Meet Chad Lawson Photography in Buckhead

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Lawson.

Chad, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
So it all started when I graduated high school and received some graduation money. I went down to Sears and put my first camera on layaway a month prior to graduating. After seeing how much money I was given for graduating, I went and paid off my camera balance and then the journey began.

I spent most of that summer before going off to college picking up random girls in my old Camry with my best friend Diante (he was the ladies man and knew EVERY cute girl in Savannah) and going downtown to do photoshoots. That summer really helped me get my feet wet with photography as this was our almost daily routine.

After the summer was over, I went off to college and over time became more and more known for my photography as my skill increased. After my sophomore year, I was pretty much-taking pictures at every major party and college event. I saved up enough money my junior year to purchase my first studio setup with one studio strobe flash and a gray background. Me only having one light is important to remember because to this day I still mainly shoot with one light. The one light setup is so powerful and versatile.

After a while, I become a prominent/very known photographer on campus who everybody wants to do a photoshoot with. Fast forward, I graduate from Valdosta State University and move up to Atlanta after getting a job in my IT field. While going to work my 9-5 job, I still found the time to practice my photography and build my brand and gain new Atlanta clientele. Over my almost three years here my photography Instagram has gone from about 2-3 thousand followers to currently 15.1 thousand followers and while I’m not crazy booked all the time, I have been blessed to build a great clientele base for my limited availability due to my 9-5 that generally keeps me booked enough each month. I feel like now I am at a level where I can make my photoshoot visions come to life now that I am surrounded by great model talent in Atlanta that are usually pretty open to collaborating with me on my ideas because of my portfolio and rapport.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. In photography, there is a never-ending learning journey. You will ALWAYS learn new things with every shoot you do. Even the famous photographers continuously learn. There were a lot of failures I encountered that I learned from and progressed from. Certain failures such as using the wrong settings and an entire shoot of basically being horrible quality, in the early stages when I was just getting started. I never had formal photography education. For me, it’s mainly been Youtube University and pure trial and error.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Chad Lawson Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
I provide studio and on-location portrait services. I primarily specialize in model portraiture but I am not limited to that. I like to say that I am a wide variety photographer and that is one thing I like about my work. On my IG and website, you will see that I have maternity, family, glamour, fashion, and beauty work. I love this because I feel as though you can just put me in one box. People come to me for all of those types of photography. I feel as though my photo style sets me apart. I love making my images somewhat bold and pop. I can’t stand a flat and regular BORING edited image.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Well, hopefully, Apple does not keep making these great camera quality phones and put us photographers out of business lol. But I see the industry growing. As social media influence grows, there is going to be a bigger need for photographers to assist with creating that digital content. Social media gets bigger and bigger everyday. People are still going to get married and always need photographers etc.

Pricing:

• My portrait rates start at $180. You can see all of my packages in detail on my website www.chadlawson.info on the “BOOK YOUR SHOOT” TAB.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chadlawson.info
• Phone: 912-495-8605
• Email: sifphotos@outlook.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ChadLawsonPhotos
• Other: www.weddings-atl.com

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