From Hobbyist to Professional: My Filmmaking Journey

On set as DoP for Pattern Beauty with Tracee Ellis Ross.

📸 It Started With a Book, a Dream, and a Camera

One day I was working a stable government job, and the next, I was turning in my two weeks’ notice with a Canon 5DSR in hand and a dream in my heart. But let’s rewind a bit—this transformation didn’t happen overnight.

It all began with a simple gift from my mother: a book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The words within its pages shook me. It challenged everything I thought I knew about creativity, discipline, and purpose. The security of a nine-to-five had its perks, but deep down, I craved adventure, self-expression, and control over my life’s narrative.

Inspired and ignited, I fell down the rabbit hole of YouTube tutorials and visual storytelling. After enough convincing (read: relentless begging), my mom bought me a Canon 5DSR. That camera would change my life. Its 50.6-megapixel sensor captured details I never imagined. And just like that, the seed was planted.

🎬 Obsession Mode: DC Nights and Wedding Lights

The next few months were a whirlwind. I was shooting anything and everything—nightclubs in DC, a couple of weddings, random street shots. The camera became my therapist, my escape, my new best friend.

I immersed myself fully in the grind, but something still felt incomplete. My then-girlfriend wasn’t exactly onboard with my sudden pivot from stability to freelance artistry, and the relationship ended. Heartbroken and hungry for purpose, I took a soul-searching trip to New York City. That trip would rewrite my entire destiny.

🏙️ New York City: The Hustle and the Craft

I packed up my old Saturn LW200 station wagon, my life compressed into the trunk, and drove to East New York—Brooklyn. There, I found my tribe: other dreamers chasing visions on tight budgets and bigger hopes.

NYC humbled me and taught me the business of freelancing. Every block, every subway ride, every handshake was a crash course in hustling as a creative. I opened a photo studio with zero experience. I studied lighting religiously. I shot, failed, learned, then repeated.

Here, my taste finally started to match my talent. My work matured. I started landing bigger gigs. I even had a billboard up in Times Square. I was collaborating with brands I had only admired from a distance. Most importantly, I learned to love myself—and that changed everything.

🌆 When the City Went Silent: The Pandemic Era

Then came 2020. The city that never sleeps fell into a haunting silence.

The pandemic hit New York hard. With shoots on pause and creatives retreating to their hometowns, I found myself in an unfamiliar lull. My friend Jordan and I even shot a short film capturing those eerie, empty streets.

It was during this stillness that I decided to pivot again—this time, to the West Coast.

🌴 Los Angeles: Creative Rebirth Under the Sun

Los Angeles breathed new life into my journey.

The sunlit streets, the ever-evolving creative scene, the vibrant film and photography community—it all felt right. I began leveraging my network, securing gigs, and learning from immensely talented people. The lessons from DC and NYC paved the way for this next level.

It took five to six years from the moment I first picked up that Canon, but the hustle paid off. I was no longer imagining the dream—I was living it.

💡 Final Thoughts: Turning Passion Into a Profession

This journey wasn’t linear. It was messy, emotional, thrilling—and worth every second.

If you’re on the edge, debating whether to chase your creative calling, let me be your sign: do it. But do it with grit. Learn every day. Embrace failure. Build your network. Invest in yourself.

You don’t need permission to pursue purpose.

- Just Lamar Carter