 PDN Magazine Taste Awards have been released, and together, with myself and The Restaurant Project, we won not one, not two, but THREE awards this year! Of the five categories, we swept three of them, including: Editorial, Commercial, and Personal Work.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Taste Awards, they are sponsored by PDN Magazine, which is an industry standard in the photography world. The photography industry is a pretty nerdy group of people and we don’t have ‘Grammy’ or ‘Oscar’ awards. What we do have is the Taste Awards. This is a global competition and awards given to a select few photographers around the world. The panel of judges are professional Photo Editors, Designers, Photographers, and Art Directors from publications such as Cherry Bombe and Food & Wine Magazine.

We have had the honor of winning awards in the Commercial and Editorial categories for the last two years. However, to sweep three of the five categories this year is simply overwhelming. We’re so proud of the work we create on a daily basis for our clients and it’s a true honor to be among the best food photographers in the world!

Below are some of the winning images!

LOVEe

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Year Twelve

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“I’m hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. That’s what this world is about. You look at someone like Gandhi, and he glowed. Martin Luther King glowed. Muhammad Ali glowed. I think that’s from being bright all the time, and trying to be brighter.”
— Jay Z

September marked my twelfth year of business and in many ways I feel like all of our companies are hitting their strides. It's been a great year. I also will always refer to my brands as 'ours', because my team and our clients have everything to do with our success. It's not just mine - it is all of ours. 

I was lucky enough to be photographed by Nate Ryan a few weeks ago and I was reflecting a bit on who I am now and where I strive to be. Nate's work is some of the best and he's also a person who has just about as many shoots as I do per week. His hustle is real and it has been exciting to watch his work grow over the years. He's refining it, he's perfecting it and he's making it happen - and it's so good. That consistency and discipline is key to being an artist and a freelancer. Back to my point - it has been a while since I updated my pictures and I wanted to be able to look back at these and remember who I was during this time. I didn't want them to be a quick Instagram photo - I wanted an official portrait. I wanted something strong and powerful, with a true sense of self, because that is what I feel at year twelve.  

Photo by Nate Ryan

Photo by Nate Ryan

In many ways I still think of myself as a girl with her camera. But I am also a woman who is 5 brands strong, who works with the best team of dedicated people, who can look around the city and celebrate the success of other artists who have passed through our studio doors and ultimately work to create progressive and consistently strong work for their clients. 

Right there, that word create is the magic I am talking about. It's my goal to make a well established body of work that is iconic. It means gathering inspiration from the world, but not directly copying work that has already been done. It means pushing the boundaries and being brave enough to believe in our ideas. It means collaborating with the best and always learning from my team. It means listening. It means doing what I believe in and also not giving a fuck about the bullshit. 

A friend recently borrowed me a book about a photographer named Edward Curtis. He became popular in the 1900's for his work documenting American Indians. While reading the pages, there is so much I can relate to, but this is one of my favorite lines:

“I want to make them (American Indians) live forever. It’s such a big dream I can’t see it all.”
— Edward Curtis

Looking to the future of what is next in life and businesses, there is so much more to come. I can't wait to see what that holds. 

LOVEe

ELIESA JOHNSON // New Brand Identity!

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Brand identity work by Dschwen

I am super excited to share the new identities of all of our companies! This is our eleventh year of business and as our work and businesses grow and become more refined, so do our brands. Last year, we took on the big project of updating all of our websites and this year brought along the next phase of that project, which was to unify all of the brands. We worked with the brilliant mind of David Schwen of Dschwen to bring this all together and I am SO happy with how it turned out! Each company still has it's own individual presence, while still feeling cohesive with all we do here in the studio. 

The new logo for ELIESA JOHNSON was inspired by how I sign my prints. The old logo was my full signature, but how I really sign my work is simply with an 'e'. I love the simplicity of the logo and can't wait to roll our more design elements and portfolio books with this! You'll also notice that we have new fonts, which are easier to read on the site! 

You can check out all of our other brands at the sites below:

eliesaconsults.com

photogen-inc.com

rivetsandroses.com

From Winter to Spring // Test Shoot!

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I am SUPER excited to share these images from my latest test shoot with you! We are in this weird limbo phase in Minneapolis right now, where winter has not yet come to and end and spring has almost begun! I wanted to somehow convey that feeling - and if you live in Minnesota, you know what that feeling is - where you are just dying for things to change and brighten up! I wanted these images to be light and bright, pale, yet with some neutral color being introduced as the images went on. I wanted them to be soft, yet with a little bit of tension. I couldn't be more pleased with the way these turned out and I am super pumped to use them in my portfolio!

As always, I could not pull these shoots off, without an amazing team behind me!

CREDITS //

Photography: Eliesa Johnson

Hair & Makeup: Fatima Olive

Styling: Diana Colangelo

Talent: Gemma & Melissa, Ignite Models

Post Production: Liz Hardt

 

Free People Lace Dress // $98 // Nordstrom,  Scarf  // $28 // Urban Outfitters

BCBG Sheer Sleeve Dress // $78 // Bloomingdales,  Crochet Shawl // $39 // Urban Outfitters

Haute Blouse // $225 // Nordstrom,  Underwear // $16 // Urban Outfitters

Chiffon Maxi Skirt // $54 // Lace Bra // $16 // Urban Outfitters,  BCBGeneration Cutout Top // $88 // Bloomingdales

French Connection Crochet Dress // $288 // Bloomingdales,  French Connection Glitter Dress // $168 // Bloomingdales

 

 

Women as Photographer: Documenting Life as a Woman // Exhibition!!!

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So, I have some super sweet news! I'm super happy to announce that one of my photographs will be a part of an amazing exhibition, called Women as Photographer, here in Minneapolis! The show is all about women photographers, documenting women! This was an International call, so photographers from all over the world were able to submit! I'm excited to be one of the women chosen - we are from 14 countries and 25 US States, which, I personally think is super cool!

The image of mine that was chosen is very near and dear to my heart! I took the photograph with my Holga camera, in Bend, Oregon, during my annual 'girls trip' with my Marfa Ladies. All of these women are absolutely incredible and our trips are meant to be a true relaxing adventure for us all! Our group of ladies are from all around the country, so these trips are one of the only times during the year that we really get to hang out with each other in person! I absolutely love this image, because it was late at night and we were ALL piled up on a bed, just talking about nothing. It was a moment when we truly all let our hair down. It was warm and cozy and everything you imagine when you think of a slumber party - complete with the girl talk! All of us women who go on these trips are strong, successful, inspiring, amazing individuals, so they fact that THIS image got chosen for this exhibition means quite a bit!

The show will be up March 11th - April 17th at the Minneapolis Photo Center, make sure to stop by and check it out!

The organization has also published a book of all the work in the exhibition (which I have previewed and it is AWESOME!)! This exhibit book is a 9”x9”, 123 page bound book, skillfully printed on 100 lb Chorus Art Silk paper, with each photographer featured on their own page, and retail for $39.95. If you would like to purchase a book, please e-mail me at // eliesa@eliesajohnson.com!

 

The Leave Behinds are Here!

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Wooo Hoooo!

I'm super pumped that our first round of leave-behinds have arrived!! We are currently stuffing the envelopes, printing out our address labels - this production is in full swing!

For those of you who do not know, a leave behind is a little sample of our work that is sent out to potential clients, usually in postcard form. It's best to keep these as simple possible, so when they arrive in the mail, my potential-client can clearly understand who I am, what my style is like and (hopefully) keep the card around for future hire!

A couple of tips to keep in mind, when designing a Leave Behind:

1) Keep it Simple - don't waste anyone's time by being too gimmick-y

2) Think about your mailing presentation - We will be sending all of our cards out in clear mailers, so people simply have to look at them. And I'm not going to lie, they look killer in their envelope.

3) Brand yourself accordingly - It's super important for my future clients to get to know ME, just as much as my work. Therefore, all of our cards will have my face on them, as well as the work!

We're about to begin pounding the pavement over here and I feel like SO much of our work this last year has been gearing up for this moment! I'm so excited to get my work in front of new people and get feedback...the good and the bad! This is one exciting journey!