Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Lawson.
Hi Justin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started off in college, actually. I was studying film at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, and my roommate at the time, Logan Powaski, was a photographer for some years back in his hometown and he actually would go out and do it lots while we lived there. A good bit of times I tagged along and while watching him do it, I started to consider it because at the time, it was a LOT cheaper than shooting films. Then I went out with my other friends and we would go all around downtown Orlando to shoot, eventually, I started going out alone to just absorb the environment and learn some things on my own. Then I moved to Huntsville, Alabama and stopped shooting for some months.
Eventually, I started to work with my close friend, Kendall Elliot, and he put the battery in my back to begin shooting again. He hyped me up a good bit so I started to take it a bit more seriously and somehow, in all of that, my art started to improve. After working with him on his clothing brand shoots and shooting a video or two for another close friend of mine, rapper Suburban, I started to do a lot of my own personal work and explore themes I was feeling like I would with film just instills. I worked a TON with an incredible model and friend, Sidney Edwards, as well as another good friend, Namena Bojang, on those personal projects and it helped me get a lot more comfortable with shooting and gave me a feeling that I finally know what I’m doing behind the camera. I’m a very story-oriented person so it’s kinda hard for me to not create stories when making art. Flash forward a couple years to just a few months ago at the end of last year, and I got to work in Atlanta with the photographer Kat Irlin as her assistant for Flaunt Magazine and it kinda shot me into a new realm. I learned a lot working at that shoot and it was tons of fun. Those are incredible people over there. More recently, I’ve been working on my own personal projects with this phenomenal stylist, Kyah Harris, and some phenomenal models that have been absolutely killing it in front of the camera, helping me tell my stories. (Amelia Jordan, Kamsi Arinze, and Bailey Sulcer.)
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think the biggest struggle of it all was trying to find myself while finding my voice in my work. I think I’m still finding it even though I’ve found my own style in it all. It seems every artist goes through that, though. Most people, I feel, are still looking for themselves in some way. Which can be good or bad, it just depends if you end up liking who you are or not.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Well, in short, I’m a Screenwriter/Director/Photographer. Most recently, I’ve been doing a lot of photography work, which I’m enjoying, but the only reason why I’m not working the film side as much lately is the pandemic and also a lack of funding and resources. It’s tough for most people right now, so I fully understand the difficulties and obstacles that are coming with getting a horror film funded in this time. I’m happily doing photography in the meantime, though. It’s interesting to me to be asked what I’m most proud of because I’m proud I could even make it this far in my work. I think I’m doing pretty well and if you asked me if I expected this two years ago, I’d probably start wheezing from laughing so hard at the idea. I really NEVER expected this. I think currently I can say my current series, “His Last Moments,” is what I’m most proud of I guess. I’m ending an era with it and so it means new chapters are ahead. I enjoy writing endings and watching endings unfold, so to be able to do that for an era of my work as a sort of “formal closing” is very satisfying. One of my greatest fears is coming off as egotistical or arrogant so I’ll choose my words wisely here, but I think what sets me apart from others is not only my eye for storytelling but also the way I tell my stories. I’m able to create worlds around them and my photographs have enough versatility that I believe someone could look at a photo from an overarching story in my series and find a singular story in that photograph alone if that makes sense.
What matters most to you? Why?
Many things matter most to me, I’m a bit extreme in this way so it will be hard for me to choose one, but if I absolutely had to choose one thing that matters most to me, I’d say it’s expression. I’m a very expressive person, sometimes overly expressive, but expressive nonetheless and I couldn’t imagine my life without that. I’ve been in rooms where I wasn’t able to express myself and it was horrific to me so the idea of life without that is unbearable. I think expression is a part of being human. Having individual thought and translating that into emotions, then further translating it into words to let out and hopefully be understood. That’s what matters most to me. To ensure that people should be expressing, in their spaces. Whether it’s right or wrong, that’s fixable. You can correct a statement or idea, but the expression jumpstarts that. I’m very interested in a world where no one is like anyone else. No familiarity. That would just be interesting to me. Could be a nightmare too. Who knows?
Pricing:
- Prints ≤ 8×10 are $30 (shipping already incl.)
- Prints > 8×10 are $40 (shipping already incl.)
- Photoshoot Flat Rate – $250
Contact Info:
- Email: justinmakesfilms33@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinmakesfilms/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheJustinLawson
Image Credits
Sidney Edwards Amelia Jordan Kamsi Arinze Bailey Sulcer Kyah Harris
