Meet Joel Hecht

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joel Hecht and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joel, how do you think about risk?
When I first started out with photography, I did the safe and most common type of it. I shot weddings, basic senior style headshots, families and kids, etc. , but I quickly realized that while there was safe job security in it, I had very little passion for it. What I really wanted to do was unique portraits, sports, and portfolio type art. The issue was, I wasn’t sure I could find the clientele that could support a photographer that purely focused on that type of work. Eventually, I realized that the only way I would find out was if I stopped doing the traditional and focused on my own style. What I’m really passionate for. That risk ended up being the best decision I ever made. Now I get to create my way and put everything I have into my process, and I couldn’t enjoy it more.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
With the ever growing scope of social media, I strive to give others the opportunity to show off their sports, hobbies, or talents in unique and exciting ways that help their social media presence, bring awareness to their team or club, or to help athletes promote themselves. It wasn’t an easy road to where we are today, and we are only scratching the surface of what I think is possible. Getting teams, schools, and athletes excited about doing media days at the level that I like to shoot at was a process. Most teams or schools have their own photographers that they have used for years and years so I had to come up with something totally different that I knew would catch the eye and help get our foot in the door. Now we have everyone from little t-ball teams to collegiate programs asking us to come in and put on a media for them. It is wildly exciting.

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that you don’t need to put out art that you think everyone might like. Put out the art and style that you are most excited about creating. The love and heart that you put into your own craft with draw the clientele to you.

I want the world to know that the days of dull, bland, and mediocre picture days are over and done. The new age of full blown sports portraits that help you to fully show off your love for the craft you bleed, sweat, and die over is here and its what JH Exposures is all about.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is just so much to do in Colorado and the Denver area that its almost hard to choose, but when I have people visiting I try to do some of the same things.

We love Corvas Coffee, Beer at Woods Boss Brewery, lunch at the Greatful Gnome Sandwich Shop, shows at the symphony (especially if its one of the events where they play the score from a popular movie)

Day trips to Estes Park, Rocky Mtn National Forest. National Sand Dunes or any local sporting event. We always have the best times at Nuggest or Broncos games

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My passion for the digital arts can easily be traced back to my high school Digital Arts teacher, Mr. Dittmar. His entire teaching philosophy was based around finding a particular passion in each student and directing them. I told him that I had an interest in photography and asked him if I could borrow one of the digital cameras owned by the school. He agreed, but under one condition. I had to learn how to shoot on a 35mm film camera first. He wanted me to learn the proper way to shoot and develop my own film in the dark room before going digital. This step, while frustrating and long, was by far the best way to learn and paved the way for my passion for photography. I returned to the school many times after high school to show him my ever evolving work. Mr. D is for sure not my only source of encouragement, but was by far my first and most influential.

Website: www.jhexposures.com

Instagram: jhexposures

Image Credits
@davidtookit (for personal photo)