We were lucky to catch up with Dante J. Cutley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dante J., appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I keep my creativity alive by setting goals for myself. With photography, there are so many photo styles ie: Fine Art, Portraits, etc, that it gives me the opportunity to learn each one and find a creative space with in them.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a photographer based out of Los Angeles, Ca. Growing up, I was always the one with the disposable camera taking photos of my friends at school. I knew I had an interest in it, so I took a photography class my senior year in high school. I was always under the impression that you had to go to school or have a degree in order to be a Professional Photographer, so I decided not to go that route. Fast forward to 2019, I bought my first professional camera from Costco and since then, my priority has been becoming a better photographer.
Growing up, I was observant kid and at times, it was hard for me to open up. So I didn’t express myself a lot, especially when I should have. Now with me being a photographer, I’m able to express my words and feelings through my photos. When posting a series on my Instagram page, I like to name my series. For example, I have a photo were a lady is shooting a bubble’s gun. But if you look to the left of the photo, there is a little girl in the background playing with them (not scripted), so I named it, “I Like Bubbles”. Even though the lady is the main character of the photo, I wanted to bring attention to the little girl thats playing with them.
Right now, I have a photo gallery named “The Vision” that is located in the lobby of The Icon here in Los Angeles. It will be up until February 29th. If any of the readers are in the LA area, please stop by and check out my work.
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?
Some of the best qualities that has been the most impactful for me is, setting goals, having the willing to learn, and being patient. So far, those three things has worked for me.
My advice to photographers in particular is, pick up the camera. I know that seems obvious, but speaking for myself, there was times were I doubted myself and didn’t know if I wanted to continue down this path. But I picked my camera up and decided I’m going to shoot everything until I find a particular style of photography that I wanted to shoot.
And as far as general advice, make sure you have the passion and commitment for it. Ive been a photographer for 5 years now and I put in the hard work and dedication. With those qualities, skills, and knowledge, it has led me to have my own Photo Gallery.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Right now, the challenge I’m facing is doing photography for the love or for money. Im at a stage were my work is worth someone paying me for it. At the same time, I know the feeling I get when I’m doing a free shoot and it’s something that I want to do and it’s mines. So I’m trying to learn that even though its a paid gig, and you may not feel the same when you do a free/collab shoot, understand that the person thats paying you will see those photos and have the same feelings you have about your personal work. And me looking at it from that perspective, makes me feel good.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/DJCVISION
- Instagram: @djcvison @a.djc.production
- Other: The Space at Icon Presents: “The Vision” Photo Gallery by Dante J. Cutley Location: The Icon Address: 5450 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, Ca 90036 Open: M-F 8am-6:30pm Sat 10am-5pm
Image Credits
All photos were shot by me.
