We were lucky to catch up with Shemar Anthony recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shemar, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents have taught me a variety of valuable lessons over the years. Some of them are just making sense now in my adult life to be honest. I’d definitely have to say the most valuable lesson of them all is to never give up. I’m no stranger to hard work or adversity and when I want something I put in the work to get it. I’ve watched my parents steadily work to improve our lives for as long as I can remember. Through every challenge and unpredictable event their resolve was always the same, to give their children a safe and prosperous life. I’ve watched them stay focused on their goals through it all. From living in a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York to eventually relocating to south Florida after many years of hard city life, they never faltered. I’ve definitely chosen an unconventional path or maybe it chose me but either way they gave me the mindset and skills to make it happen by leading by example. Even when the odds are stacked against you they’ve taught me to take a step back, recalibrate, plan and take action and that’s how I move forward to achieve my professional goals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Shemar, a 26 year old freelance photographer and creative director based in south Florida with big dreams. I started photography back in 2015 as a hobby taking photos of friends and family until eventually my passion turned itself into a job. From there I worked in retail management full-time with photography and my creative endeavors on the side until covid hit and I decided to pursue my photography career full time. I’ve done a variety of work ranging from weddings, editorials, portraits, concept photography, a few music videos and much more. I love dabbling in different areas of creativity and bringing it all together to create a strong visual. I’ve been a stylist, make up artist, set designer, hair stylist, pretty much if you can name it I’ve done it. Having small amounts of experience in these areas allows me to communicate and plan accordingly when working with specialists of those respective skills which in turn provides a more cohesive end result for our project. I always challenge myself to learn new editing styles and evolve my craft through trial, error and experience. Initially I began with simple portraits and then over the years I developed a taste for whimsical concept photography with my most known photoshoot being “Cosmic Black Love” which amassed over 4 million views on TikTok. That photoshoot opened a lot of doors for me and it also opened my eyes to my potential.

More recently I’ve been shifting into more fashion and editorial based photography and I believe that’s the direction I want to continue heading in. I aspire to work with more artists, musicians, models and designers going forward.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Honestly, it’s amazing having people appreciate my work online via social media and I’m very grateful for the love and support I receive but having someone speak about my work to me in person is incredibly rewarding. As of lately I’ve ran into a few individuals in the most random of places who were familiar with my work and they expressed what they loved about each shot and why it was their favorite. Each time it happens I’m slightly mind blown that people actually pay attention. With social media everything is instantaneous, weeks of planning, shooting and editing is reduced to a few seconds on someone’s timeline as they’re scrolling throughout their day. Having someone take the time to verbally recall my work with details is just incredibly fulfilling to know that the hard work is being appreciated in its essence. Aside from that I’d say it’s always a reward to see an idea come to life. Often times I write down so many different ideas and concepts I’m just grateful each time I proceed with finishing one.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’d definitely have to say consistency, being true to yourself and networking are probably best methods of growing an audience in my experience. Over the years I’ve always experimented with different methods of growth on various apps like Instagram, Tumblr and more recently TikTok and through it all being consistent in the source of content material that you provide is definitely an essential method for growth. I’ve had waves of inconsistency and sporadic posts over the years which never yielded amazing results in terms of growing and engaging the audience but sometimes you owe it to yourself to take a mental break. The timeframes when I’m consistently producing and energized in my career clearly yielded growth and engagement in my audience and attracted new people to the art and content I was creating. Simultaneously through these efforts you can attract creative peers, clients and a variety of opportunities that will inevitably provide you with the grounds to plant new seeds and continue to grow as well as achieve more opportunities through social media. It’s very important to stay true to the brand you’ve built for yourself as this is the representation that causes your audience to become invested and believe in your dreams with you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/critical_visuals/?hl=en
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_critical/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@critical__

Image Credits
All Portraits shot by Myself, Shemar Anthony King of the Wolves – Jimmy Camile – Model Red, Hot – Nicole Melgarejon- Model Cosmic Black Love – Jimmy Camile and Zhane Simmonds – Models Portrait – Zack – Model