John Guest, Jr.

John Guest

Photographer. Printmaker. Storyteller.

I’m a native New Yorker who somehow ended up calling Bloomington, Illinois home.

People still ask me how that happened.

My answer is usually the same:

“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”

I originally came to Bloomington as a Senior Project Planning Professional, bringing decades of project controls experience to a contract with State Farm. The assignment ended.

I stayed.

And somewhere along the way, the Midwest became part of my story.

Photography has given me a reason to really look at this place. The people. The architecture. The farmland. Downtown streets. Festivals. Farmers markets. Chicago when I need a little more concrete and noise. And the small moments happening right in front of us that are easy to miss if nobody is paying attention.

Today that work lives through Photography Fit 2 Print.

I photograph people because people matter to me.

Portraits. Headshots. Seniors. Events. Families. Personal work. The occasional photograph that doesn't fit neatly into any category but deserves to exist anyway.

I still love landscapes and cityscapes, but my photography has increasingly become about connection, observation and preservation.

I’m also a printmaker.

A photograph shouldn't have to spend its entire life trapped inside a phone. Some pictures deserve paper. Some deserve a wall. Some deserve to become part of a family's history.

That thinking is behind the Photography Fit 2 Print philosophy:

Fit 2 Capture.
Fit 2 Curate.
Fit 2 Print.

I continue developing my craft through personal projects, community photography, continuing education and ShutterFest in St. Louis, where photographers from around the country come together to learn, experiment, collaborate and occasionally remind one another why we picked up a camera in the first place.

Before photography became this important to me, I spent much of my professional life managing complicated projects, schedules and systems. That background never really left. I bring the same discipline, preparation and attention to detail into my photography.

I’m also a U.S. Army veteran and the owner of a disabled veteran-owned business.

But credentials only tell you so much.

If you really want to know what kind of photographer I am, look at the pictures.

Look at who I choose to photograph.

Look at what I notice.

And look at what I decide is worth remembering.

Photography Fit 2 Print
Bloomington, Illinois

Portraits • Headshots • Seniors • Events • Fine Art • Photographic Restoration • Bespoke Photography

phfit2print.com