Meet Isaac Westberg | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isaac Westberg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isaac, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am from a town in the middle of Wisconsin called Wausau. Wausau is a quiet, spread-out town, with a lot of nature to explore. Growing up my friends and I spent most of our time outside, adventuring, playing soccer, and biking around past sundown. At 9 years old I started making YouTube videos around my neighborhood. Wausau felt like a playground and with a camera in hand I felt like I could do anything. Unfortunately, I stopped making YouTube videos in middle school, but I don’t think I ever stopped enjoying exploring the outdoors with my friends and a camera. Now when I am shooting clothing campaigns or working with musicians I prefer to venture around a city or get on a rooftop over shooting in a studio.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Right now, I am a full-time photographer who specializes in fashion and portraiture. I shoot primarily on film. I learned how to develop and scan film in 2018 and since then I have been in love with the medium. Scanning and developing is very hands-on, which really attracts me to it. I think that is because before doing photography, I painted a lot. To this day, painting is my favorite visual art. It influences much of my work. Getting inspiration from outside your medium is really important to creating visually interesting artwork. I get excited when working on an image or series and I identify my painting background inspiring the picture I am creating.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I moved to New York City only two weeks ago, so I don’t have the best recommendations yet. So instead I’ll make an itinerary for a city I know well and love very much, Madison Wisconsin. I would start by going to Greenbush Bakery for the best (and most affordable) donuts and coffee in Madison. From there, I would go on a long bike ride to the arboretum and to picnic point. Madison has a wonderful bike path system that I loved so much while living there. From there I would go to The Globe to eat coconut curry for lunch. After lunch, I would walk up and down State Street and take them shopping at SingleStitch and August- my favorite stores in Madison. In the afternoon, I would take them to the union to hang out, go swimming, and grab dinner. At night, we would go to Robinia for an August Aux DJ event, and then go swimming at BB Clark beach!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I love that this segment is a part of the interview because I truly believe that my personal, career, and emotional growth is because of the people I am so lucky to have in my life. My Mom and Dad are super supportive of my career choice, even though it is not a regular or easy path. Having parents who encourage me to be daring and take risks is truly amazing and it gives me the confidence to pursue this career. I also have a friend group back home in Wisconsin that I could go on for days about. Some of them I have known for 10+ years and others I only met a few years back, but everyone is genuinely so supportive of each other. I want to shout out (in no particular order) my Mom and Dad Lisa and Bruce, Elkin, Keegan, Oscar, Aloysius, Jack, Mitch, Bennett, Ulices, Sam, Andy, Eden, and Michelle (many names were missed as I didn’t want to write a novel haha).

Website: isaacwestberg.com

Instagram: @isaacwestberg

Image Credits
Isaac Westberg