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

J. Churchill, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

“A creative career is a mosaic of skills pulled together by curiosity and play.”.

There’s a long history of small business ownership in my family. My grandfather was a contractor hanging drywall, my dad ran bodyshops, and I had my first job at 12, cleaning condos on the weekends with a family member. Music, design, and photography have been a part of my life for 2 decades.I built my first website at 15 for a local campground that was owned by a family friend. At 16 I was entering still life photos in competitions and I started recording and touring with a band at 18.

One of the most influential people in my career as a designer and photographer was my friend Mark. In college he gave me my first design job at his branding company. He taught me about color theory, and typography, and so many other pieces of the creative process. Years later, I was working on my first book. Mark, who had shifted focus and had become a well respected photojournalist, invited me to travel around the country with him. I would write while he was working on photo essays. That’s where I learned about the fly on the wall approach to capturing images. The focus on telling the truth and capturing things as they are with no editorializing unlocked something in my creative process.

I continued touring on and off until my late 20s. This was while congruently working on a lot of design work for other artists; creating album art, websites, merch, concert posters etc.. At the end of my 20s I was facing a bit of an identity crisis. A failed record deal and fledging book sales had left me and my ego feeling lost. I had put so much of my self worth and sense of identity into my creative output that without it I didn’t know who I was.

It was around this time I started taking the occasional gig working on music video shoots as a production asst.. Over time my background in design and photography found a new outlet as an art dir. I was lucky enough to work on videos for artists like Rascal Flatts and Gavin DeGraw. On one of those sets I met my best friend and future business partner Hunter Ney. He’s a gifted cinematographer and editor and together we built a film production company that to this day is one of my favorite endeavors I’ve been a part of. He taught me about lighting and composition, color grading, and how to make something look filmic.

All these experiences culminated in a wonderful way, leading to the launch of my own company. The focus on artist development and branding. My mission was to holistically coach artists to discover and articulate their mission, vision, & values and build an honest and authentic brand from a less performative more human place. I still do this work with artists and creatives but I’ve come full circle back to my small business roots and expanded into helping founders and leaders get clarity on who they are; So they can turn brand into story and story into sales.

Additional info:
My film camera was stolen which put a huge pause on my photography, I couldn’t afford to replace it. So for a couple years the only “camera” I had was my phone. That taught me how to do the most with the least. Before phones had portrait mode I would take my pictures into photoshop and cut out the subject so i could blur the background to make it look like it was taken on a “real” camera. It was awkward and kind of embarrassing when people would DM me and ask to shoot with me and I had to tell them that I’d be showing up with an iphone. Eventually I started working on borrowed cameras until my friend Jess very generously gave me her camera when she upgraded to a newer model.

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?

Brand, Identity, & Culture

I help founders and leaders get clarity on who they are; So they can turn brand into story and story into sales.

I believe behind every click, tap, and scroll is a human being. Algorithms may help us connect with them, but what are we saying when we do? In a world full of robots we help keep you and your brand human.

I’ve developed 2-part “Brand Therapy” and “Brand Elevation” process that eliminates friction throughout your creative ecosystem. Connecting you with customers in a consistent and meaningful ways.

Going after what you want can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. This process is transformational to you and your brand; Pushing you to know yourself deeper, helping you set clear and specific goals, providing tools for identifying and overcoming limiting beliefs, managing time and boundaries, and so much more. Why? So you can boldly move forward, build momentum, and win big.

The next step in evolving your brand and business starts today.

My core values are curiosity & kindness, this informs the approach every client and project. Asking questions and guiding clients to articulate the core of their “Identity” through their own mission, vision, and values. This informs the branded content and culture we create together.

BIO
I’ve worked with small businesses and fortune 200 companies to help elevate their brand and culture to both higher and more human levels. I am a published author, an Emmy nominated designer, a former professional snowboarder, and an empathy and curiosity driven human. I have a heart for coaching and culture. I believe in the power of not just storytelling, but storytelling that is motivated by mission, vision, and values.

On a more personal side; I am an INJF, Enneagram 9, Neurodivergent (ADHD), and Mild Depressive Bipolar, New England born, Nashville raised, California living, Marvel loving nerd, with a passion for songwriting and photography.

Photo Bio

“Churchill has the beautiful ability to photograph each human as if they are a long lost lover.”
– Pascal Bonifay

J. Churchill Morris established his filmic approach in the 2010s as an art director and creative consultant on projects for Target, Harpers Bazar, and artists like Gavin DeGraw, Rascal Flats, Brantley Gilbert, and Dashboard Confessional. This was further developed as producer and co-director for Nashville based creative agency ST8MNT. Morris was immersed in the reportage approach to photography while working on his book “Roadtrip Mixtapes” traveling the country with respected photo journalist Mark Ovaska. In addition to photography Morris is an Emmy nominated creative content producer and brand coach.

“I believe with curiosity and empathy that art, truth, beauty, and story can come together to show the light of humanity”

services:
Identity & Culture coaching, Photography, branding, creative content, social media strategy, graphic design, and video.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Many of the other questions on the dropdown were addressed in the earlier sections of the interview.

My reputation is built on a few things.

1. I work really hard to be present, actively listen, and as Brenee Brown says, “Stay curious a little longer”. Asking more questions before jumping right into advice and consulting.
2. Creating a culture of safety, trust, and vulnerability. Storytelling is about creating opportunities to be seen, heard, and understood. Whether it’s a photography session or a branding project I’m working to empower people to see themselves as strong, beautiful, honest, and authentic.
3. Expediency. I want to deliver quality and do it quickly. There’s an old business concept where the triangle points of a project are Quick, Quality, and Price. The idea being that you can only have to and one has to suffer. I held on to that for a long time, and I get why it’s a popular mindset. But as much as I can I work to re-write that story. I believe in small business, artists, and creatives. I know what it’s like to stretch a budget while building something from the ground up and I want to provide services to those who need it most at a price that encourages their growth and success. I will work within most budgets, I will deliver their photos faster than any other photographer, and they will get a product that they are proud of and excited about.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

You are here – Thich Nhat Hanh You are a badass at making money – Jen Sincero
The power of vulnerability & Dare to lead – Brene Brown
Start with why – Simon Sinek
The Creative act – a way of being

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ChurchillMorris.com / www.JMorris.CO
• Instagram: @Churchill.Morris
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jchurchillmorris/