RJ Shaughnessy (b. Hollywood, Florida, 1979) is an American photographer, artist, film director, publisher and writer.

Early life and education

Shaughnessy's grandfather Chuck Ax taught in the design department at the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

in Pasadena in the 1950s. Growing up around Ax in Florida, RJ began to develop his discerning eye. Ax would later be the reason RJ attended Art Center. When he was 18, Shaughnessy was out taking photos during a storm and was suddenly struck by lightning. While recovering in the hospital he immersed himself in photography books, which ultimately made it clear that would be his life's work. While at Art Center, RJ studied with photographer Paul Jasmin, and his mentorship had a profound effect on RJ's point of view. Shaughnessy’s first book, Deathcamp was shot while he was attending Art Center and is considered “a testament to a beautiful, if often bizarre, sense of humanity and community.” This authentic realism is what Shaughnessy is known best for today. Shaughnessy graduated from

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

Work

Advertising

Shaughnessy's work first garnered public attention in 2008 when he shot the

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

Originals House Party campaign. Since then, Shaughnessy has shot global campaigns for

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

, Nike Women,

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

Bacardi Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 an ...

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, Google,

Capri Sun Capri Sun (, , stylized as CAPRISUN in the United States and Capri-Sun internationally) is a German brand of juice concentrate drinks owned by Capri Sun Group Holding in Germany, which is a privately held company of Hans-Peter Wild. It was in ...

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

Stüssy Stüssy ( ) is an American privately held fashion house founded in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in Orange County, California, but was later adopted by the skateboard and hip hop scenes. Histo ...

with

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

, Apple,

Ray Ban Ray-Ban is an American-Italian brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is known for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate ...

, Sony

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

, Target, Microsoft,

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

, Nike and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

for

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

with

Wieden + Kennedy Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, it is one of the la ...

. He has also shot for Magazines such as Dazed & Confused, The Fader,

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

, Vice & Self Service, as well as musicians such as One Direction, Lil Wayne and Odd Future. Shaughnessy's most recent book, Stay Cool is a quintessential story of summertime and youth in Los Angeles. As the foreword of the book states, "This is the story of youth, where it comes from, why it's here and how quickly it escapes us if we aren't paying attention".

Personal life

Shaughnessy has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2000. In 2009, he signed with Los Angeles agency, Giant Artists Giant Artists Los Angeles http://www.giantartists.com/

Books

*Deathcamp *Your Golden Opportunity is Comeing Very Soon *These Photographs Will Heal Your Soul *Stay Cool

Exhibitions

*Manifest Equality, Los Angeles, CA (group show, 2010)List of participants
Manifest Equality. *Fotofest, Houston, TX (group show, 2010) *Lead Apron, Los Angeles, CA (solo show, 2010) *MOPLA Pro'jekt Series L.A., Los Angeles, CA (group show, 2010) *Giant Artists NOW, Los Angeles, CA (group show, 2010) *MOPLA and Edgar Varela Fine Arts L.A.t.e Los Angeles After Dark, Los Angeles, CA (group show 2011) *MOPLA Play It As It Lays, Los Angeles, CA (group show, 2012) *Galerie Fur Moderne Fotographie; This Land Was Made For You And Me, Berlin, Germany (group show 2012) *PDN Photo Annual, (group show, 2012) *Milk and Honey, Los Angeles, CA (group show, 2015)
Milk and Honey.

References

External links

Shaughnessy's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaughnessy, RJ Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Hollywood, Florida American photographers