We were lucky to catch up with AARON WILLIAMS recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, AARON thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

My first paycheck from working as a creative came from the menswear brand John Varvatos. I was green. I had never worked on a commercial endeavor before. I was so nervous and scared and definitely suffered from imposter syndrome. It was probably one of the worst shoots I have ever done, which makes me really sad, considering it was my first big chance to do something cool. I totally blew it. I rented a Canon 1D, which I had never used before, and I was shooting tethered into CaptureOne Pro, which I had never used before.

It was messy from the start. Production was at a bar in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The model was an hour late. The garments and products were nearly three hours late. I had only four hours to shoot an entire campaign with 12 looks in different locations, including detail shots, action shots, and hero shots. I was flustered. I was nervous. I felt like I didn’t belong there or that I didn’t know what I was doing. I just kept saying to myself, if this check clears, I’m buying a new camera so that I don’t ever have to face this kind of embarrassment again.

Fortunately, we were able to salvage what the brand needed and wanted and they were happy, enough. Well, at least they did pay me. A full-day rate of commercial photography. I felt rich. I felt hungry for more. I spent every last penny of that hefty paycheck upgrading all my equipment,

I got a new 1D, a license to CaptureOne, studio lights, and the whole 9 yards. I felt like it was Christmas. The next gig after that was for Converse, so I’m happy I didn’t blow my opportunity but sad that it wasn’t as good as I wanted.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hey, y’all. I’m a creative photographer who can do it all. When I was young I saw Andy Warhol’s polaroids in a magazine somewhere and I knew instantly that’s what I wanted to do. Everything just looked so much better and prettier in the pictures. Now, let me explain, I had a very humble upbringing. Looking at pictures in magazines was my escape. I fell in love with the imagery and storytelling of Mark Seliger, and the colors and post-production of Jill Greenberg. I would pour over the pages over and over again, trying to figure out what made them special. What energy did they hold and could I recreate it?

I picked up my first camera when I was 8 and started using my family and friends as models. However, they quickly tired of working the lens and I turned the camera around on myself and started taking self portraits. I was the only one with enough patience enough to stand there and I fight and fidget with my Canon AE-1 Program camera. It was completely manual 35mm and I loved it. I think learning how to shoot technically well at such a young age really helped me develop my asthetic much faster than most photographers.

My credo is, “Do things with passion or not at all.” Photography and creating are my passions. I strive to be better at both every day.

I shoot everything from portraits to pets to commercials to campaigns to editorials and events. I’m not really a “label” kind of guy. I love being able to shoot anything, in any lighting condition. I love being able to move in and out of product shots to portraits from the studio to on location. It’s a thrilling industry.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Sure. I was shooting an editorial try for a magazine and went to Patricia Field’s ART/HOUSE to find some new, trendy, up-and-coming designers. Pat and her assistant were able to hook me up with some of the coolest designers. I got a couple of bathing suits from the brand, P*SSY LIPS, by designer Barbee Bonner. The test shoot went really well and the shots were stellar. So stellar in fact, that P*SSY LIPS, decided to use the test photographs I took as advertisement on their socials, and across their digital presence. For those of you in any industry, you’d know this is a huge no-no.

First, this was a test shoot. No one got paid for any of their work. Not me, not my creative team, and not the models. So legally the images are for exposure or editorial only. The brand has the option to purchase the images to use but P*SSY LIPS did not. Barbee didn’t pay me at all… in fact, she not only didn’t pay me, but she also didn’t even give me credit for taking the images.

She just used them as her own advertising with out any credit or pay. I sued her and Patricia Field ART/HOUSE for damages, and theft of services, and the model agency sued them as well for not paying the models. The Agency and I won our case against Pat Field, Barbee Bonner, and P*SSY LIPS.

To this day, I still haven’t been paid.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

NFTs are the new way of laundering money. Need to hide a couple of million? Buy a jpeg. Makes total sense. The fact it’s bought and sold as crypto currency should be all the tell-tale signs you need of something dark going on.

Contact Info:

• Website: aaronkicksass.com
• Instagram: aaronkicksass
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslieaaronwilliams