As a self-employed photographer, James Ferrara enjoys the freedom and creativity which comes with the job. His profession allows him to capture something that happens in a split second, preserving memories of the events he shoots.
In 2003, the life-long Cornwall resident started J. Ferrara Photography, but his career actually began in the film industry.
As a young teen, Ferrara fell in love with photography. When he was in eighth grade he obtained his first camera, a Canon FTb.
He studied photography for one year while at the University of Bridgeport, but later focused his attention on film making, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Ferrara spent 15 years in the film industry, in charge of the camera and camera department.
“It seemed exciting,” he said. “It seemed fast paced; working on movies with a big crew. I wasn’t thinking about being a photographer at the time. I wanted to go bigger.”
Eventually, the job lost its luster and Ferrara began making the transition to photography.
“What I was doing wasn’t very creative. I didn’t want to climb that ladder anymore. I didn’t want to become a cinematographer or be a director. I liked what I was doing, but I just got tired of it. Photography seemed far more exciting to me.”
In 1998, Ferrara built a darkroom in his home and eventually started getting requests, from friends and family, to shoot weddings. In 2007, he officially left the film industry.
Ferrara moved to 208 Hudson Street and rented the upstairs loft for two years. His studio then moved to Quaker Avenue for four years before he set up shop on Main Street where he’s been for 10 years.
As he started to build his career, Ferrara initially focused on black and white portraits because of the limited space he had. With more space available, he moved on to weddings and other events. He still does both, but his primary focus has been weddings. Ferrara typically shoots about 30 weddings a year and 20 other events.
Through his expertise as a photographer, Ferrara has also helped raise about $40,000 for the Autism Move-a-Thon of Orange County. The theme-based shoots had kids pose in a hood, with their favorite toy, or with something sweet.
“I liked the idea of having a show after the event and showing all the faces of the kids. I figured I’d get more participants if I made it a charity event.”
Ferrara’s first show was in Fiddlestix. The restaurant had just opened and the owners agreed to display the portraits of about 200 kids.
When Ferrara’s career started, he had to develop his own photos, however, around 2004 digital photography became more popular on a professional level. Ferrara saw the technological evolution as a blessing and a curse. Before digital cameras, Ferrara only had to create proofs from the weddings he shot. Now he spends money on software and spends hours in front of a computer editing photos. The upside is, the process allows him to be more creative with the final product.
Technology has further evolved to put a camera lens in phones. The photos may be sharp and the phones may offer a variety of modes, but Ferrara still prefers using a camera.
“There’s something about holding a camera up to your face to look at something rather than looking at a screen.”
While on vacation or at a special event, Ferrara recommends using a camera as opposed to a phone. He said the phone just makes it more enticing to post photos on social media immediately whereas using a camera allows one to save the photos and come back to them later.
“Enjoy the trip, enjoy your time, experience the event,” he said.
