Josie Musgrave is currently 20 years old and taking the photography world by storm! She's a full-time student living in California, but spends as much time shooting whenever she can. Her main focus is portrait photography and her subjects range from some of our favorite influencers to her friends and other amazing clients. Every single picture is absolutely stunning. It's not hard to see how she has become successful so fast!

Where are you from?

I'm from Fort Worth, Texas and currently live in San Diego, California.

How did you get into photography?

My dad gave his old camera when I was in middle school and I had fun taking pictures around our neighboorhood and at our ranch. Then when I was a freshman in college, I stole his nicer camera from him and started taking more portrait style pictures of my friends at the beach and it took off from there! Its always been my creative outlet.

Favorite place to shoot?

Definitely the beach, California has a beautiful and diverse coastline!

Who's your favorite person to work with and why?

I don't have one favorite but I love working with professional models because they don't need a lot of direction and I can focus more on being creative and getting interesting shots. I also love shooting with my friends because we have so much fun, and I adore all the clients I've had too!

How would you describe your style?

I'd say my style is more natural and laidback, I don't like to have a lot of makeup and styling done. I feel like it's always evolving though!

I saw you had a trip to Fiji, can you tell me about that?

Yes, Fiji was an amazing opportunity! I was invited to go with a company called Dote Shopping and over 20 YouTube girls and I learned so much about myself as a photographer. Fiji was so beautiful and had endless places to take great photographs! It wasn’t easy but I worked really hard every day on that trip and it paid off! Doing a big job like that helped put me on the map for more opportunities and I can’t wait for the next one! I am eternally grateful for Dote!

Is there a specific reason you like shooting portraits?

I think people are fascinating. I feel like every picture tells a story and leaves so much to the imagination. For example, a picture of someone twirling in a field could make you wonder how they got there and why they seem so happy, or a picture of someone up close could make you wonder what they were thinking about when it was taken. I don't know if that makes sense, but I just love how you can stop time and really capture the raw emotion of your subjects.

Who are some people you look to for inspiration?

I’ve been finding a lot of inspiration in film photographers lately. The good ones are amazing at capturing specific moments and making you feel like you were there with them. Film photographers also tend to break the “rules” of composition and framing and truly make each exposure a work of art. Some of my favorite photographers right now are Warren Elgort, Dean Martindale, and Jordan Keith.

Aside from photography, what keeps you busy?

School. I’m trying to get my bachelor's degree in visual arts done asap so I can focus more on my career!

Any tips for anyone wanting to get into photography?

Learn analog! I think it's super important to know how photography works in its purest form. I have a fully manual film camera and I’ve learned so much more about aperture, exposure, depth of field, all of that! Also, I recommend learning how to edit in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop from scratch. I see so many photographers buying other peoples presets, which is fine to start, but I think it’s important to develop your own unique style of editing. It will also help you understand lighting and composition a lot more if you can do most of the work in-camera and only have to make minor tweaks in post-production.

Check out more of Josie's photography here!