Today we’d like to introduce you to Lawrence Perry.
Hi Lawrence, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story began back in 2016, I was in Miami, Florida celebrating New Years’ and I can recall watching the fireworks light off in the air on the beach and I had an epiphany. At the time I was working retail for a wireless carrier. I was working day and night endlessly and even coming in on my days off to put in extra time to make some extra money. The money was great but I didn’t get much time to myself to enjoy my hard work. Being in Miami and at that moment, I just thought, I want to be able to do this, I want to enjoy life more without having to worry about chasing a check.
I previously graduated from Santa Fe College the year prior in 2015 with a degree in Information Technology. I wasn’t doing anything that equated to a professional career with the degree, in truth I only pursued that degree for the sake of family and to appease them. Growing up in a Caribbean household, going to college to study anything that didn’t result in being a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or did some kind of work with computers, was viewed as a waste. So, when I returned back home from my trip to Miami, I decided I was going to move to Orlando and go back to school to pursue a career where I don’t have to constantly chase a check.
Long story short I decided to study Graphic Design and Web Design at Valencia College and it was the best choice in life that I have ever made. Graphic Design never felt like traditional school work and it easily clicked for me. For me, it’s the marriage of art and technology. I graduated from Valencia College with two degrees in Graphic Design and Web Design in the Fall of 2019.
The second-best choice I made in life was when I decided to buy my first camera in the summer of 2016. I had many friends at the time who were into photography and I would accompany them with their shoots. During their shoots, respectfully, I would suggest concepts and how to compose some of their photos and I would occasionally serve as a model for their test shoots. A week before a big trip back home to Brooklyn, New York, I decided to pull the trigger and bought my first camera to capture memories of the trip. All the photos were horrible but I’m glad that I started.
The next summer in June 2017 is when I began to treat photography seriously after resigning from my retail wireless job of four years. That summer, in the late-night hours/early morning, I would drive around Orlando at night creating nighttime photos of a city that I was living in but did not get the opportunity to truly sightsee because of the rigorous hours of my previous employment. That summer, I took my camera everywhere with me and I watched at the very least five YouTube tutorials a day on how to edit photos and everything there was to learn about photography.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
When you’re truly passionate about a hobby or interest, you find every way to improve and or circumvent any mishaps that come along with it. Luckily for me, I am around in the age of “YouTube University” and so many other platforms that provide education and insight on how to execute an idea or walks you through the process in order to achieve the results desired.
Like the old adage says “if there’s a will, there’s a way” and nowadays we’re only a few keywords away from finding a tutorial or message board for what we’re looking for in a search result.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In graphic design and web design, I specialize in layouts and branding. For photography, I specialize in portraits, fashion editorials, and boudoir. I have always said that being a designer, makes me a better photographer, and that being a photographer makes me a better designer.
I am able to implement a lot of design elements into my photography, and as for my designs, my layouts tend to have an editorial element that is often time present in magazines and other periodicals alike.
Both my design and photography exude amazing color that coordinates well and as is captivating.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I wouldn’t call it luck but more so the “acknowledgment of the universe.” What I mean by that, for me typically, whenever I reached a new level in my craft, whether it be graphic design or photography, an opportunity wouldn’t appear before me or be presented until I was ready or felt ready.
I have yet to take on a project that made me feel as if I was over in my head.
So, I can recall more times than I can count that almost every collaboration I have had the pleasure of creating or a client that came across my way, in need of my services, I was ready for that moment.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@iamlawrenceperry.com
- Website: www.iamlawrenceperry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvesstlawrence/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/imlawrenceperry
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/iamlawrenceperry/
Image Credits:
Dixon Munro
Shelby Otto
Madi Murphy
Kristina Lee-Moorer
Yaceleen Perez
Maya Siobhan
Treyana Brown
