We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jamar Silvers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jamar thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Personally, when it comes to learning the craft of photography, it’s an exciting journey. I’m no pro yet, but that’s the fun part that I can keep learning throughout the years and my experience with a digital camera. In my life, I have never felt so passionate about using a digital camera or even learning how to use one. What I really enjoy about the craft is that there is always something new to learn. Say it’s a new style such as astrophotography, night photography, and so many more, or even being an intern for a professional well-established photographer and learning what you can from a professional photoshoot and how to conduct it correctly. But most people think taking a photo is easy, which generally it is, but as photographers would know, it really is more complicated than just pulling out your phone and snapping a quick picture. To properly learn how to take a photo, I had to start with my phone, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; you have to work with what you’ve got, but getting into angles and light was a bit more difficult. Because those things and more could affect how your picture will turn out, and that’s the fun part for me is to experiment in Lightroom or whatever editing platform you use. At the end of the day, every photographer, whether they use a phone, a digital camera, or film, has their own vision and style for how they see the world. Speaking of obstacles, I had more of a breakdown when I was 19. Just turning 20, I kept trying to master everything at once and trying to be successful in the photography trade at a young age. So many mental obstacles, but with learning photography, I had to learn that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Things take time, especially artistic ones, but I know one day I’ll get there and that being said, nothing I learned could have sped it up considering that things take time, especially learning.
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.
For new readers, my name is Jamar Silvers. I am a digital photographer based out of Cincinnati, where I was born and raised. I got into photography in my sophomore year of high school and started out on my smartphone, and later I got to use a digital camera when I went to school at the Cincinnati zoo. I got experience while I did photography around the school and out in the zoo, which was very fun and let me have a different view on life through a camera lens. During my time there, I knew photography was for me. It was a burning passion inside me that wanted to show the world how I view things through my camera lens. Getting into it was a slow process, I must admit, but patience was what I had to rely on the most, and perseverance. Even though at times I just wanted to put down the camera and give up and walk away from it, I kept going with it and kept looking at the positive outcomes of it, of course. I feel what separates me from other creatives is my vision, my way of showing, through my camera lens, the world we live in and how it can be viewed in a beautiful way despite what has been going on around the world and in the country. What I’m proud of is how far I’ve come with my photography and the life lessons I learned along the way that helped my photography not only get better but visually impact people. Speaking of my Brand “Silverfox Photography” Im currently in the starting stages of my business, as of right now I can provide photoshoots in the greater cincinnati area (Downtown Or Uptown/Parks).
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The real reward of being an artist is the significant impact that you leave on people’s lives. No matter if you think it’s not good, it greatly impacts lives in more ways than I can honestly count. Being a photographer, I love showing others my view through my camera lens and hearing how my photos impact them in many ways. Having people enjoy my work brings a smile to my face. When I pick up that camera, it isn’t about fame, it’s about the vision, the impact that I leave on people visually. Going down this path of photography and understanding how it can change and impact the lives of humanity, is the real reward for an artist.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
When it comes to goals that I want to achieve in this creative journey, I can easily say there are a lot of goals I want to reach and achieve, but I’m learning “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and the reason why I say that is because, in my second semester of freshman year of college, I dealt with extreme burnout, which spiraled into numerous negative thoughts. I had thoughts of dropping out of college because I let myself get so stressed out trying to accomplish so many things at 20. I didn’t want to be a failure or someone who didn’t show their full potential I didn’t want to be forgotten I wanted to make my mark on the world like many other photographers before me. So I took a moment and asked for help with these thoughts and burdens. I started to understand that I must live life at the moment and cherish where I am now. So my mission is to keep going and improving my photography to impact and change people’s lives through my lens.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Saitama_Capricorn
- Email: [email protected]