Antigua Wedding Photographer Joseph Nance

My Journey in photography

My name is Joseph and I am a wedding photographer based in Antigua Guatemala. My creative journey began as a child through drawing and music. Though my father and sister were both photographers, I did not pick up a camera until I was 21. I was fortunate enough as a child to have a mother who read to me. Through years of nights spent up late reading books and watching films, I discovered the importance of stories. My liberal arts education and artistic upbringing as a child contributed to my approach to photography. Much of what I knew about storytelling came from stories I was exposed to growing up in rural Appalachia. Today, I use those same story telling skills in my photography. 

During university I earned a competitive scholarship for the U.S. Department of State photographing my travels around the world as a student. It was then that I discovered a true love for photography. My time spent traveling through Europe sparked a desire to explore visual storytelling as a hobby. There, I learned the value of photography in storytelling and connected with other photographers and creative directors in London who helped me get started. Once I moved back to the U.S. I began pursuing photography in a professional capacity. My career began as a part-time photographer in university. I began to take a camera with me everywhere I went, and taught myself the technical aspects of photography. After university, I relocated to Costa Rica where I worked as a freelance photographer and second shooter for professionals with decades of experience in the destination wedding photography industry.

Today, I use my background and experience to capture the most important day in two peoples’ lives. I am fortunate to live in a city as beautiful as Antigua Guatemala and to tell the stories of couples in love. My journey through countries and cultures around the world informs my photography. My creative pursuits have come to define who I am. I choose every day to not cut corners in my work and to deliver the best photographs to each client. In my free time, I still play music, draw, and read to exercise my creativity in various forms. 

Approach to Photography

My photography often produces more questions than it does answers. In recent years my work has shifted from easily consumed images for social media, to pictures that force viewers to stop and look at what it is they are actually seeing. In the words of Cartier-Bresson, “photography has the power to evoke, and must not simply document.” In the footsteps of Bresson, I us the same Leica M-system cameras that allow me to an capture fleeting moments from the rich tapestry of life. As a storyteller, I seek to capture real life as it plays out in the moment rather than inventing memories with cheesy poses. So many well intentioned portrait photographers force moments and try to capture who they want their subjects to be rather than who they really are. I prefer to make photographs of who people are naturally. “No architecture of thought is ever nobler that what is true.” I find inspiration in minimalism. I focus on telling true and compelling stories. I rarely intervene in the scene in front of me. It is my aim with photography to preserve beautiful moments that might otherwise disappear from memory. Intentionality in my photographs is often the difference between photography that feels lifeless and photography that evokes emotion. 

Giving Back to the Community

Every accomplishment in my life is backed by individuals who prayed for, inspired, and supported me more than I could ever have deserved. In an effort to pay it forward to future generations of young creatives, I donate my time, talents, and resources to youth around the world wanting to learn photography. I also give financially to causes I believe are making a difference in Guatemala and around the world.  To make a donation to help break the generational cycle of poverty youth in Guatemala face, click here. To find out how you can create a lasting change in the lives of Guatemalan children, click here.