Joey Lawrence is a
very well known contemporary portrait photographer who works largely in America
and now resides in Brooklyn New York, but he grew up & started
photographing in Canada.
Career
although he is only in his early 20’s Joey L has a thriving career, which he
keeps on expanding today. Joey started his photographic journey at a young age
and it was when he was 16 started doing band photos for his friends that he
really improved on his technical skills. This early work has really shaped his
style of photography that we see today and this work quickly transitioned into
a more commercial and advertising style. At such a young age he has a large
portfolio of work and is constantly trying to expand it with a varity of
different types of commercial and personal work. Joey L is largely known for
his editorial, advertising and entertainment work, which brings revenue into
his business, which helps him fund his personal work. This personal work includes
traveling to remote places and photographing tribes and their way of life.
Clients
Joey L has an impressive list of clientele that has helped
him become such a well-known photographer. This list includes
-
Pennzoil
-
Nickelodeon
-
History channel
-
Smirnoff
-
Summit entertainment
-
Coca-cola
-
Kawasaki
-
National Geographic Channel
Equipment
In order for Joey L to get top results he has an extensive
range of camera and studio equipment.
He has 5 main lenses that he swaps between
-
24-70mm 2.8L
-
16-35.. 2.8L
-
85mm 1.2L
-
135mm 2.0L
-
80mm 2.8LS (Phase one lens)
He also has two main camera bodies that he uses for
different jobs
-
Canon 5D mark ii (this information was provided
before the 3 came out)
-
Phase one/ Mamiya 645 camera
And to accompany his phase one he has a Phase One P65 DIGI
Back.
Style and Techniques
Joey L himself describes his work as “stylized environmental portraits”, his photos are very
moody with rich colours that emote the viewer. When you view his photos they
are visually appealing, not only because they are well composed but they also
tell a story.
When viewing Joey L’s portfolio he does 2 very different styles of portrait
photography, the first being his commercial work which is a combination of location
and studio work and then there is his personal work. For his personal work he
travels all over the world to remote locations and photographs ancient tribes.
His distinct style is still present in both the different series of work and
this is because he uses very similar techniques in all his work.
When Joey L goes and does his personal work he first learns about the ancient
tribes, once he arrives he simply doesn’t start taking photos. It may take him
days before he picks up his camera, because first he likes to get to know his
subjects. This way he gets a better understanding of that person and in return
he creates a more in depth photograph of the subject.
