Spotlight: Jesse Lizotte
Jesse Lizotte is an Australian fashion photographer that grew up in NYC. As a youngster, he joined an after school photography club doing it the old school way and learning to develop images in the darkroom. Jump forward a few years and he's working with the likes of Vogue, Adidas, Levis, Oyster and GQ Magazine.
1. Can you tell us how you got into photography?
I always had an interest in photography from a young age, I think I was around 8 or 9 when I first picked up a camera. Around that time, growing up in NYC I was apart of an after-school photography club. We would be given assignments and then develop our pictures in a darkroom. It was a hobby back then, I never really considered it as a career or vocation.
2. How did your style come about?
The first photographers I was exposed to were more documentarian or reportage style – Robert Frank, William Eggleston, Larry Clark to name a few. I wasn’t really turned onto fashion until later on so for me it was always about black and white photography shot in the streets. I suppose that really informed my ‘style’.
3) Do you have a favourite project that you’ve worked on?
Spending extended periods of time shooting in Japan during my early 20’s was fun. Hanging out with some Yakuza.
4) What was your first major breakthrough in the industry?
I still feel like I’m waiting to get a break ha.
5) What photographers have inspired you the most over the years?
Its hard to narrow it down… Deana Lawson – I discovered her work recently and I absolutely love it. She’s my new favourite photographer.
6) If you had an open brief, an endless budget and could shoot anyone or anything, what would you do?
Ordinary people. I’d live on the road, travel around with a studio in a trailer. Take pictures and tell stories.
