We were lucky to catch up with Jeremiah Laureano recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeremiah, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When I was first starting off a few years ago I only saw photography as a gateway to easy money and never really focused on the craft of creating and making better work with each project. Once my teacher saw that I was able to progress through photography at such a short rate she made me turn in work for different competitions and galleries. I never really thought my work was anything special so once all my work was turned in, so many different awards and galleries my work was shown off on made me really appreciate the work I have created. Since then I have pursued to push myself as an artist and create better work with each photoshoot I do. After receiving my first award for a competition and people enjoying the art that I was creating, I have been determined since then to create better work and make myself unique from other artists. I was earning decent money but more than anything I started to enjoy creating better art and challenging myself which led to me becoming obsessed with creating something new and finally saw myself wanting to pursue this art as a professional.

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?

My name is Jeremiah Laureano and my artist name is Phars. I first got into photography back in high school in 2018 when I was put in a photography class. I originally wasn’t into photography and wanted to take a business class instead because I didn’t think taking photos was a real job. The more photos I took and being able to create art and learn more over time helped me fall in love with the craft of photography and push myself to create stronger and more meaningful work that relates to me. I have taken years to learn the craft and get advice from many professionals in my field as I grow as an artist over time.

I provide any type of photography services from single portraits, group portraits, event photography, and wedding photography.

I solve any problems of lighting, posing, wardrobe, and creative design for each photoshoot I work with. I believe what sets me apart from other artists in my field is that I always have a different approach for everything I do and never try to move on the path of trends or easiest path, but rather what works best for each client and is as unique for each project. I am most proud of my distinct style of dramatic and stylized, and I want all my future clients and followers to know that I always strive to push my work in new directions and always move forward in a contemporary way and that all my ideas are always from the top of my head rather than looking towards an adaptation or recreation of a piece.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

When starting off doing photography professionally I always strived to become a commercial/fashion photographer that did many magazines and work with different artists and celebrities. Once I knew that was my goal for photography I always have it in the back of my mind where I try to create work like I am trying to present to the biggest companies and agencies to hire me for work. Also, another goal of mine is to remain a freelance artist so I can have the freedom to work with many brands rather than be tied down to just one company or brand that I can work with, so I am always looking forward to pursuing new concepts and ideas to push forward different narratives in my work. Having those goals in the back of your mind at all times will help push you to where you want to go and want to always make your work better each time you do it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When starting off on social media it took a while to build an audience and for people to even recognize my work. I was able to build that just by continually posting and sharing it out to everyone and then asking them to share it with everyone else as well and just build more exposure through word of mouth through social media. Although advertising your work is good it is less likely people are going to pay attention to it rather than seeing work that their friend posted on their story because they are more likely to be interested to see what their friend posted instead. Overall, building your social media presence is not easy because it takes time and a lot of effort just for people to notice your posts and the different algorithms in each social media platform you have to juggle with just to get one to finally pop off.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://phars.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phars_/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/phars20