Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Sigler.
Jorge, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I began shooting photography after getting my first film camera (Pentax K-1000) as a high school graduation gift in 1989. My love at the time was street photography with an emphasis on B/W. I was drawn to the power of emotion that I was able to capture on film. During college I turned my focus to nature and wildlife photography. People then started asking me to shoot family portraits and a few weddings. After starting my own family, as my children got older I took up sports photography.
I’ve shot high school and college football, baseball, lacrosse and professional cycling. I later felt that I wanted to sharpen my skills, so I enrolled in and graduated from the New York Institute of Photography. It was then that I started Siglerphotographics. I am fascinated by the movement and emotion that I am able to capture in photos.
I started shooting dance professionally when my daughter became a student under the direction of Krissie Odegard Geye, owner of Dance and Music Academy. I am currently the resident photographer for the school in Glenview and Edgebrook and their professional group, Trifecta Dance Collective. I shoot all of their events and studio headshots as well as their performance videos. I have done work for several other dance schools as well as created portrait portfolios for actors, dancers and professional auditions.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I consider myself a performance photographer. I see life as a series of performances. Whether it is a special event like a wedding, a dance shoot, portraiture/headshot or action shoot, the goal is to create the best photos possible! I love the effects of light and the ability to capture moments in time. To me it’s all about telling an emotional story and bringing out the very best in my subject.
Getting a subject to model is a blast for me. Whether it is on location or when I create a home studio, together we produce images that show the very best side of them! I love the look on someone’s face when they get to see themselves in a way that they can’t in a mirror.
Recently, I shot on location with several competitors in the Strong Man Competition and am currently collaborating with a yoga studio and a few martial arts academies. Along with that I still get requests for weddings and family portraits.
Every day is an adventure with new creative ideas and opportunities. I find that everywhere I go I look at things as if it was through the optics of my lens. Colors, light, texture, pose, emotion all create a story. A story I want to tell.
How can artists connect with other artists?
It’s true that a painter, a sculptor, a photographer are solo endeavors, they are not really a ‘team sport”. That being said, I find so much support and encouragement from other photographers. Their opinions, comments and even their work inspire my own creativity and knowledge daily. We all have such different styles and can learn a lot about our trade from one another.
Sharing photos on social media is such a wonderful way to connect and see each other’s work. I follow some amazing photographers in my area and from around the world. I take time to regularly comment on their photos and I receive comments on mine from them as well.
Having graduated from the New York Institute of Photography has helped me become part of a global community. The program is truly worldwide and the community can be tight.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My work can be found on my website, siglerphotographics.com, Instagram and Facebook. My photos can also be seen on the walls of Dance and Music Academy as well as all of their brochures and website.
Contact Info:
- Address: Edgebrook, Chicago Il
- Website: siglerphotographics.com
- Phone: 630 687 2347
- Email: jsigler@siglerphotographics.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/siglerphotographics
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/siglerphotographics
Image Credit:
Stephanie Cihlar, Joanna Paul, Keely Miller, Megan Sullivan, Greg Case, Deek Buckins, Heather Zimny, Jennifer Sarsfield, and Eric Meyes
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