Today we’d like to introduce you to Malcolm Davie.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born and raised right here in Atlanta Georgia. Ever since a boy I can remember feeling as though I was different. I would always try to create things in my room. Everything from paintings to paper mache sculptures. I’ve always enjoyed being creative. I would also write poetry, until this day it’s interesting going back to look at some of those old writings from when I was a kid. I didn’t get into photography until much later in life. I’ve been a photographer now for about 7 years.
What makes my story unique I think, is that I started off learning Photoshop and graphic design. My parents own a free publication here in Atlanta called home and you and I was the marketing director. So, it was my job to go out and find advertisers for the publication. That was a natural segue for me to learn how to use Photoshop so that I could help my advertisers create compelling ad copy. I really enjoyed it because it gave me the opportunity to be creative again and get paid for it. As I said, since we owned a publication I would also constantly be online looking for stock photography. I would spend hours on the internet going through picture after picture trying to decide which one would be best for a particular article or cover of the magazine. Then one day it hit me. Maybe I can take pictures myself. So, I went out and bought my first professional camera, it was a Canon T2i. The rest is history.
Please tell us about your art.
First off let me start by saying that I never really considered myself an artist. I would just create things because it was fun, and because it was a great way to pass the time. I didn’t stop to consider that I was becoming good at something that other people might want to see. Right now, about 85% of the work I do is photography based. I primarily do events and portraits, with the occasional wedding here and there. I would like to get involved with much more creative work, but I let the marketplace dictate that for now so that I can pay the bills. I really admire artists and photographers who are able to do their art full-time and generate enough revenue to take care of their living expenses and beyond. I currently still have a 9 to 5 but my photography has been picking up every month so we’ll see what happens.
My goal with any art that I do is to try to pull a strong emotional response from whoever sees my work. I love candid photography also, because you can get the true emotion from the subject. Often times if someone knows a camera is about to take a picture of them they paste on a smile that is not genuine and people can tell. Every so often I come across a subject who does a really good job of portraying a genuine look on command but this is rare.my paintings however are abstract and take on a little bit more of a darker tone. I’m not quite sure why, but that’s what I love about abstract art. It feels like you’re doing something very random, but at the same time you’re actually expressing very deep emotions on the canvas. It feels great when people tell me that they’re able to connect with one of my paintings.
Advice for Other Artists, Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
My advice for other artists out there if you continue to do what you love. Try not to put any limits on your creativity and don’t worry about whether or not other people are going to like your work. If you like it that’s all that matters. Take time early to organize your work to so that you will always be able to pull from some of your older work and see how far you’ve come. There’s nothing worse than trying to find a piece that you did years ago and you have no idea what happened to it and you can’t find it because you were disorganized.
Having said that, you should also be thinking about ways to monetize what you’re doing. Just because you love to do something doesn’t mean that it’s going to pay the bills. You have to intentionally seek out ways to make money from your work and follow the path of other successful artists. This part of your journey is not always going to be fun either, because there are many aspects to business that are just not as enjoyable as creating the actual art but are equally necessary.
For any aspiring photographers out there, my advice would be to learn about lighting early. Get a deep understanding of what exposure means. Because lighting is everything in photography as far as I’m concerned. Well maybe not everything but it plays a huge role. You also should go ahead and invest in a decent camera. it’s probably going to be a little bit more expensive than what you want to spend but trust me it will be worth it.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My website is www.malcolmdaviephotography.com. That’s currently how I showcase my photography and arts. I’m also working on a YouTube channel that I just recently started, where I’ll be able to show some behind-the-scenes footage as to how I create my photography and paintings. I have a few techniques that I think would be helpful so those people just starting off in this field.
Contact Info:
- Address: South Atlanta
- Website: www.MalcolmDaviePhotography.com
- Phone: 404-414-0118 – cell
- Email: mbdavie@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malcolmdaviephotography/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MalcolmDaviePhotography/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MDPhotography01?lang=en
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK2scPLOc48JmbSaAKlKRUQ?view_as=subscriber
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