John Choi PO ’24 initially never saw himself as a photographer. Devoted to a cookie-cutter path of finance when entering Pomona College, he told himself that photography was nothing more than a hobby. However, he spent his first year of college online, which allowed him to meditate on how unpredictable life can be. Paired with a class on death and dying rituals, Choi further considered mortality and the importance of pursuing something truly meaningful to him.
So, Choi made a promise to himself — for a year, he would pursue photography to the best of his abilities and see where that took him. Flash forward to his junior year: Interscope Records has contracted him to photograph various musical artists, and he has been an official tour photographer for the alternative indie artist Hayd.
He began his experimentation with photography by coupling his visual work with personal writing. He believes in putting it all out there.
“I don’t have to hide anything,” Choi said. “And the things I do want to hide, I’ve always found that it’s better to just share it because finding other people that relate to those experiences has been cathartic for me.”
Sharing his writing has been a part of his process, because to him, the self and its creations are inherently intertwined. As such, Choi tries not to have a separation between himself and his creative side.
“It’s good to make stuff in a vacuum sometimes, but there’s a lot of stuff I make that I don’t really make for anyone else other than me,” Choi said. He believes some failures can be almost productive because growth is not something that happens when everything goes right.
“I feel like oftentimes, we just look in mirrors, like our phone cameras or physical mirrors, to get a perspective of what we are. But [with] someone that is shooting you, and you have a photo of them, you kind of get to see, at least, the way that they view you and in a more favorable way to them.”
In general, his area of interest lies in photographing musical concerts and portraiture. To Choi, photography empowers both the subject and the photographer.
“I feel like oftentimes, we just look in mirrors, like our phone cameras or physical mirrors, to get a perspective of what we are,” he said. “But [with] someone that is shooting you, and you have a photo of them, you kind of get to see, at least, the way that they view you and in a more favorable way to them.”
This symbiosis between photographer and subject has allowed him to build strong relationships with musicians he admires, which he sees as one of the most rewarding aspects of photography.
Around a year ago, he snuck his camera into a concert by the musical artist ericdoa and had his photos reposted by the artist. After a flurry of cold emails and connections within both the music and photography industry, he accompanied Hayd on a North American tour, where most of the crew members were new to touring as a whole. Choi credited this experience as uniquely empowering because everyone around him was also very new to their craft.
“We’re all in this kind of early development stage in our respective careers,” Choi said.
One thing that Choi loves about photography is the ability to become a witness to so many walks of life. He said one of his favorite moments of portraiture was shooting Iann Dior’s album release party.
“Having a camera just allows you to enter so many types of situations, and it was almost unfathomable to me that I was just working with these people who I look up to so much,” Choi said.
He credited his artistic inspiration as photographic series such as “The Kids Were Alright” by Ryan McGinley, which depicts scenes of young debauchery around New York City and beyond. His influences are broad and inspired by his peers who also photograph concerts around Los Angeles.
These influences have led Choi to focus on a certain theme of authenticity, which he attempts to capture in his photography, paired with the desire to allow musical artists to see themselves through the eyes of another.
Choi is an advocate for embracing the uncertainty of creative careers. He called certain phenomena at high-powered institutions the “certainty trap,” where everything feels easier when there is a concrete plan to follow.
He argues that some may see failure as a sign to turn back, but instead, he steadfastly believes that failure is productive. He hopes that more students will embrace this philosophy of resisting the comfortable path in order to make room for fulfillment.
“I found that by choosing uncertainty, the walls of a room have dropped,” he said, “and now you’re sitting in the middle of an ocean instead of a small confined space, which is scary, but now the potential has become unlimited.”
You can find some of John’s photography on his instagram, @JohnnChoi.