Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jesse Lendzion. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jesse, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In 2019 I was new to photography and looking for a project that would double as a way to help others and practice my craft–this was to counter some of the tunnel vision I was experiencing as a new entrepreneur…putting what felt like all of my resources into building my own thing, sometimes felt like I was out of touch with the world around me. I searched around a little bit and discovered a local nonprofit called the Nashville Street Barbers–a group of volunteer barbers and stylists who meet downtown regularly to give away free haircuts to the homeless community or anyone in need. A friend of mine recommended that I document their work and give them the photos to use. After a few years of doing this I observed some really profound things about the power of compassion, and kindness. Not to mention the significance of a haircut and how it can give dignity and remind us how much we’re worth. I also had a large enough body of work to make a photo book which I self published in 2022 called The Nashville Street Barbers. I still work with this nonprofit and have grown so much as a photographer and human from paying close attention to what they’re doing.

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?

I decided to become a photographer when I burned out of a service industry job in 2017. I had put so much of my energy into my management position that I found myself totally depleted and unfulfilled. I had a moment of clarity while I was washing some dishes – I am not getting the return that I want for the energy I’m giving. It took me years to realize that and I think I had to burnout from a job like that to see it so simply. It made me want to do something more meaningful with my life. When I asked myself what I’d do instead my first thought was photography. So I decided to experiment with it. What would happen if I put this much energy into something creative and fulfilling? I quit that job, and got a part time, low stress barista gig and started putting all my extra time into learning photography. And now 6 years later I am basically still doing that experiment, but I’ve grown a lot and have been able to leave behind the barista job and I pay my bills doing photography. Which makes me want to keep going, like the experiment is working.

While searching for my own creative voice in photography, I found myself drawn to portraiture, specifically in a studio setting. I love the challenge of creating light to suit someone, and my favorite – the challenge of making someone feel completely relaxed in front of a camera, this the most fulfilling part of my job. When I can create that kind of safe space, I think the work that I make becomes super valuable, something real and timeless is made, and in our day and age, images like that can do a lot for people – usually they live on the big stage of the internet where they ultimately end up representing who my clients are and what they do.

Something that sets me apart from others is my own creative voice. Which I think comes from practicing over and over until a unique expression is impressed on the work–so much that others feel it. I love this idea because I think anyone can do it, everyone is unique, and it just keeps refining the more you do it. Anyone has the potential to be extremely set apart, no matter what the medium. It just depends on the quality of attention, and time invested. I want people to see my work and feel like something special was happening when the photo was taken. I want people to feel what I value when they see my work.

I’m the most proud of my determination to keep going down the path of a creative career–I’ve found that it brings up a lot of fears and insecurities, almost bringing them all to the surface to see. I can only speak for myself but there’s a correlation between dealing with those things and growth. Whenever I hit a wall in my creativity/business, I have learned to check in on myself and see what’s going on internally, to take an honest look at what’s there and be kind to myself even if I’m scared or I don’t know what to do next. I feel very proud that I’ve been on this path for as long as I have. It’s totally worth going through the growing pains to experience the joy of growth and creating.

I’m a perfectionist by nature, I used to be so frustrated with that word because who want’s to work with a perfectionist? I like to think of it in this way – I can imagine so much potential with anything I care about. It translates into my work and is basically the fundamental lens I see the world through. I am constantly learning how to use this perspective in a healthy way, there’s a lot of letting go because it’s easy for me to imagine something grand, and then be let down when things don’t quite stack up. There’s a really nice balance of going into a shoot with a beautiful goal, working very hard to achieve it, and simultaneously holding it all loosely, making room for improv. When I’m doing a photoshoot I’ve learned that the more room I make for surprises, the more I learn I can trust myself in the moment–I’ll know what to do and I’ll contribute something wonderful on the spot. I believe this combination results in wonderful work, it’s relentless searching for something magical, open minded to the unknown. In portraiture I think this is important because each shoot/interaction is unique and can easily be flattened out by too much orchestration. I think humans thrive on embracing the unknown, it’s freaky but all of my favorite work has been made in that space. If you think about it it’s actually like creating on the spot, in real time.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I am currently unlearning is that I can’t just devote myself to doing an excellent job and expect my skill to make me successful. It’s probably one of the most important variables but there is more. I admit I’m learning this the hard way–I wish I would have understood this earlier because I’ve used a lot of steam believing that if I just became excellent I would make it. I basically oversimplified my strategy to success and almost burned out in the process. And It feels crazy to become exhausted from trying to be excellent, only to realize that you’ve got to now conjure up even more energy to learn some other fundamental growth strategies. I’m learning how to change my view of success, there is a place for excellence in craft, but there are other key pieces of the puzzle – learning how to communicate with clients, healthy financial planning/structure, mentorship, seeking out dream clients, physical and mental health, and the list goes on. It’s important to give myself a lot of grace and patience often. I try to remind myself that I’m doing something new, I’ve never been here before so it’s ok to pivot when a new lesson is discovered. I’m learning to take a look at my bandwidth and make sure my energy/output isn’t hyper focused on one thing, but spread out, spent on multiple avenues of growth.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I learned an awesome lesson from a friend I admire, Brian Hickman. he’s an incredible hair stylist/artist. Someone who stands out to me as excellent and unique, you know his work when you see it. I interviewed him at the start of my career asking about his creative process and how he developed his style. He said he made sure to include a time in his week where he could practice his own style, for free. He would find models and cut and style their hair in ways that inspired him. He’d also document his work and share it on social media. After doing this over and over, he’d built a portfolio that was showing others the kind of work he wanted to be getting, he put out there the exact thing he wanted to get back and it worked. I love this concept because it combines hard work with hopeful thinking. It’s not just wishing that work will come, it’s proactively getting in the reps and trusting the process that people will want what you create as you share it with the world. It might not happen right away but the body of work will pay off in the long run. I’ve tried to look at my social media as a way to explore my own style/documenting my growth. I do a lot of free work to continue exploring my style, the growth I experience from doing this is extremely valuable to me. When someone hires me to do something just like what I share, all of the patience and hard work pays off. It’s one of the most fulfilling feelings I’ve experienced.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jessepaulphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessepaul/

Image Credits
all taken by me : )