Celebrity photographer Norman Wong on getting out of debt and following dreams

For this week’s MVP, we’re chatting with celebrity photographer Norman Wong.

In 20 years as a photographer, Toronto-based Norman Wong has snapped iconic photographs of Drake, Winnie Harlow, Kevin Hart, Novak Djokovic, Cindy Crawford, Bella Hadid and Aziz Ansari and worked for brands like Nike, Maybelline, Lululemon and Zara. In this week’s MVP, the 41-year-old photographer tells The Get how a heart-breaking rejection for film school and surprise health crisis brought clarity and perspective to a gig he absolutely adores—though he’s not giving up on movies just yet. 

Did you always want to be a photographer? 

No, I did not. I went to school at U of T for semiotics, but I always wanted to get into filmmaking—cinema was my main love. Unfortunately, I got rejected from all the film schools; everything was stellar except for my English mark, which was 75%. Being rejected broke my heart, but I’m happy now about the way things worked out. 

While in university, I got an internship at a commercial production house who hired me as a production assistant. In 2005, that company was doing a commercial for the Live 8 Canada concert and they needed a behind-the-scenes photographer. They gave me an all-access pass even though it was the first time I’d ever held a camera professionally. I’d done a photography course at U of T but always thought I was just playing around. Suddenly I was on stage with Mötley Crüe and the Tragically Hip. It was like I was in the movie Almost Famous. Right at that moment, I decided this is what I wanted to do.

What a start! After that, was there a crash back down to Earth? 

Yeah, during the financial crisis of 2008. I’d just graduated from university and the owners of the company I worked for retired. I was approached to work for another company and I thought, you know, I’d rather not. I’d rather pursue photography because I was having so much fun. I took a chance, and I really struggled. I was severely in debt because I wasn’t making money back then, and whatever money I did make was invested right back into my business. I had to ask for help from my parents.

And then I got diagnosed with testicular cancer at 27. Believe it or not, the insurance on my credit card bailed me out because I had a health situation. The cancer took me out of the game for two years, during which I did four rounds of chemo and two major surgeries.

Did your cancer diagnosis change your approach to life or work? Were you keen to go back? 

Slowly but surely I got back to a normal pace, and I went back to work in 2012. The Toronto scene had changed while I was off, and the landscape was very different. My career really picked up and hasn’t really stopped since then, and I feel very lucky for it. I have a new appreciation both for business when it’s good and also that I’m here to enjoy it. 

Do you ever have moments behind your camera where you’re thinking, ‘Wow, is this real life?’

Many moments, yes. I got my start working with Majid Jordan, so that was one. And my first music video was for Gord Downie. I did Drake’s album covers. I did a big documentary about illegal street racing and automotive culture in the suburbs of Toronto, and I also documented the underground rap artists in Toronto. The year 2016 was a whole moment for Toronto: the music was vibrant, we had Drake and the Weeknd, and Toronto was at the pinnacle of global music. I feel I saw then what George Lucas saw in the 1950s before he made American Graffiti. 

All this is to say, I have moments I’m still waiting for, things I want to do in the future, if I have time. Now that I’m not so young and have something to say, I’d like to remake American Graffiti, but make it Canadian, and set it in Toronto.

Photo by Theo Skudra.