Meet Joseph Davis | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ve chosen to pursue an artistic career because I can’t imagine doing anything else. If I’m not creating something, I feel like I can’t breathe. I’ve been into art since I was a little kid. From filing up notebooks with drawings and paintings, to writing to photography. I spent a lot of my childhood working on creating something, which led to going to school for it. I graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree bachelor’s degree in creative writing and film studies with a minor in photography. I’ve been taking photos ever since.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My photography leans more towards the abstract and mysterious. A lot of “What is that?” or “How did he do that?” is what I generally like to shoot. I try to think outside of the box and give myself room to experiment, either with different lighting or with props. I use inks, gels, and smoke to create the look that I’m going for. While I love creating and shooting in my little studio and working on a project in my own style, I’m always thrilled to hear how happy my clients are with their photos. Ultimately when I’m shooting for a client it’s not about “my vision” it’s about theirs. Working with clients for couples, family, or wedding photos my job is to make them have an experience that they’ll always remember and to capture that experience for them. One of the lessons that took me a long time to learn is if you’re scared to do something, do it anyway, do it scared.
It took me a long time to publish my website and officially start my business because I was scared of being compared to the artists I admire and how I’m nowhere near their level. I had severe imposture syndrome for a long time. Then one day I woke up and realized it had been five years since I decided I wanted to be a professional photographer and I didn’t have a lot to show for it other than a body of work. I wasn’t getting paid, I wasn’t submitting to magazines or galleries, I wasn’t chasing clients, I wasn’t really doing anything because I was scared. What scared me more was waking up in another five years and still being in the same place. I realized that if I’m too afraid to move forward I’ll never make any progress, so I started doing the things that scared me and I’m better for it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
While I do love the city, I don’t spend a lot of time there. I generally like spending time getting lost in the mountains. I’ll pack a few snacks or sandwiches for longer trips and just enjoy the mountain air. I don’t really have any specific trails that follow, I tend to just drive to a spot and decide in the moment and to walk around and see what’s there.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
One book in particular that I learned a lot from is Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. It took me a long time to finish reading it because I kept stopping to implement what I learned from it. Studying the greats (obviously), but also studying the creatives who they drew inspiration from. Kleon called it an “Artist Tree.” The idea behind it is that we are shaped by what we love and who we look up to. “Chew on one thinker — writer, artist, activist, role model — you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker. Then find three people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them. Repeat this — as many times as you can. Climb up the tree as far as you can.” – Austin Kleon
When I did this I ended up getting even more inspiration and ideas for different projects and it made me excited for all of the upcoming projects that I had.
I recommend this book to everyone I meet.

Website: JosephDavisStudios.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephdavisstudios/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joedavisstudios

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Officialjosephdavisstudios/

Image Credits
The Personal Photo credit goes to Lainie Adams at LTA Photography