We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kent Edwards a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kent, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I have been taking risks my whole life. Some risks left me with consequences, while others left me with confidence. Photography is the risk that I am still trying to figure out the ending to. My Photography journey started in August of 2018. I started photography as a means to make cash in winter months and the need for a fine arts credit in high school. I never in my wildest dreams believed that I could actually be a photographer, until I touched my first camera. It is like the camera molded into my hands and I was instantly in love. The first couple years of my new career, that love started to grow as I grew in experience and understanding of my craft. I finally felt like I discovered what my true passion was… and then covid hit. This was dissapointing, but on the upside, I was a high school graduate in the year of 2020. My decision after graduation was to forego the traditional route of college, take a gap year, and pursue this photo dream. My biggest prayer during this gap year is that I would receive an opportunity to show the world my talents as a semi-professional photographer. I applied to multiple internships in 2020 and received 0 interviews. This left me discouraged, until I reached out to multiple folks who I looked up to for mentorship. They taught me how to approach business and photography. After months of practice and preparation, I utilized this information and branded my business as Caught By Kent. I began to market my business, make merchandise, and promote myself as a professional photographer. My business gained traction resulting in receiving more clients. I began to shoot aau tournaments, birthday parties, portraits, and even weddings! I could finally envision more light at the end of the tunnel. In 2021, I applied to a multitude of internships and collected 0 considerations once again. Despite the outcome, l did not lose hope. This result not only humbled me, but taught me how to prepare myself correctly in 2022. I needed to change my bad life habits in order to see significant change in my photography career. I needed to have a strict schedule, get more sleep, and change my diet. A group of family members and mentors helped me create better habits in order to attain sucess. Another factor in receiving success was to put my focus in one area. My life was too spread out and I was not getting the necessary time to excel at my career. I understood my circumstances, felt confident in my capabilities, and realized It was time for a change. In October of 2021, I decided to quit my job and focus on what made me happy. It felt amazing to step out on faith, but also scary now living in the unknown. While I was content with my actions, this decision left my parents, siblings, and the whole community around me confused. During this phase of my life, I made little to no money and struggled mentally for months. I leaned on God, family, and friends to pick me up during this process. My friends and family encouraged me to believe in myself, exercise my ideas, and seize the moment. At this point, I had no choice but to bet on myself and freelance. Although freelancing was a great experience, in August of 2022, I still did not have a stable means of how I was going to make consistent money with my craft in the upcoming months. I was sending proposals to clients and selling my Caught By Kent T shirts praying it would all work out. It was not until my mentor, Reginald Thomas (@reginaldthomas) sent me a link with an application for the Portland Trail Blazers that I felt like I had an opportunity to change my life physically and financially. Reggie recommended that I “Don’t overthink it, put your name in the hat.” This advice was music to my ears. The possibility of me moving across the country for an internship scared me, but it was the risk that would change everything. Before I made my final decision, I did some reflecting. I quit my job. I shot for free. I missed family celebrations. I even spent holidays chasing this dream just to fulfill my craft. From the moment I started, I sought greatness. I understand that greatness takes time and major sacrifice. I had to sacrifice my time and take risks that people did not understand. It was time to roll the dice because I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I took that risk and now I am thankful that I did it, but the story of Caught By Kent is nothing short of a true Trailblazer, it is “still unfolding.”
I have been taking risks my whole life. Some risks left me with consequences, while others left me with confidence. Photography is the risk that I am still trying to figure out the ending to. My Photography journey started in August of 2018. I started photography as a means to make cash in winter months and the need for a fine arts credit in high school. I never in my wildest dreams believed that I could actually be a photographer, until I touched my first camera. It is like the camera molded into my hands and I was instantly in love. The first couple years of my new career, that love started to grow as I grew in experience and understanding of my craft. I finally felt like I discovered what my true passion was… and then covid hit. This was dissapointing, but on the upside, I was a high school graduate in the year of 2020. My decision after graduation was to forego the traditional route of college, take a gap year, and pursue this photo dream. My biggest prayer during this gap year is that I would receive an opportunity to show the world my talents as a semi-professional photographer. I applied to multiple internships in 2020 and received 0 interviews. This left me discouraged, until I reached out to multiple folks who I looked up to for mentorship. They taught me how to approach business and photography. After months of practice and preparation, I utilized this information and branded my business as Caught By Kent. I began to market my business, make merchandise, and promote myself as a professional photographer. My business gained traction resulting in receiving more clients. I began to shoot aau tournaments, birthday parties, portraits, and even weddings! I could finally envision more light at the end of the tunnel. In 2021, I applied to a multitude of internships and collected 0 considerations once again. Despite the outcome, l did not lose hope. This result not only humbled me, but taught me how to prepare myself correctly in 2022. I needed to change my bad life habits in order to see significant change in my photography career. I needed to have a strict schedule, get more sleep, and change my diet. A group of family members and mentors helped me create better habits in order to attain sucess. Another factor in receiving success was to put my focus in one area. My life was too spread out and I was not getting the necessary time to excel at my career. I understood my circumstances, felt confident in my capabilities, and realized It was time for a change. In October of 2021, I decided to quit my job and focus on what made me happy. It felt amazing to step out on faith, but also scary now living in the unknown. While I was content with my actions, this decision left my parents, siblings, and the whole community around me confused. During this phase of my life, I made little to no money and struggled mentally for months. I leaned on God, family, and friends to pick me up during this process. My friends and family encouraged me to believe in myself, exercise my ideas, and seize the moment. At this point, I had no choice but to bet on myself and freelance. Although freelancing was a great experience, in August of 2022, I still did not have a stable means of how I was going to make consistent money with my craft in the upcoming months. I was sending proposals to clients and selling my Caught By Kent T shirts praying it would all work out. It was not until my mentor, Reginald Thomas (@reginaldthomas) sent me a link with an application for the Portland Trail Blazers that I felt like I had an opportunity to change my life physically and financially. Reggie recommended that I “Don’t overthink it, put your name in the hat.” This advice was music to my ears. The possibility of me moving across the country for an internship scared me, but it was the risk that would change everything. Before I made my final decision, I did some reflecting. I quit my job. I shot for free. I missed family celebrations. I even spent holidays chasing this dream just to fulfill my craft. From the moment I started, I sought greatness. I understand that greatness takes time and major sacrifice. I had to sacrifice my time and take risks that people did not understand. It was time to roll the dice because I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I took that risk and now I am grateful that I did it. I took that risk and now I am thankful that I did it, but the story of Caught By Kent is nothing short of a true Trailblazer, it is “still unfolding.”
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 Kent J. Edwards and I am Professional Photographer from Bowie, Md. My love for photography sparked in high school for the need of a fine art credit. I instantly fell in love with photography the moment I picked up my first camera. The reason I do photography has always been less about needing a credit and more about fulfilling my passion. This fervent feeling led me to start my business, Caught By Kent. Caught By Kent is a sole proprietor, photography business who tells a foundation of stories. Caught By Kent is more than what you see in a singular composition. It is an experience that can be felt, that stems from a genuine love for photography. We aim to create impactful expressions that gratify our clients and allow viewers to see the passion and feel the difference in our brand. With the support of God and my family, we intend to make an everlasting impact that will form the foundation and frame a legacy to inspire the next generation . I am most proud of the fact that I am able to be myself at all times, control my own narrative, and that I am able to do what I love every day.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I believe non creatives may view my thought process as irrational. I make decisions based off my passion of photography and my long term vision. These decisions may hinder me temporarily, but the end result always has a greater meaning. I am so confident in my vision that I will go to extreme measures to make sure what I see in my head comes to life. It just takes time and commitment. I traveled hours. I slept in motels. I shot for free. I did this all because I understood early that nobody was coming to save me no matter how much I felt like I deserved it. I had to put myself in certain rooms in order to thrive long term. I knew that once I had my foot in the door, my success was right around the corner. All I had to do was stay persistent.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I want to give myself a chance to be great at something. I always felt like my life was to spread out balancing so many different goals. I was always really good at whatever I did, but I was never able to reach what I always dreamed about; greatness.
When I reach that ultimate goal, I have no choice but to pay it forward to the youth and anyone else that is willing to commit to the craft.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://caughtbykent.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChdpvvQN6uW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7046308417195421696-b27u?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Caughtbykent/status/1583980318864080896?s=20