About Josh
I picked up my first camera in high school, a 3.2 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE Z1, and spent most nights playing with long exposures. Around the same time I fell for film: 35mm black and white, then color printing, then large format 4x5. I loved it, but I didn't think it could be a career.
I started college at Northern Michigan University in human-centered design, a mix of architecture, interiors and product design. Then I read Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar, and it pushed me to do the thing that actually made me happy. Two years in, I switched to a BFA in photography and never looked back. My dad asked what I'd do with that degree. I told him I didn't know yet, but I'd figure it out.
I grew up in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, right on Lake Michigan, and it left me wanting to be near water and out in nature. That still shows up in my work.
After school I chased assisting jobs in Minneapolis in 2009, then worked as a full-time assistant and editor in Brainerd, Minnesota. In Fargo, I got hired at Sanford Health after asking anyone I could to coffee, and that's where photo and video became a daily habit. Katie and I married in 2012 and moved back to Marquette. After a big campaign for Northern Michigan University, they hired me to lead photo and video for their marketing team. I spent four great years there running a student crew while I built my freelance business on the side.
When my side work outgrew my salary, I went full time. In February 2020 I hired my first employee and our son Leo was born. Three weeks later, COVID shut Michigan down. So we bought a fire-damaged Class C RV on eBay for $6,000, and I followed the work. That turned into a year and a half on the road, shooting in 39 states. One of the last jobs was in Ocala, and we never left Florida. I've been running LeClair Media here ever since.
The work
My favorite things to shoot are lifestyle, architecture and automotive, and they come naturally to me. Recently I led the biggest production we've ever done, a Cornerstone job with an eight-person crew. I've done years of work with Dickinson Homes, and the RV shoots for Tiffin and Winnebago are still some of the most fun I've had on set.
These days I'm hooked on my Fujifilm. I shoot straight to JPEG with no editing, and I love the film look and nostalgia it gives.
How we work
We push to be as professional as a small crew can be, and to give people better results and a better experience than they expected. It's the Midwest way, and I bring it to every shoot. I'm easygoing and I keep the day fun. If I'm ever stressed, you won't feel it. We get a lot done in a short time.
Life now
We're a family of six, and that includes a newborn. We love time outdoors and traveling. We may live in Florida, but we spend a lot of time in the Midwest, around New York, and up in Manitoba with Katie's family. I fly all over the country for work, and I bring the family whenever I can.
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