Making Space for The Creative
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Photographer Josiah Mendoza Interviewed by Eyelace Founder Jocelyn Jones
Eyelace B-roll of Josiah and Jocelyn with models Barbie, Hannah, and Medina
Jocelyn: Hello, my friend! Thanks so much for hopping on a call with me today. Are you ready for your Eyelace interview?
Josiah: (laughs) So what is this about again?
Jocelyn: Okay, so it's a number of things. The blog idea started with my talking with an e-commerce coach about SEO optimization. He was teaching me that the more you write and put out there on the internet, the more the algorithms recognize you as a significant contributor, and the more people are sent to your cite. The interesting thing for me is that I have a degree in writing, have always taught literature, and have wanted to make more room in my life for writing. It’s an incredible irony that selling eyelashes would create a significant opportunity for me to write.
Josiah: Yeah, life can be quirky, but that's awesome!
Jocelyn: Yeah, I'm pretty stoked! There are few things I enjoy more than talking to creatives about their work, which brings me to my first question!
Jocelyn: So what made you interested in photography? Has it been something you've done all your life?
Josiah: So most of my life I didn’t know anything about photography or cameras. I never had a camera with film. During the early 2000s, I got the little disposable camera at most, and then sent it off to get processed. That was a once-in-a-blue-moon thing. I actually got started when we got our first dog in 2012. That’s when I felt that I needed a camera that could capture him running around. I knew I was going to need something expensive and fast.
Eyelace B-roll with Josiah and models Hannah and Medina
Jocelyn: So then what? What's kept your interest? How did it evolve from taking pictures of your puppy?
Josiah: I had a coworker who had a Canon T3i; it was like a 50D. I bought one to take to New York to practice with. It was fun. Everything was in auto; I didn’t know anything about it. I also have a cousin who shoots senior portraits and a lot of other creative stuff that I admired, but I never knew how to do anything like that. After New York, I realized you needed way more than just a camera to do stuff like that. At that point, I still had plenty of free time even during my regular work hours to actually learn this stuff. I lived in a condo with friends who were also more on the creative side; they wanted to do stuff but didn’t know how. I thought, "I have a camera, let’s try some things out." For the first six to eight months of having a camera, I bought $15 or $20 worth of flash materials, practiced with my friends, and then I wanted to get more people than just my friends. I started going on different websites to find talent to shoot with for pretty much free. I did a bunch of shoots for up-and-coming models or actors. They were garbage shoots, sure, but I needed to practice with something, and they were free, so they didn’t care. That was pretty much how I got started.
Jocelyn: Did photography awaken something in you? Was there a moment when it felt fulfilling?
Josiah: I mean I guess I've always been fulfilled by creative expression. Ever since middle school, I wanted to be a graphic designer. In college, I took architectural and graphic design classes, but something made me stop. Looking back, if I could redo, I would have loved to have kept it going. I’ve always been more of the creative type, while the other side of the family loves sales. So I've always gravitated toward it, but you know there are other things in life like food and housing and children, lol, which are not always compatible with being creative.
"Rage" by Mendoza, 2017
Jocelyn: It's definitely not easy meeting the demands of normal life and meeting the demands of being an artist. Which brings me to the question, do you consider yourself an artist and what makes someone an artist?
Josiah: Above all, yes, because my interest in shooting has never been in the money, and I think that's a defining characteristic. To just really want to make things independent of whether you're paid to do that. I see some shooters who process the same thing over and over again just for the paycheck. It looks boring to me. I’d rather shoot more interesting work than shoot just for a lot of money. I want to take jobs that I enjoy.
"Prey" by Mendoza, 2023
Jocelyn: So is your pleasure in photography about doing something new? Would you say that’s what keeps you interested?
Josiah: Yeah, because I could do what other people are doing, but the challenge is doing something new, doing something different. If I say I want to do a shoot that's inspired by someone else's work, I want to learn how to do it in my way. I don’t want to get stuck in a rut. Plenty of headshot photographers are phenomenal, but to me, a headshot is a headshot; anyone can do it. I’d rather not be stuck in one spot promoting the same thing over and over. That interest in wanting to push into what hasn't been done before, that's the artistic interest.
Jocelyn: There was this moment in college when I had a profound thought about art while reading James Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Joyce compared art to the licks of flame in a fireplace, where there could be infinitely different licks of flame but they were all equally fire. He was suggesting the work of an artist is a constant reinterpretation.
"Bridges" by Mendoza, 2023
Jocelyn: Would you agree art is about discovery and endless iteration rather than posing a final answer to any question?
Josiah: An artist is someone who takes risks. They create something that others might say doesn’t work, but somehow the artist makes it work. Anyone can take a portrait; I could set everything up for someone else to click the button, but I can’t tell them where to move the camera to get the best shot. A normal person would look straight on where an artist would try something wacky. An artist can see the beauty in what is different. Plenty of kids come out of film school knowing all the technicals, but they can’t do what I do. I recently hired a two-man crew for a music video shoot. One of them knew everything technical right off the bat but still couldn’t meet my artistic standards. He might have been more experienced, but he couldn’t go above and beyond. That’s where the artist comes in—doing a job well and doing something that surprises people.
Jocelyn: That resonates with me. I’ve been in front of the camera a lot, and I don’t have the technical beauty of a lot of models, but I’ve created amazing images because I’m always willing to try and envision something new. I remember editing your work with the model Jenny and thinking about the moment when we got stuck doing another model’s makeup so you and Jenny just started to play around and be creative together. I loved silently watching that moment and watching you feel free to create. I loved the shots that came out of that.
One of the images Josiah took of Jenny in an Eyelace shoot when they had time to play
"An artist is someone who takes risks."
Josiah: The best way to get my unique photos is when I ask if I can do something my way. My best photos are not my client photos; they’re the ones where I have complete creative control.
Jocelyn: Absolutely. That’s what the starving artist is about—creating something that comes from within rather than what’s required by the market.
Josiah: I get that. I’m on a popular photography page with 22,000 followers, but it doesn’t pay me anything. I share cool photos for enjoyment and put my paid work elsewhere. But the unpaid photography site still brings me a kind of pleasure my paid work can't.
"When the Beat Drops" by Mendoza, 2021
Jocelyn: Most of my customers are going to be women, many who want to buy lashes to look good in front of a camera. As a photographer, do you have any advice for women who want to get their best shot?
Josiah: A lot of attractive women can look awkward when they try too hard. When someone looks good, it’s because they’re relaxed and being natural. When they start trying too hard, they lose their natural beauty. I’ll often tell women to freeze between shots when I see a beautiful, natural moment, and they’ll have no idea they looked great when they weren’t trying. The hardest part for women is believing that they look fine. They’ll nitpick everything. The way you see yourself in the mirror is different from how others view you. Men aren't actually sitting around taking apart a woman's flaws. They're taking in the whole person.
Jocelyn: One thing I hear you saying is that a good part of beauty comes from embracing oneself, which is particularly hard for women when they find themselves comparing themselves to others.
Eyelace B-roll of Marien
Jocelyn: As someone who has captured many different kinds of beauty, do you have advice for someone struggling with insecurities?
Josiah: Stay off social media. It’s about thinking what you find beautiful in yourself and being that. Social media can distort that perception.
Jocelyn: I think embracing one’s own unique beauty requires a psychological adjustment. You can see someone beautiful and feel insecure or see someone beautiful and feel inspired, but it’s about how you view yourself.
Josiah: It’s confidence. Someone could look 20 times more beautiful if they simply were more confident.
Jocelyn: Amen! As is Eyelace’s motto: Be bold; be beautiful! Right?!
"Night Rose" by Mendoza, 2019
Jocelyn: So what’s your hope for the next year in your photography?
Josiah: I want to do one personal project that I’ve actually prepared for. I’ve done personal projects here and there, but I want to plan something meaningful. It can be prohibitive to create something new because it takes incredible energy.
Jocelyn: It’s a great insight that anyone wanting to create something new has to first make space in their life.
Eyelace B-roll of Jenny, Angela, and Anastasia
Josiah: Other photographers say to keep shooting, which is fine, but I want to focus on concepts that are better than what I’ve done before, not just shooting more.
Jocelyn: It sounds like motivation is a critical component. It’s not just about shooting; it’s about understanding the motivation behind it.
Josiah: Yeah, for me, it’s really tough right now to create something new because I have a family, a day job, and I’m in high demand for my photography skills.
Jocelyn: Hearing you talk about carving out space for creativity is meaningful.
"Night Drive" by Mendoza, 2023
Jocelyn: So break that down a little more: what does it mean to carve out space for creative freedom?
Josiah: Well, I guess first committing to doing one project that I take on just because it gets my juices going, because looking back on my work, those are the projects I'm proudest of.
Jocelyn: I really hope you do, Josiah. You're work is amazing. It's what drew me to asking for your help on this project in the first place. You're not only consistently good, you're surprisingly good. Which brings me to wrapping up by thanking you for the critical role you’ve played in helping me bring this project to life. You've been patient with me, excited for me, and super creative. I can be so much more proud of the quality of this project because of you.
Josiah: Well, right back at you. I’ve enjoyed doing it because it was different. I was working with talent again, which was great. I loved getting to capture the close ups of the eye that hadn’t been a demand I’d encountered before, and I really enjoyed it.
Jocelyn: And you certainly killed it. You’ve helped me get to the point where I’m even more hopeful and excited about where this project will go. I feel lucky everyday that I get to work on something that I’m having so much fun creating and feel so passionate about.
Josiah: I’m envious of your focus on it.
Jocelyn: It comes with a lot of risk too, but I’m willing to take that risk to be able to spend my work days creating and making something that truly represents me and that I feel proud of.
Josiah: 1000% – Of course, having the guts to do your own thing and really follow your creative interests comes with a lot of risk. But it makes me think of Steve Jobs starting Apple in his garage. Taking the risk required to follow your passion begins the best journeys. Risk and passion are where where the good stuff always comes from.
"Cammy" by Mendoza, 2023
In addition to exploring his work featuring models throughout the Eyelace website, see more of Josiah's work on Facebook at Josiah Mendoza Photography, on Instagram at Josiahmendoza__ or at josiahmendoza.com