We recently connected with LaTwanna Williams and have shared our conversation below.
LaTwanna , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
I came up with the idea of In This Season after an encounter that I had in college. There I was, an undergrad senior in a theatre class about to present my final set design. I was eager to share an idea that had not yet been presented. Upon finishing, the professor looked at me and asked “Why didn’t you do it like Dan?” As the only Black person in the whole theatre program, I couldn’t help but feel personally attacked by this question. Why didn’t you do it like Dan? As I started to explain my thought process and artistic execution the professor interrupted me saying “Next time, just do it like Dan.” silencing my voice in seconds. That’s when the harsh reality hit me, that as a black woman, I was not expected to show my own artistic process, artistic vision and artistic execution. I was expected to do everything exactly as a white man would if I wanted to be successful. I began to believe there was no place for me in the arts and assumed that the unique experiences of my blackness and my womaness were only accepted if it can relate to the superior white culture. Even though I went on to receive my MBA and MAT, I had to relearn how to love me just the way I am, not perfect but perfectly me. I had to learn how to express that through my art and how to support others in the same light. Initially, I used In This Season to provide branding imagery that helped business owners tell their narrative authentically. For years I considered myself only a Brand Photographer but after some time I started to noticed a trend. Most of the clients I worked with did not use the images after our session, not because they didn’t want to but because they didn’t know how to. That’s how In This Season came to be. It was developed as a brand support system to not only encourage but empower brands to tell their stories and to partner with brands to create roadmaps that they could follow to take full control of their visual narrative on every touchpoint of their business!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
While I work under the titles of Creative Director, Brand Photographer, Producer & Educator, I mostly consider myself a Visual Storyteller. I can say without a doubt that photography is one of my greatest passions, although, it took a little bit of a curvy journey for it to come into fruition. My Artistic background started with a BA in Theatre (the visuals), which was followed by a MBA (Masters in Business Administration – the strategic plan) and a MAT (Masters in Teaching – the pathway). The first ten years of my artistic career was spend in the education world teaching theatre & dance and directing stage productions. After I left education, I became a freelance producer producing mostly for screen productions. During this time, I noticed that some of the professionals I loved and worked with on set had digital platform accounts that did not do them or their work justice. I wanted to help them develop a plan that would authentically set up their platforms to visually market their work. Later I would learn this is called a Personal Brand development.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist is art in and of itself is a direct expression & response to the world around us and serves as a historic documentation for future generations. When received, it can affect our senses, influence our emotions and persuade our thoughts. It is not limited to one outlet. During the height of the pandemic and living through the unrest that took place just miles from my house in response to the death of Mr. George Floyd, I started questioning how I could use my camera to process what I was feeling and make a difference. The hardest hurdle to get over was self sabotage thinking “I’m just one person, I can’t make a big enough statement.” “Who will listen to what I have to say?” This was the start of what I call Artist Series. My Artist Series allow me to work through and process though art so I can create outside of what I do for clients.
My first Artist Series was called #Resilient, a response to the negative impact social media has on young girls. #Resilient was a half day camp for girls in grades 4-6. Through a series of age appropriate activities we focused on self awareness, self esteem, self acceptance and self empowerment. I lead participants through a mindset workshop, in which the young ladies chose an empowerment word. Then they decorated their photo mat with their empowerment word and other encouraging thoughts. Finally they got an individual photoshoot with me. Directly after their photoshoot they chose their favorite image of themselves, which was matted with the mat they decorated with their empowerment word and framed for a keepsake. Being a witness to the power of imagery in their lives was an amazing opportunity. They made their statement with their voices about how they felt about themselves. That’s art as a statement with a purpose. That’s what Perfectly Imperfect Studios stands for, I am most proud to create a space where women and BIPOC people can be just who they are perfectly, where their voice can be heard through art and their artworks can make a statement while disrupting the normal trend of silencing our voices only because of our anatomy or skin color.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I love to read, I love to learn and I love to use what I have learned to help others. One thing that took me a while to learn personally is I have control of the media I put into my head. I love a good fantasy novel (bonus point if it’s about dragons) but reading for pass time and reading for development are two very different things. I keep in touch with my industry by reading publications regarding branding, marketing and graphic design. I read about business management, design principles, and business finance. I also purposely seek out authors that look like me, women of color. I enjoy reading books by Rachel Rodgers, Tina Wells and Tiffany Aliche.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inthisseason.co
- Instagram: in_thisseason
