We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jose Lawrence. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jose below.
Jose , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose when I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life. I was feeling completely low and unmotivated in how I was looking at the world. I was having many questions of myself and yet so few answers as to what was it I truly enjoyed and what made me happy. Eventually with a friends advice I decided to go to therapy to get to the source of my difficulty. After a few sessions a common theme started to emerge where photography became a source of escape for me from everyday stress and socially anxious moments. When I spoke about photography with my therapist she noted how my eyes seemed to brighten so much more and I spoke with much more intensity and wonder.
It was at that point I began to look at my photography a different way. I began to really focus more on the ways in which it has helped me to understand the world and narrow my focus down to my creativity and business mindset. Although I always took photos I now did it with a renewed gusto. Throughout my therapy sessions I utilized my photography and camera in more of a therapeutic way. Gradually I realized this is what I truly loved. I truly found joy in being creative and capturing enchanting moments. I loved the process of setting up a photo shoot with a model and creating an entire scene the evokes feelings as well as conveys ideas. It was a truly remarkable feeling that I had not felt in a very long time. This was the point that I had come to understand what my purpose is.
Much more than just being a photographer, I am an artist. I love bringing peoples vision to life through my own imagination and creating an atmosphere where they can also escape from the everyday stresses of life and society.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a photographer and artist based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The name of my brand is JLaw Inspired Images. I specialize in many different areas but my primary focus for the time being is portrait, editorial, and brand photography. What I feel is most exciting about what I do is the process of creating with a client or other creative and navigating each others minds to create work that is both captivating and inspiring. My philosophy is that everything we do as individuals affects the larger majority around us no matter how small with think those actions are. We are essentially intertwined with each other in a variety of different ways.
With that being said with my art and insight, I seek to inspire those I come across to be able to express themselves in healthy ways artistically. My photography gives people a way in which they can be whoever it is they truly desire to be free from judgement and social labels. There is no wrong way to really be your authentic self. Every human being has a story and I seek to capture those stories through imagery and show them to the world.
My creative eye has given me the ability to be able to really take the ideas of individuals and bring them to life. In my own funny way I consider every photo shoot as a visual therapy session. I tap into the mind bury beneath all mental obstacles people create through their lives and I extract the internal wonder that we all possess to create something truly unique and awe inspiring.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back the three qualities I would say were most impactful in my journey are resilience, adaptability and discipline. These are essential to my development to this point. In my opinion if you desire to really be successful and focused on what it is your passionate about you need to be ready to harness these skills.
I would advise anyone who is early in their journey first and foremost to understand you will fail. You will have to fail multiple times until you get it right. Even now there are times when I fail. When we fail our resilience is battle tested we are forced to choose whether to keep going or to give up. Anytime you start something new you are going out into the wilderness, you are taking a massive risk, your mind will have to be strong in order to endure the failures and obstacles that will come your way. You will have to take risks, you will have to be calculated in your approach to whatever it is that you endeavor.
With forging and harnessing your resilience, in time, you will learn to adapt to situations. You will be able to approach most situations with a certain degree of experience and levelheadedness that if something goes wrong you will be able to maneuver in a way to turn a possible loss into some type of gain. One of the greatest sayings that I live by that was spoken by Bruce Lee is, “To be like water.” You have to be adaptable to anything that comes your way and be able to flow with the situation. Life simply is a river, some calm moments and at other points treacherous rapids. It is essential to understand that no matter what you are moving forward and you have to know how to move with the current or you will drown. A key part of becoming adaptable is acquiring knowledge and learning from those who have come before you. Knowledge and information is the freest resource that there is. Utilize the information available to you to learn how to best be proactive in situations you come across.
Discipline is key to being successful at any point in life. Yet its the most difficult quality to maintain. In my opinion in order to gain discipline you have to be entirely focused on your goals, whether short term or long term, without distraction. Constantly developing the habits of goal orientation and focus eventually leads to discipline.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
My ideal client is a up and coming model or business brand. What makes these people ideal clients for me is that usually they have a strong passion themselves for what they love as well as a certain respect for creatives and fellow business owners. Usually when I do projects for these type of people they have a certain understanding of the process that is involved, the constant communication and the necessity of meeting timing goals. The mindset of these clients especially makes it much easier for me to deliver high quality images and projects that meld perfectly with their vision and goals. We essentially become of one mind throughout the entirety of the process to the point where even if changes are needed, those changes are implemented seamlessly.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jlawinspired.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jlaw_inspired
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jlawinspired
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlaw_inspired
- Other: msha.ke/jlawinspired
Image Credits
Jose Lawrence, JLaw Inspired Images
