We were lucky to catch up with Lily O’dell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful as an artist I think it takes so much passion, consistency, networking, and a clear sense of your goal. Consistency is super important, especially as an artist. It can be very hard to stay consistent when we go through creative blocks, lack the resources we need, or just don’t have the money to invest into projects. Which is something most artists go through. All we can do is learn to work with what we have and continue to put out our art and not care about anyone’s perception, even your own. Networking is also something huge that every single one of us has access to. Word of mouth is something that I’ve seen help so many businesses, and has helped me tremendously. I’ve networked and collaborated with so many different creatives all throughout Southern California, and it’s completely changed the game for me as someone who is newer at running a business. Although I’m still working up to be at the level of success that I desire, my first year of photography has proven that passion, consistency, and meaningful connections create momentum. Show up every day for your art and trust in the process always, everything will pay off eventually.

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.

Hey yall! My name is Lily O’Dell, I’m a 20 year old queer, creative portrait photographer based in Southern California. I specialize in conceptual and editorial photography. I expressed myself through many different arts growing up and I decided I wanted to do photography one day and I happened to actually be super passionate about it. I ran with it since I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures of people and honestly I haven’t looked back since. It’s truly a space I can decompress and put all of my creative energy into. My work is mainly portraits, film and digital. I also love to shoot cinematic shorts, and still lifes. Overall, I provide portrait photography services mainly to businesses and a variety of different artists and creatives. My goal is to capture the true essence of what they stand for. I believe it is important to highlight their creative spirit through visuals, and I feel like that sets me apart from others. Over the past year, I’ve worked with tons of different creatives, mainly portfolio building with my own visions. I created my first collection, ‘Endless Nights’ which was completed in October of 2024. I put that whole thing together in about 3-4 months, it was shot by the end of September, then finalized by October. It definitely took a lot of dedication, consistency and my own resources, but I had fun the whole way. It was super exciting to work on my first collection. As much as I love photography, when I’m not behind the camera, I’m being a mommy to my 1 year old frenchie Zero and brainstorming ways to push the boundaries of what I create, since I’m always looking for ways to uplift the work I put out!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I’d say the most rewarding aspect of being a photographer is watching visions come to life. Honestly, I’ve been some kind of creative my whole life and yeah I had all these hobbies but I had never been super passionate about any of them like that, which led to a lot of built up creative energy. Once I started photography, it turned into an outlet to express myself visually and passionately. It is so exciting and feels so rewarding to bring simple visions to life in such an intricate way and I know most artists feel that same way.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Something I feel like non-creatives might struggle to understand is how much hesitation, vulnerability and personal investment we put into our art. When we put out our work, we are also leaving pieces of ourselves behind with it. “Eras” of our life that may have lasted two weeks or even two months. Every month could be completely different and unlike more traditional pathways, a lot of the times you’re looking into the unknown. There’s times where your mind flows endlessly, being able to pour your energy into your work. Then there’s times where nothing seems to be good enough and the self doubt and self criticism kicks in. It is a continuous cycle of pushing boundaries within your work and yourself. It’s like you can’t lack inconsistency and have to push through creative blocks, especially with the pressures of social media these days and remaining consistent in those areas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.endlesslenses.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/endless.lenses/profilecard/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-o-dell-5457aa336?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@endlesslenses?_t=ZT-8sUMBmv78GJ&_r=1