Recently James Robinson interviewed Shannon Greer for his blog. Here’s a little sample of what Shannon had to say…
James Robinson Photography Blog is pleased to have Shannon Greershare his photography and insights with our readers. Thank youShannon for sharing a few moments with JRP Blog.
Shannon Greer: It is my pleasure James.
JRP: Where do you call home?
Shannon Greer: I live in Fort Greene, Brooklyn with my partner Charlotta Janssen, a painter. I grew up in Manhattan (Soho, before it became a mall). I urge anyone visiting NYC to come to Fort Greene if you want to get a better sense of what Manhattan might have felt like in the 70′s and 80′s.
JRP: What led you to photography? Do you have any formal training or assisting in your background? How would you classify your work?
Shannon Greer: I picked up a camera when I was 12 or thirteen first. However, I ended up going to college more for my drawing and painting then for my photography. After a taking some time off (and just walking out on a restaurant as a busboy), I ran into a high school friend who introduced me to a modeling agent. I ended up shooting with Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Arthur Elgort, and Pamela Hansen. I really enjoyed working with them, and I decided to go back to school for photography. It was a Fine Art program, so I was able to study with Jan Groover, Gregory Crewdson, and Jed Devine. It was a lot of fun to work with so many different processes. Upon graduating, I started assisting for five years. I worked with some really wonderful fashion and lifestyle photographers, like Francois Deconinck, Philip Newton,Pamela Hanson and Dewey Nicks. Spent a ton of time assisting on JCrew jobs. Then, I decided to go on my own. This was back when you could call an editor and they would answer their phones (before photographers overtook actors as New York City’s most populated profession). I brought in a portfolio of 10 laser copies from a JCrew job I was a second unit shooter on. It did the trick. I was working the following week, and now I’ve been on my own for 14 years.
To read more visit James’s blog post with Shannon’s interview in it’s entirety.