Sean Thonson

Sean Thonson grew up  in an intensely creative family.  His father was a photographer, teacher, and graphic designer.  Light, composition, and design were learned at a very young age.  Creativity was encouraged.   A disciplined work ethic  bedrock.  Sean’s passion for the visual arts led him to a degree from Art Center College of Design and on to a successful career as a still photographer, cinematographer, and director.

Sean’s reputation for creating beautiful images is well-earned.  But more impressive is his ability to fashion those pretty pictures into a powerful visual  storytelling style.  In the last ten years he has directed spots for virtually every prestigious automaker: BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, among others.  He has gone on  to new challenges, directing spots for a long list of clients including Sears, Dove and Yamaha.  Sean’s work for Corona includes the highly-acclaimed ‘Finishing Touch’ Corona’s first-ever sixty-second ‘event’ spot.

It is perhaps unsurprising that Sean has such a gift for capturing natural beauty on film, extreme sports and an ongoing exploration of the great outdoors are a big part of his lifestyle.  His understanding of light and his ability to shoot action in nature whether it be an SUV finding its way through a redwood forest or a skier making his last dusk-light run down a mountain it’s earned from experience.

But, more importantly, it is his ability to grasp the concept to focus on the ideas that those images are supposed to convey, that has made him so successful.  Whether it’s working with actors, or creating an action sequence, Sean always invests his most creative self in that part of him, forged and shaped since childhood.