We were lucky to catch up with Joe Lane recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Joe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?
I’ve always been a musician Started playing professionally and traveling when I was seven years old. For as long as I can, remember, I have always wanted to play drums. My father had a gospel Quartet, singing group, and I started playing with them. As far as Photography is concerned, I’d like to take pictures for a long time, but in 2011, my sister couldn’t afford to get my nephew see your pictures taken so I asked her to let me try. Looking back it wasn’t very flattering but at the time it seemed OK and I had another person who liked the work and asked me to be their child’s pictures as well. From that I started watching videos and reading articles about photography and learning the craft. I took over 1000 pictures a week and studied composition, lighting, etc. I then moved onto purchasing some off camera lighting to develop my understanding and knowledge of that. As far as music, I played violin in fifth grade and then went onto percussion through Middle and High School. I learned to play formally through public school and then went on to study at the Oberlin Conservatory. I finished my degree in education at Michigan State University, and have played with an emphasis on jazz professionally.
Joe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am Joe Lane. I live in West Michigan and I provide both music and photography services. Music I mainly focus on piano vocals and drum set. I play with bands or solo. Mainly for Church or for wedding ceremonies. With photography, I do sports, action, portait, and wedding photography.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think the most difficult thing for people to understand is the cost associated with the service. I hear a lot of people say that both musicians and photographers are rather expensive, but I think people failed to consider the amount of time spent practicing for learning music or studying photography or what have you. Additionally, I don’t think people consider the amount of investment we have in Equipment and the wear and tear that goes into that. For example, if you take an average Wedding photographer who might charge you $2000 for the day, They have spent 8 to 10 hours at the wedding and an additional 10 to 20 hours editing your pictures. So if we say that was 30 hours, the rate comes out to be around $67 an hour. For a specialized service, that is average to low. Into perspective, an automobile mechanic charges between 50 and $150 an hour for their service.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
As far as music is concerned, I want to give people joy through their experience and event. I love watching people, smile, and dance and be moved emotionally through the magical music. Photography is slightly different for me. I believe that everyone should be able to have high quality pictures at an affordable price. I don’t think a person who can’t financially afford high-quality pictures should suffer because they can’t afford that so I want to make sure all people are able to have images and be able to keep those memories. I am sure this comes from my sister‘s story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joescreativeexpressions.pixieset.com/
- Instagram: @Lanejoel
- Facebook: Joe Lane II
