Meet Brandon Magnus: Photographer

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

Hi Brandon, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I always enjoyed photography but never thought I could pursue it as a career. I went to college (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) a majored in Environmental Management and Minored in Business and planned on becoming an Environmental Lawyer. I loved my time at Cal Poly and learned so much, but I also realized that becoming an Environmental Lawyer wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. I had no idea what I wanted to once I graduated, but in that final year of college I picked up my camera again and reignited my passion for photography. I realized photography was something I truly loved doing and I wanted to find some way to make it my career. I was connected with a sports photographer in San Diego (Donald Miralle), and he offered me the opportunity to work under him and learn the craft. So a week after graduation I packed my truck, moved down to San Diego, started my photography career, and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I specialize in sports, editorial, and portrait photography. I always try my best to create new and unique perspectives with my photography which is never easy. To create something truly original that no one has created before is a tough task, so I think finding ways to express yourself through photography and create your own style to your imagery goes a long way. I take inspiration from my mentors and peers to help me think outside of the box and be more creative. I mainly shoot hockey but look at all different genres of imagery to see what perspectives/techniques I can apply that isn’t usually the norm. Even though I feel confident in my photography skills, I don’t have any issue asking other photographers questions on how they created and image or lit a portrait. And in return I’m always happy to answer any questions that come my way! We are a community and I think helping each other really makes us better in the long run. I will never be at a point where I know everything about photography, but I try my best to continue to educate myself daily.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Currently I live in San Jose, California which is in the Bay Area. The great thing about San Jose is that there is so much to do in the surrounding areas. I drive down to Santa Cruz whenever I can to surf, I usually try to hop in the water in the mornings before I head to SAP center for a night game. Napa is a little less than 2 hours away and a great place for a weekend trip for some wine tasting, San Francisco is about 45 minutes north and provides so many fun activities and is just a beautiful city to explore. Beyond that there is Monterey Bay, Half Moon Bay, Oakland, Point Reyes, Big Sur, there are just so many options that you can do a different activity every weekend and never be bored.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh man, there are so many people I could give a shoutout too that have helped me get to where I am today. I’ll start with Donald Miralle since that is where my photography really started and took off. He taught me so much about photography and also provided me with a lot of life lessons, I’ll always view him as a big brother/father type of figure. Next would be Josh Hedges for hiring me and giving me an opportunity to work at the UFC. I was able to photograph so many amazing events and travel the world while perfecting my craft. Along the way I’ve met a range of talented creatives and photographers, the ones who still inspire me and I call friends like Cooper Neill, Al Powers, Dustin Lamendola, Todd Lussier, Jeff Bottari, Mike Roach,Whitney Hallock, Patrick Hooper, the list goes on and on. Gotta give a shoutout to my current employers the San Jose Sharks, they support all of my ideas and give me a huge amount of creative freedom which I feel has benefitted us together in so many ways And finally, a big thank you to my wife Gabby for always supporting me and my career throughout the years! Couldn’t have done it without her.

Website: https://www.brandonmagnusphotography.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonmagnus_photo/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-magnus-7643b71b/
Other: https://petapixel.com/2020/05/19/shooting-hockey-player-portraits-from-below-through-plexiglass/