We were lucky to catch up with Craig Lawrence recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Craig, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

Honestly, I wish I’d started sooner. I got into photography shortly after my (very sudden and unexpected) divorce. It started as something to fill my time, something new to focus on, but I quickly fell in love with the storytelling aspect and the way you can connect with people through photos. Working with models and clients, learning new and creative ways to make art with these tools (camera, lenses, lights, photoshop) really meant the world to me. I wish I’d gotten into it sooner mostly to have more of it in my life. To get through my experimental, “finding my voice” phase a little earlier. I, like a lot of new artists, wanted to jump ahead to making magic, brilliant art and having things all come together for me RIGHT NOW! But it doesn’t work that way. Part of being a neophyte artist is learning things the hard way. You’ve got to invest in finding your voice. You have to go through a couple phases.

There’s also a practicality of age. I was almost 30 when I started taking photography seriously, and it’s been more than a handful of years since that. As you get older, priorities change, your energy changes. It would have been a lot easier to work a full day and then go do a shoot, then edit that shoot into the wee hours of the morning, then get up and do it again if I was doing all that when I was 28, rather than 38.

I try to make the most of what I have, what I’ve done, where I am. But if we’re being honest, I do wish I’d gotten started sooner.

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

Photography for me is about storytelling. I was a theater artist, actor, stage combat choreographer, and teacher before I was a photographer. And I bring that mindset, training, experience into my art. I’ll work with a model the same way I’d work with an actor in a show, talking them through movement, mood, intention. I try to create an atmosphere of cooperation, we’re a team making art together, not “Me Expert, You Client”. I’ll ask a lot of questions about what works, what doesn’t, what we’re looking for, what feels right.

My love for visual arts brought me here, and that love for powerful storytelling drives my choices. I want my clients and models to look amazing, and feel amazing about how they look. FightGuy Photography is a little bolder, a little larger than life, a little extra. Because that’s where the magic happens, when we stretch out a little bit.

Our shoots come in many shapes and sizes. Really any kind of photoshoot involving people is something we can do. Anything from an intimate boudoir session to family photos to a cosplay session. We shoot weddings and parties and commercial events. We provide headshots to actors and musicians, performers and business professionals. We provide branding photography to large companies or solo entrepreneurs. We want our clients to have the images that show them at their best.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

One element that comes up with clients a lot is that there isn’t really a “right” and “wrong” with most things, in the creative realm. There’s just “right for you”, or “right for this project/idea/intention”. Do you want something bold? Something relaxed? Something traditional, or dynamic? We can make that happen. We’re not stuck delivering the same kind of look over and over again. We can work with you on your idea, you just have to share with us, talk through the concepts, and lets come up with something. We can do that in an interview, we can share an idea board, you can send us ideas, vibes, thoughts. And we can let all that shape the final product. It’s not like putting together a machine, where everything has to go together in a certain order, a certain way. It’s art, it’s creative, it’s shaped to what you need it to be. We are happy to guide you and help you develop your ideas, that’s what we’re here for, but don’t think you’re stuck “ordering off the menu”, as it were.

As far as how we got here, a creative journey, especially with a hybrid tech/art game like photography is a lot about figuring out what works for you. A lot of times there is no “right” or “wrong” answer to a situation, just ones that deliver certain results. There’s almost always more than one answer to a problem. Is the shot too dark? Well we can fix that. We can add a new light source, we can raise the ISO, we can open the aperture, we can lower the shutter speed, or we can make changes later in post-production. That’s five options just for one small problem. Each of those variables will affect something else, it’s one of hundreds of decisions you make on the fly, or build habits around, to get the results that work well for you. Mix about a million of those choices together, start to make patterns and habits, and you’ll eventually end up with a “style” of your own.

Also, inspiration plays a huge part in what we do. Every artist I know who’s worth a minute of your time is constantly exposing themselves to new art. Early in my journey it was about figuring out what I wanted to chase, wanted to try. As a more seasoned artist, I’m constantly looking at the work of others, from all walks. I go to dance shows, I put my work in photography contests, I watch movies and tv shows, I ask myself “how did they light this? What makes this an effective visual? What can I take from this and add to my array of choices?”. Recently the Disney+ show Andor has really struck me with the way they visually compose their shots. Really amazing work, and I take the time to figure out what makes it so effective, and what can I learn from them

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s the reaction of the client, or the audience. A model saying they felt amazing, they love the photos. A bride saying the images brought back such amazing memories of the day. Someone on my Instagram telling me they’d love to work with us on something creative. I’ve had clients say they never thought of themselves as powerful or beautiful until our shoot. I’ve had professionals say they get such amazing complements on their marketing images, that it brings them more attention and more clients.

Delivering that kind of confidence, that energy, is fantastic. That’s what we’re always chasing. When we get it, it comes back to us. Clients who love the work we do for them, who can use it to propel themselves or their business forward, that’s what we’re looking for.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fightguyphotography.com
• Instagram: FightGuyPhoto
• Facebook: FightGuyPhoto
• Twitter: FightGuyPhoto
• Youtube: fightguyphoto

Image Credits
Dancer in Red Dress – Rebecca Scruggs Red Pirate – Luna Loverly Mermaid Tank – Morgana Alba, Circus Siren Pod The Crow – Lindsey Lou Grey Suit – Intellect Couple – Jim and Dawn Gaskill