Jim Heinrich

Like many of you, my love for photography and cameras began when I was a child. My Dad’s Agfa camera sat on a high shelf safely out of reach from my curious hands. Even then, whenever I saw him cradling his precious picture-maker as he hunted around the yard for his next shot, I saw the connection: he and his camera were in a world of their own. And I wanted to go there, too.
Again, like many of you, my evolution into a photographer took time, starting with school projects, photos of friends and, in early adulthood, my own growing family and our vacation trips and memory-worthy times.
Skip ahead a few decades to my life as a high school teacher and a brief meeting with an administrator who asked, “Jim, could you design an elective course for the kids—just anything you enjoy?” So, I became a photography teacher. And I still am, having transitioned from teaching journalistic and artistic photography to high school students to teaching event and portfolio photography to my students at Estrella Mountain Community College.
I never made it big as a photographer. My first passion is teaching. There just wasn’t time to continue the rigors of growing a business, so I recently stopped soliciting gigs and shut down my business. Ironically, I’m shooting more now than ever because my college discovered my photo skills and have requested that my Multimedia Club students and I provide images for campus events. The fun continues!
I love teaching curious people how to make magical moments