We were lucky to catch up with Jack Ludlam recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

I believe that the because challenge to be profitable as a fine art photographer is consistency. Once you make the conscious decision to rely on your creative outlet as a source of income it can drastically affect the way you create work.

In my experience, the work that sells the best is the work that I care about the most. The work that I am the most excited about. And that is because I naturally want to talk about it, share it with people, share it on social media etc.. Unfortunately I have not found a way to coax myself back into a creative mindset when I am in a rut. It just happens naturally. Finding ways to work during those times is the biggest challenge for me as far as profitability goes. Continuing to practice and experiment has been the most important thing for me.

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

My name is Jack Ludlam and I am a fine art photographer based in Denver Colorado. I am 31 years old and I have been making photographs full time for the last 5 years. I first got introduced to photography by my mom, who had a 35mm Canon she would let me use when I was growing up in Ohio. Occasionally instead of bringing my bow or fishing pole with me out into the woods, I would bring her camera.

I was reintroduced to photography my freshman year of college and I haven’t put it down since. I chose to study analog photography instead of digital, and more specifically I chose medium and large format film because I loved the detail you could get in the final image. When I started making photographs on a consistent basis I noticed that I gravitated towards making photos of people who work with their hands. Ranchers, welders, brick layers, tradesmen and women were all fascinating to me. Over time I developed a process of subtractive photography by removing clutter and distraction, leaving only the person or the object to be admired.

Creating physical work in the photographic medium is extremely important to me. I make photos that are meant to be printed and admired in person as opposed to on a screen. There is no better feeling than creating a photograph that I am truly proud of, and watching it come to life as a print.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

NFTs? Quite honestly I am still very confused by them. I had quite a few people encourage me to make NFTs but for some reason it always didn’t feel right. To be clear, I am not saying that it is wrong, I just find a lot of joy in making a print. Starting with nothing and ending with a real physical photograph. That is what is exciting to me. So, personally I have stayed away from the NFT world.

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

I spend a lot of time brainstorming/daydreaming of concepts. Sometimes they are simple and other times they are extremely complex and require a lot of experimentation and practice. But when everything comes together and the result is a full body of work that I can share with people in exactly the way I intended it to be shared might be one of the best feelings in the world. It’s great when the work sells of course, but just accomplishing your own goals and seeing it through to the end is probably the most rewarding thing for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jackludlam.com
• Instagram: @jackludlam

Image Credits
@adamnbove Adam Bove