When I think of people I really admire and who I consider successful and talented, one thing that always stands out in each is that they have somehow created a niche for themselves and are doing exactly what they want to do. Mandee Johnson is a perfect example of this. As a young adult, Mandee followed her love for photography to California. She eventually mixed her love for photography with her love for comedy, partnering with CleftClips and co-creating Los Angeles’ best and much loved all-in-one monthly comedy event, The Super Serious Show. This has resulted in a series of photographs simply titled ‘Laugh‘. The Polaroid style and completely unique color tone of these photos are unreal. Mandee’s portraits of comedians and performers have a look that she has firmly created as her own. When you see one of her photos you don’t need to see a photo credit to know who it was shot by. You can’t get to that level as a photographer without having super serious talent, and Mandee’s skills are legit. Continue reading for an interview with Mandee and some of our favorite shots that will no doubt make you smile.
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Paul F. Tompkins
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Serial Optimist: Where are you from? Where do you live now?
Mandee Johnson: I was born in Chicago, raised in Indiana, attended boarding school in Running Spring, CA, went to college in Santa Barbara and currently live in Los Angeles.
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Matt Braunger
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SO: What different kinds of photography do you shoot?
Mandee: I’ve been shooting for 11 years and I shoot a bit of everything – I’m pretty flexible. Portraits, travel, documentary, live show images, events, weddings, behind the scenes, landscapes, still life, my own artsy stuff, etc.
A lot of times photography feels like an isolatory career. Photographers can be really competitive with each other and shy away from collaboration. I love to collaborate and work on projects with people. I keep an open mind when choosing projects and if it sounds like fun with good people I am game.
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Jen Kirkman
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SO: I think that philosophy is evident in your work. Do you remember one of the first photographs that you ever took?
Mandee: I started shooting with my Dad’s Canon AE1 when I was in 6th grade. He taught me how to use the camera while we were on vacation in Montana. The following year I taught myself how to print in a darkroom at my school. Later at boarding school I built a darkroom so I could keep printing and shoot. Over the years my collection of cameras has grown and I shoot digital in addition to film, but I still shoot a ton of film. If I could I would built a darkroom in my apartment.
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Garfunkel & Oates
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SO: How did you get hooked up with The Super Serious Show?
Mandee: Joel (Mandelkorn) and I co-created The Super Serious Show in 2010. Around the same time I started playing around with my 4×5 again. It seemed like a fun way to do performer portraits for the show.
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Eric Andre
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SO: What made you shoot your ‘laugh’ series in the style it’s shot in?
Mandee: The “laugh” series is a selection of the portraits from The Super Serious Show. When I decided to do the portraits for the show on my 4×5 I did the first show with an eight-year-old expired Polaroid. The Polaroid was super blue so I did some color shifts on it in Photoshop to a more yellow/brown color palate. The current toning of the images evolved from there over the course of a year or so.
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Chris Hardwick
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SO: Who are some of your favorite comedians?
Mandee: Being involved in comedy you get to see and meet so many people that I don’t know if I can choose favorites – there would just be too many to list. One of my favorite things about producing the show and doing the portraits is meeting all of the amazing comedians and getting to know them. It’s such an amazing community and I feel blessed to be part of it.
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Weird Al
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SO: Who are some of your favorite photographers?
Mandee: James Nachtwey and Mary Ellen Mark are my all time favorite photographers. Their work is so beautiful and honest.
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Birthday Boys
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SO: When was the last time you laughed really hard, really loud, and why?
Mandee: At our 2nd SXSW show T.J. Miller riffed for 10 minutes or so about the Bigger and Thicker Doritos Jacked Chips. It was amazing.
SO: Thanks Mandee!
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SO Note: All images owned by Mandee Johnson and cannot be reproduced. Follow Mandee @Mandeephoto, check out all her amazing work at mandeejohnson.com, and see more Mandee goodness on her blog here.