FAQs
Introduction: Jared is an amateuristic-professional photographer that purchased a Sony αlpha 6000 in 2016 and started investing in his skills toward "Sustainable Photography," indicating that he always attempts to blend into the natural environment of which he takes a photograph of. Jared has always admired fine-art, from classical drawing, sculpting, and painting moving through the impressionist era & beyond to the kinetic and futurist modalities of art seen both now online and in popular museums around the world. Hopefully, you will be able to see some of these influences play out steadily in his images alongside his personal touch of color.
Here are some common FAQs to help you understand the nature of this business:
Q#1 – Your images are quite colorful- How have you gotten your images to look the way they do?
A#1 – Well, it all starts with what you see through the lens of your camera when you take a photograph. Asking yourself a question like ‘What is the reason I am taking this picture?’ and thinking about how artistic elements such as style, shape, color, composition, contrast, and lighting may impact the final image, so to speak, may help you choose when to pull the trigger on the camera. After acquiring a volume of images out in the field, I sequentially downloaded and edited six years of photographs from years of working odd seasonal jobs and cheap traveling onto my MacBook Pro 2018 where I then edited them in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop softwares; Lightroom was used primarily for styling each image, and the only reason I ever used Photoshop was to fix a blemish on the photograph with the spot-healing brush, like a raindrop or dust particle that was caught on the lens of the camera at the time the photo was taken; I then finalized each image by manually adjusting a plethora of visual perspectives on the image into a worthy, digital end-product. While I attempt to design each and every photograph in a unique way with bold, bright, texturized, vibrant, and saturated colors, my goal is also to showcase how every category of photographs on this site is uniquely connected to the envirOnment in some way.
Note: I am offering 1-on-1 Lightroom Editing/Business Consultations via Skype & Screenshare for 45$/1-hour (30 min sessions are also available, and most clients will go through 1-3 sessions before they get the hang of everything on their own) - Just send a direct message on Instagram to get in touch.
Q#2 - What can you tell me about all of the product variants I'm seeing before I make my purchase(s)?
A#2 - All products you will receive get printed using top-of-the-line machinery (Epson), various textured & archival papers, and some with a custom frame that are assembled by professionals at Vada Color located on Woodmere Avenue in Traverse City, Michigan. Here is the description-list of products:
The first product I offer is called 'Cold Press Bright Paper' and is essentially fancy, textured paper with a slight white-beige tint and gradual bumps. The photograph is printed in the center of the thick-cut paper and possesses a 1-1.5" blank-white border on all sides (adding slightly to the overall dimensions listed on the product page, which may vary by up to half an inch). This is the most affordable product that I offer right now and truly will be the classiest piece of paper you'll ever buy. It can be used as a classy poster if arranged correctly, although I truly suggest taking this product in somewhere to get framed your way or to build a custom frame and display for this image to preserve its ultimate quality.
(Above: Cold Press Bright Original (12x8 with 1-1.5" border) of Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore)
Next, I offer the 'Metallic' product, which is exactly how it sounds – a photograph printed on aluminum metal. This product has two variants, Matte and Gloss, so please check out which version of this product you’re looking at; Matte means the finish on the metal is light, which promotes general transparency into the image itself and Gloss is a stronger finish that offers additional glare, or a spectacular element to certain photographs that already have this element present – such as photographs with lakes, rivers, or waterfalls. Metallic printing is a modern achievement for the artistry of printing that results in a sheik overall look. Moreover, the and product itself comes with a custom wood-hanger piece attached to the back - making it fairly easy to mount onto any wall. While this image below is hard to distinguish as a metal product, trust me when I say that the thin metal product is worth every bit of surprise.
(Above: Metallic Matte 11x7 Original of Tahquamenon Falls)
Thirdly, 'Canvas' is the thickest and most robust product listed, and is printed on Archival Canvas in 3-D with a protective coating on the exterior to ensure longevity. Canvases are the easiest and sturdiest product to install due to the custom-built, wooden interior, and I find what is most neat about this product is the depth of ~1.5", which means the product projects the mirrored digital image to wrap around all four sides of the canvas. If you have been to a museum in the last decade, you have likely scene a photograph or painting displayed on some type of canvas.
(Above: Tahquamenon Falls Gigantic Icycles Original Stretch Canvas)
Lastly, the 'Lustre Paper (w/ Protective Glass and Frame)' is debatably the finest product that I have to offer. It is printed on the most transparent and smooth paper with a 1.5" blank border, covered with clean 1.5 mm glass, then fitted to a custom frame (it's dealer's choice here, and we match the exterior frame to the interior design of each photograph for your viewing pleasure); This product is also equipped with a wire-hanging mechanism on the back side for easy wall-installation. If you truly value Art, then I will say that each product is special and worth every penny!
(Above: [21.5x15 Lustre with a rustic-modern, light-brown frame] Bright Red Barn at Pyramid Point in Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore)
Q#3 – With all that is going on in today’s day and age, What inspired you to start your own business? and Where are you going to take it from here?
A#3 – Even though photography started out as just a creative hobby for me, I got inspired to start a photography business years ago when I was in the middle of taking some of my first pictures on a road trip through the American West. This was a relatively enjoyable and leisurely activity at the time also with serious potential to generate significant financial income for my self and community (high-quality Art can be pretty expensive these days!). I started to pay attention to the recurring themes and patterns that presented in my images, so I decided to categorize them in a way that encourages people to think differently about these subjects through the enhancement of captioning, newsletter updates, and other articles. I then bought my own products to calculate a reasonable value for them and then gave them away as gifts to family to see their reactions, and when I saw how happy my Grandparents looked with a metallic image in their hand, I said "I'm going to do this thing." As an Owner of this business, I am also grateful for the help of my brother, Mac, in starting this whole website together, W.E. O’Neil Co. for providing me with my first camera, Vada Color for printing and framing, as well as The UPS Store for making these transactions possible for us all.
Footnote: Please bear in mind that Shopify only allows me to upload .jpg formats onto product thumbnails, so all of the photographs you will receive when you place an order will actually have a higher resolution when exported as .tif in regards to the amount of pixelation and general clarity.