We recently connected with Lawren Simmons and have shared our conversation below.
Lawren, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?
From the start, YouTube and the internet were instrumental in allowing me a deeper understanding of the craft. I would peruse the Magnum archive website daily. From that point, I began to fall into photo books. In the beginning, The Suffering of Light by Alex Webb, Exiles by Josef Koudelka, Minutes to Midnight by Trent Parke, and a plethora of other books became my bibles at different and occasionally overlapping times as tides of inspiration rushed over me. Hours of my day would be spent looking through as much of a photographer’s archive as possible–finding contact sheets would prove even more useful. Seeing which photos each artist would select versus others taught me a great deal about the selection process and making good images. Over the years, I have also had the great pleasure of taking multiple workshops with Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb. Each workshop provided great insight into selecting and sequencing images. Watching them go through and break down my work and the work of others informs my process to this day. I cannot fully express the importance of the workshops.
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
I am a 22-year-old photographer based out of Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida. Photography became a staple in my life once I was formally introduced at 16, and I have been enthralled with the art since that point. I am mostly oriented to documentary and street photography. One aspect of photography that constantly pushes me is that the practice requires one to be an anthropologist and historian. Investing myself into a story and getting to know people, whether for a client or myself, is always my favorite aspect of the work. I love taking photographs as much as I love learning more about subjects, places and different occupations.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My biggest hope when looking back at my career is that I was prolific and honest in my interpretations. I would love to inspire others, make books, join a group or photographic agency, or have a place as a great in the history of photography, but these are not my ultimate ambitions. I can only influence these desires to a point. These goals all come down to taking pictures well. I look at my photographs as collections of my experiences and as reservoirs of my memories; however, the photos must also serve the communities or people featured. I cannot go to a neighborhood and only document what I want to tell about the story. Showing people pictures you’ve taken of them and having their input or verification is integral to correctly using the medium. Whenever I am doing anything photographically, I have to be truthful and democratic––that is the goal.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Though I knew about photo books early on in my career, I wish I had collected more at a much earlier stage. I spent too many hours on Instagram, not looking at enough of the work of the greats. Photo books played a significant role in driving me and deepening my understanding of the medium.
Contact Info:
- Website: lawrensimmons.com
- Instagram: simmonslr_
- Twitter: simmonslr_