We were lucky to catch up with Gavin Crusoe recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gavin, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I wouldn’t say I “overcame” imposter syndrom, I still struggle through it. Being a creative, you see certain things and try to create your own form of originality, but you go through phases of questioning your own talents. Lately, I’ve been finding my own “style” of shooting that’s separating me from the people I follow and get inspiration from, eventually you find your own lane.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started off as a photographer, and have slowly been shifting my focus to videography and directing. In the beginning of my career I was working for Cady Studios, taking school portraits and developing my craft. After working there for a while I realized I wanted to expand creatively. So, I dm’d 20-30 people a day until someone responded, a local producer, Big Papito who liked what I was shooting and invited me to be his personal photographer. I was interning at Street Execs Studio, and would be in the studio 14, sometimes 16 hours a day. I’ve also interned at Trash Mag, and worked with brands like Lotus Rosary and Forever Hungry ATL. Eventually, I branched out into concert photography, as well as shooting “behind the scenes” for music videos. After a few months of doing studio work, as well shooting behind the scenes for friends of mine. I felt inspired to start directing my own music videos, shooting run and guns for underground artists, doing work for From The Block performances, shooting concert photos for local artists like oksurf and Z6Saint. I thought to myself how I could go about doing my own thing, and throw shows as well. I met Coogi (thedoncoogi) at The Flower Pit by Lotus Rosary in 2022, and our creative visions aligned pretty immediately. We threw our first “Dope Concepts’ Show in April of 2023 with a simple lineup of some of our close friends from the Atlanta underground scene. The turnout was amazing, tickets sold out, the venue was packed out, performances were fire, and afterwards we got a flood of requests for future shows. The rest is history. Check out @dopeconceptsmedia on instagram for event dates!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that got me to where I am was one realizing I started doing this because it was a simple hobby that I realized I can turn into something amazing. Being humble in knowing there’s always more to learn I didn’t go to school for photography and videography, but was lucky enough to work at a photo studio and learn the fundamentals. Lastly knowing how to create your own lane and not compare yourself to others. As creatives we see others art and think why aren’t I there yet or, shooting like that. You have to remember everyone has there own style, technique and personality in how they take their photos you just have to find yours.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest areas of growth have been ironically studio photos. I started off doing that and never really found the fun in but have definitely shifted to a strong color wave when it comes to studio photography. As well doing concerts more and capturing not only the experience but the emotions behind the images I take. It’s definitely been growing in how the quality as well how I go about even seeing certain shots and thinking to myself “yeah this the one that’s gonna speak”. I’m continuously learning how to grow in my craft but thoses two areas have been definitely my biggest areas of growth.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Sde_images
- Twitter: @Sde_images
