We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Charles Williams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Charles below.

Alright, Charles thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

What’s in a name? I serve as a photographer formerly known as Chasmatic Odyssey – it’s a play on the abbreviation of my name, “Chas”. People didn’t always draw the correlation and they would mispronounce it as “charismatic odyssey”. That was no fun, so around 2017 I decided to switch it up. I didn’t want to just be “Chas Williams Lens” you know – I wanted to be known as artsy, rich. My Wife is a serial entrepreneur and business coach and she ran one of her coaching tactics on me. She asked “what do you want people to think of when they see your work?” I knew I wanted a name that was easy to pronounce and spell, memorable and maybe a little thought provoking. TOO EASY! A few minutes later I was saying Lush Photography. A web search later and I came up with Lush Photog or lushphotog.com. Lush being very rich and providing great sensory pleasure.

Charles, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Alabama raised and educated and graduated from Tuskegee University. I served ten years in the US Air Force and separated after ten years (yes, right at the halfway point!) and I was a bit nervous and anxious while looking for the next thing, a job, a business, anything. I started experimenting with my iPhone and probing it up anywhere I could to snap a few images. One day I was passing through Nashville and had lunch with a friend (who happened to be a Photog), but not after snapping a pic outside a restaurant. I showed him the filtered image and a few others and he immediately told me to get a camera. He went on to remark about my eye and ability to make inanimate objects interesting. So I got a starter camera!

The business came later between my military separation and my first civilian job. I was struggling! Another great friend said to me: “There’s a million dollars in your camera, go get it”. I am still pressing toward that million but I was given the inspiration to just start. And that I did. I began like many other photogs capturing anything for anyone – events, portraits, family reunions and…even a few weddings. I am retired and healed from photographing weddings now though.

I have learned the challenge I solve for my clients is making them comfortable and breaking past what I call “that third grade picture day pose” You know the one where they show all their teeth, throw their heads back and let it rip? There’s nothing wrong with that at all – I capture that and more. I learned to have a conversation with my subject. How to get them to “emote” as one of my Photog mentors puts it. I may tell a few jokes and encourage them about the reason for needing their portraits or the particular image I am capturing. “In the past I was the photog who showed to an event and doesn’t verbally interact with clients for the entire time and as I evolved I learned to “pop the rag while I shine the shoe” ( I know that was very southern) I learned to help the clients relax. I also learned to be a hype man – think a little less “Flavor Flav” and a little more Drew Bundini Brown (Muhammed Ali’s corner man). That’s what I think I am most proud of – I face a client who proclaims she doesn’t take good pictures. So I reassure her I don’t take too many bad ones. I even learned to see or feel that energy coming and I start building them up. I like to have fun! I love to help people look and feel the best they can about themselves. We capture the details, make sure the images are as sharp as they can be – I want the client’s photog acquaintances to notice! I want to help provide a (static) visual of their work and progress. I feel most successful when the client’s family members confirm we got the best out of that person.

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

I have a background in Mechanical Engineering on military aircraft and project management of IT systems for the same. There wasn’t much room to be creative in government aircraft sustainment, because if you get too creative, it could be quite costly. So it’s quite rewarding to have a client give me an idea and totally trust my judgment to deliver.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

There was a time I considered quitting events. I had to learn to be ok with events. In some cases event photographers aren’t taken seriously and I struggled with this until I remembered to shut that self conscious feeling out. People continued to call me to do events, so I kept it on the menu. I just changed the type events and the hours I was willing to cover.

Contact Info:

• Website: lushphotog.com
• Instagram: @lushphotog_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lushphotogcw

Image Credits
All images by LushPhotog.com