Meet James Cookson | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Cookson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always wanted to do something artistic in life. In middle school is when I really became invested in music by learning how to play guitar and letting that consume my life and then learning the piano in high school. I had done photography all throughout college but it wasn’t until after college that I realized photography was what I was really good at and wanted to pursue. For me I guess it’s the human interaction with new people and friends. For a little bit of time you can make people feel good again by taking great photos and build relationships with people you thought you would never meet.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For the longest time I was only shooting on film. As in I didn’t own a digital camera and I was either sending my off to labs or developing and scanning the film myself at home. But now after finally getting a digital camera (I’m so late to the game I know) I’ve fully embraced the hybrid workflow of shooting on both film and digital depending on the subject and how much time I have to shoot.

I’ve gotten to where I am now just by not giving up and moving on day by day. It’s definitely hard. My last job was at a photography company where at first I really enjoyed it however, over time the job starts to eat away at your creative soul to the point where you start second guessing yourself at the possibility of leaving. But I finally did leave and it was a great decision in the end. I can be fully creative again with my shoots and who I can work with and now I’m back to that exciting feeling of when photography was new and anything seemed possible.

I just want the world to know that I’m human like everyone else and striving for better and more everyday. Nothing is easy but I’ll get there.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d take them to Mall of Georgia just so they can say they went but then afterwards take them to Piedmont Park so they can see the full scale of the place since it blew me away when I first went. Then I would take them to Atlantic Station since it has a great view overlooking the highway and city. And then on the way back take them to Anatolia’s Hookah Bar just to wind down. Maybe on another day take them to one of the beach parks on Lake Lanier (we’re not going in the water). Finally I would show them around Athens since it’s a college town and reminds me a lot of growing up in Virginia. There’s a lot of cool stuff there and great spots for photos.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Definitely my girlfriend for one who has stuck by me all these years and recognized this is what I’m good at and where my passion lies. My parents who’ve just wanted what’s best for me but recently have been very supportive of my pursuing photography. And to all the other photographers and models I’ve met along the way that have made everything worth it.

Website: www.photosfromjames.net

Instagram: @fotosfromjames

Other: tiktok- @photosfromjames

Image Credits
Anna Grace Fantucci, Violet Padilla, Emma Sager, Alex Latimore, Carolina Andrade, Brenda Lopez