 Johannes's siblings were well educated, but all that is known about Johannes's own education is that he studied photography.On his own account, he started photography at fifteen, that is, in 1907, and it is likely that he contacted the Estonian National Museum (ERM) in 1912, having already taken photographs in various places in Estonia.In 1913, Pääsuke began a project for the ERM to document Estonia's lands, trades and architecture through photography and the collection of artifacts.