Lens and Soul | Meet Jared Polin

Author: Libby - Printique by Adorama

Long before he became known as Fro Knows Photo, Jared Polin was just a kid with a camera and a huge passion for telling stories through images. What started as curiosity quickly grew into a lifelong obsession with photography—and an eagerness to share that love with others. With his trademark energy, big personality, and of course his signature fro, Jared turned that passion into a platform that has inspired millions. Today, FroKnowsPhoto isn’t just about gear reviews or tutorials—it’s about building confidence behind the camera and printing what matters most – your work.

How did you get your start in photography?

I got into photography at 13 years old because I thought I could do a better job than the people I was watching attempt to take pictures at a junior high school basketball game. Now this was the junior high school that I went to, and I was sitting there, and the yearbook photographer was standing on the baseline under the basket while players were standing around and they were taking pictures. And I was like, that makes no sense. That’s not game action. And even at 13, I thought that I had a better idea of what they should be doing. So I borrowed my mom’s point-and-shoot, a Fuji Discovery 1000 camera, went to the next game with a roll of black and white film, and sat on the baseline. And when we got the pictures back, my mom and I, you could see that my timing was right on. I understood peak action. I just had a feeling for it right off the bat. And I figured out how the delay worked with a point and shoot camera fairly quick that if I press the button here, it’s not going to shoot until there. And I did well. And so that’s how I got into photography. And from that point on, my mom took me to buy with my own money, a Canon EOS or EOS Elan 2E and a 100 to 300 millimeter 5.6 lens because I was shooting sports, and I just kept learning and learning and learning.

What are you currently shooting and what’s your style?

So the thing that I’m mostly shooting with right now is a 1948 to 1952 Graflex Speed Graphic. It’s a press camera that they would have used in the 1940s right after World War Two to photograph the news or sports. And that is what I’m shooting with. So my style right now is old school, trying to use old gear. And doing it successfully to capture images in a time where you can shoot at 120 frames per second, I am shooting one shot. Every so often and enjoying it, my go to gear obviously depends on what I’m shooting in my everyday life where I’m using digital, it’s a Canon R1, I’m always grabbing the 28-70 F2 RF. That is the reason I switched from Sony to Canon six years ago, or roughly six years ago was because of the 28-70 F2. Obviously, Sony now has one of those, but I’m not switching back because Canon has a 100-300 2.8. So it depends on what I’m shooting, but I’m always taking the R1 and a 28-70. The 85 1.2 is another one that I might take along with a 10-20. And I generally don’t take a 70- 200 anymore, because it all depends on what I’m shooting.

What do you print and why?

I’m a big fan of the printique photo books. I am a longtime user of those photo books. I’ve been using them since, I don’t know, 2008, 2009, before Froknowsphoto even existed. And those books are super powerful, whether you’re just doing a 4×6, 6×6, 12×12 or 12×9, which I use a lot because it’s full frame. They are so powerful when you show someone a tangible print. It’s helped me immensely with my project, with the 4x5camera to have a book with me. And I have a 6×6 book or an 8×8 book with me because I can quickly open it and show someone the work that I’m doing. And they’re not looking at a 6 inch or smaller screen of a cell phone, handing somebody something tangible that they can look at, especially photographs, is what sets me apart from so many other people.

What would you tell your younger self?

I mean, I don’t have anything to tell my younger self, because if if you go back and change some of the things, maybe you don’t end up where you end up today. I don’t like playing revisionist history. So we make our choices.We make our decisions. We end up where we end up.