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Luke Jackson-Clark
@watchluke
Photographer based in the UK
Introducing Luke Jackson-Clark
Painting, theater or music, Luke has always been expressing his creativity in some way. He began doing that through photography with a friend’s camera one day at school, around the age of 14. By the end of the day, after skipping some hours of class, he was hooked. Obsessed by the natural world and fan of David Attenborough too, becoming a cameraman himself soon became his dream and ultimate goal.
By doing what felt right as a young creative talent, he’s built three internationally successful businesses (Move to Create, Shooters Collective and Watchluke). He thinks finding your passion is a continuous search: “Each chapter of life is putting you in a better position to take on the next, so if things are currently not where you want them to be, maybe you’re just a few more pages away from the next chapter,” he says. Pursuing a life he enjoys is what is leading him.
Simply having fun during the experiences that are inextricably connected to his work as a visual creator is key, having the philosophy that each photo he releases is perfect in the sense that even if it’s technically imperfect, he’s learned from it, experienced something new and can be proud of that. In the interview Luke shares three photos he is particularly proud of because of the story behind them. His artistic progression is characterized by different phases of photography in genre and editing style. The B/A shots he’s shared with us showcase this nicely.
Being hungry for knowledge helps Luke to keep evolving personally and professionally, by taking at least 15 minutes a day to learn something new. Simultaneously, interaction with others and the online community is another important pillar of for him. One of the tips he gives away in the interview is about not underestimating the importance of random conversations, as there is something to learn from everyone. And also, he makes sure to have fun with his online community on social media rather than getting obsessed with engagement and losing focus on what matters because “sarah” is not replying…
The interview gives a nice insight into who Luke is as a person and how staying true to himself is reflected in his work.
Interview
Welcome Luke!
It has been really interesting to scroll through your feed and see your progression as a photographer. You shared one of your first posts almost 7 years ago, so you have been shooting for a while now! Can you share with us where your passion for photography comes from? What drove you to delve deep into the practice of photography and what drives you to keep going?
Oof! What a question! I’ve always been fascinated by the arts… whether that be painting (not very well), music or theatre I gave it all a try as a kid. One thing I never got taught, or tried, was photography. So when I was 14/15 and one of my mates brought a DSLR camera into school, it went “missing” for a few hours, and by the end of that day I was hooked. I bought my first camera that week with money I’d saved from acting when I was a kid and have never put it down since. I think the thing that fascinated me so much was, I grew up OBSESSED with the natural world (I was a MASSIVE David Attenborough fan boy) and the fact I could become my own cameraman, capturing the beauty of the planet was too good to be true.
What keeps me going? Probably knowing that I have the opportunity to share unique stories with people around the world that may or may not have the opportunity to learn about or experience the cultures, people or wildlife I am sharing. Hopefully inspire people to get out there and explore the world too!
On your website is written: “An accomplished musician and former child actor, Luke has channeled his creative talents into developing 3 internationally successful businesses Move to Create, Shooters Collective and Watchluke.” Congratulations Luke, it is really inspiring to see how much you have accomplished at such a young age 🙂 We are curious to know, in your opinion, what mindset has allowed you to reach such goals? How does a normal working day look for you?
Ay cheers guys, I appreciate that! The constant pursuit of educating myself on things I enjoy. I have always followed what felt right and been lucky enough to have friends and family that believe in my direction. It may sound cliche, but the mindset of never settling until you find your passion has seemed to work in my favour so far. It’s not all success and I don’t know if I’ve found my passion yet, but with an overarching direction of pursuing a life I genuinely enjoy, not just waking up to get paid, I am thoroughly enjoying the journey. Each chapter of life is putting you in a better position to take on the next, so if things are currently not where you want them to be, maybe you’re just a few more pages away from the next chapter.
A slightly more practical mindset would be just doing, instead of planning. I have always been a great “planner”… the kind of planner that spends all their time planning and none of their time executing the ever so important plan. But in recent years the realisation of just getting on with the next thing on the list, finishing it and moving on to the next has been the best way for me to move forward.
"It’s a simple concept, but it works, give it a try! Think less and do more!"
Talking about building brands, what are some fundamental practices that allow you to keep developing your brand Watchluke and what is important when it comes to keep growing the guy behind the brand, yourself?
I am forever searching for answers to self improvement both for my brand and myself. But the more I learn, research and read the more it seems clear that the basics of getting good sleep, eating good food, exercise, taking time away from work to spend with family and friends are the things that benefit my work the most. The more I plan and schedule my social life and wellbeing the more switched on I am for my work. It’s taken me 4 years of 3 hours sleep per night, to realise burning the candle on both ends doesn’t end well for the candle (ie me 😅).
Related to the previous questions, I bet one thing is to be persevering. In one of your captions you wrote: “I visited this location 15 times in a week to get good conditions.” This makes me wonder… How do you decide on what are ‘perfect’ conditions and what is a ‘perfect’ photo for you? How far do you go for one shot and how do you know whether something is realistic or not quite?
Aha, that was a tiring week of sunrises. Perfectionism is a super relevant topic in my life right now. As a photographer I have always had the mindset, “I must make this as perfect as I can get it before I release it”. But as I delve into the practice of videography with help from a lot of incredible friends in the industry, I am starting to realise how important letting go of my perfectionist tendencies is. A week or so ago I released my first personal video project, and what I did not realise is that video grading is a whole different world to photo grading. I restarted the grade 5 times… 5 TIMES 😂.. and when I looked back after sharing it, the last grade was pretty much a carbon copy of the first. I had a brief chat with my friend and business partner Sam Newton and he told me:
“Let go of what is holding you back and just throw it up, if you want to be a successful videographer, you need to let go of perfectionism and learn from your mistakes. Learn what you did wrong, move on and make something better next time”.
The second he told me this, I released it, it went down really well, and I realised I had just wasted a week of my time worrying over a change in grade that no one would’ve noticed.
So in answer to the question “what’s the perfect photo for me?” Despite going abnormally far for each shot I take (there are some pretty mad stories about this I can mention next time aha), I think the perfect shot is any shot I release. Whether it be absolute rubbish at the time, it’s a photo I can learn from and I’m proud of that.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you really enjoy the community approach of social media and Instagram in particular. I am sure you have met wonderful people along the way and experienced unique moments with them. Would you be able to share with us one of those remarkable experiences? What made that moment unique?
Ahaha, can you imagine I just said “you’re wrong”. You are absolutely correct, the community is the best part of social media. Despite many downsides to the rise of social media, the world has never been so connected. As a 16 years old Englishman, I was part of an instagram community hub based in Colorado, USA?! 16 years old?! In no other decade would that be considered a normal age to be building a community in another country. Since then I have helped build a brand called the Shooters Collective, with over 13 hubs around the world hosting creative events every month (in a normal year 😅). I could talk for days about the unique moments I have had meeting the creative community around the world so I’ll try and keep it short.
One of the most stand out moments for me was a moment disconnected from social that eventually became very social, when I met my now best mate and business partner Sam Newton in Krabi, Thailand in 2017. I was traveling with a friend at the time, and we decided to check ourselves into the Hogwartz Hostel in Krabi (yes that’s a real hostel, look it up!). As we checked into our 10 man room we were greeted by a group of mates from California, one of which was sorting out his drone and other equipment. I remember saying “are you a creator?” (😂🤢 I know… I know..). He laughed and said ‘uhm… I guess?” and the rest is history. Since, we have traveled to over 25 countries together and built an internationally successful travel collective called Move To Create. I’d say that moment has turned into something pretty remarkable for me!
So far you have shared on social media more than 1000 images. Now, this may be a complicated question, but we would love to read your feedback: Could you share with us three photos you are really proud of? Can you tell us why you select these photos specifically?
Monkey Business
If I answered this question without this image, I’d be lying to myself. I think it’s every photographer’s dream to capture an angle of a popular destination that has never been shot before. This beach in Nusa Penida Indonesia is one of the most well known beaches online, and because of that, taking something fresh here is super tough! I didn’t go with the intention of getting this shot, but after a very interesting conversation with this monkey he allowed me the pleasure of walking away with one of my favourite and most popular images I have taken and shared. Monkey if you’re reading this, feel free to send me a DM and we can talk about shot 2.0.
Omega Campaign
While I was working in a restaurant to make money for traveling the world back in 2016, I unintentionally picked up a fascination with the luxury watch world from my manager. For a few months I was obsessed with the idea that I would study horology (watch making). As you can tell, that didn’t happen. But when I got a cold call from the social media manager at Omega watches one winter’s evening in London to produce photos from 8 different countries around the world, I couldn’t hold in my excitement. The photos in the link above are a 1/3rd of the set which became one of their most successful social campaigns to date.
Say Cheese
In November 2017 we can clearly see a different palette of colors in your feed and work. It was really nice to see that transition Luke. If we are correct and if you remember it; what led you to this new way of editing? Could you share with our readers a before and after and explain shortly the basics of your editing process?
Funnily enough the color transition was sparked because of Iceland. I am quite an energetic person, and that became apparent in the first few years of my photography career as I punched as much colour into every photo as I could (saturation sliders +100). In September of 2017 Sam and I went on our first Move To Create trip to Iceland for 2 weeks and it changed me. The cold, barren but hauntingly beautiful landscapes completely shifted my creative direction. Editing Icelandic landscapes with the same bright colourful edits just seemed wrong and something told me I needed to play with some mood. From then until now it’s taken a lot of trial and error working out a “style” but I like to think I am getting there.. maybe 😂.
Nowadays, since my editing has been highlighting a mood in a scene rather than adding colour to an image even if there wasn’t colour there before, it’s all very minimal. I try to highlight the subjects of my photos with my editing, by adding vignettes, dodge and burns while occasionally removing distracting objects in photoshop, like trash in the scene that I wish I removed while I was there. It can be kind of fun as a viewer to look between the images as it’s almost like a game of spot the difference.
I regularly get asked why I remove distractions from my images and the answer is super simple! It all comes down to my creative intention. I’d describe my photography as visual storytelling, similar to how a director and DP tells a story in a movie. I’m trying to evoke an emotion, a sense of scale and a focus on a subject that I want to highlight in my photos. When you see something in real life, you don’t usually focus on the imperfection or the distraction (at least in a beautiful landscape), you usually ignore it because of how special the moment is. In a picture, a still frame, the imperfections and distractions become more obvious. So my removal is to help the viewer focus on that special moment, that story that I am trying to tell, rather than the rubbish on the floor or gap in a tree!
Also, we would love to know more about your artistic progression. What challenges did you face at the beginning and what are the challenges you face today with the genres you are shooting? Besides tons of practice, which resources/strategies did you use to get better at outdoor photography?
I owe a lot of my creative education to trial and error, Youtube and friends. I didn’t know of many courses when I started out (which is probably my recommendation in the present), and didn’t want to go to uni to study photography. So I decided to take my camera with me on my travels and learn “on the job”. I’d spend large amounts of time on each edit while watching Youtube videos by other talented creatives to find out ways of making my images stand out in a sea of creators. As mentioned in the previous answer I’ve been through phases of different photography and editing styles, but that’s the fun of the creative process. Never be afraid to try something new, your creative vision is your own and should never be affected by other people’s opinions!
Nowadays we see many young photographers pursuing a career as a landscape photographer. What four pieces of advice would you like to share with them?
Be hungry for knowledge:
Learning is my favourite part of my job. The beauty of being your own boss, means you can allocate your time however you like, whether you want to take a day with family and friends, spend 5 mornings out of your week reading or working in a US time zone while living in the UK. You have the flexibility to make that decision. I choose to spend at least a quarter of my day learning something new, whether that be a youtube video on how the editors Interstellar pieced together the film or reading a book on the underworld of Bombay, there is always valuable information that you can apply to your craft waiting for you to digest.
If you want to “make it” on social media, don’t get obsessed with engagement:
I definitely haven’t got anywhere near “making it”, but I have been through many phases of freaking out cause my likes dropped this week, or I’m losing more followers than I’m gaining this month and those thoughts are absolute rubbish. Think of this mindset as the little devil on your shoulder and be sure to brush it off. Focus on your content, focus on improving yourself and focus on learning. If you worry about this and less about Sarah not replying to your story you posted last night, your engagement will increase naturally and not only that but your headspace will be a hell of a lot clearer.
Don’t underestimate the importance of random conversations:
I know the idea of chatting to a random dude you’re sitting next to on a plane or sparking conversation with the elderly women at the bus stop doesn’t sound massively appealing (or maybe it does aha, that’s good). But there is something to learn from everyone. Whether that is something you should make sure never to do in your life or something that you want to implement in your daily routine, everyone on this planet knows something or has experienced something you have not.
"Be open to small talk, be open to deep meaningful conversations and most importantly, never be afraid to say hello!"
You have worked on different projects involving photo and video. What project have you enjoyed the most in terms of the type of content creation and theme/purpose/location? Also, what is one of your dream projects to realize in the (near) future? What is your motivation for such a project?
There have been too many to choose from! As I mentioned in question 6 the Omega travel project was a dream come true and working more regularly in the Luxury watch space combined with my travel photography would be incredible. Every project I do has something uniquely special about it and that’s the beauty of the job, but if I had to choose… One of my most recent ones that stood out to me was my first personal video project ever (meaning I shot and edited the whole thing), in collaboration with Lumix UK. I have always loved music and since working in the theatre as a kid, I have focused a lot of my energy on singing. So when Lumix gave me a very broad and free brief to create my first video, I couldn’t think of a better idea than recording a cover across the Thames from the London Eye at sunrise. It was a really fun project and will be one that stands out for years to come as I delve deeper into the video world.
"I just can’t wait to start traveling again."
Travel has been the gateway to so many beautiful parts of my life and the last year has been really odd without it. So if you’re a tourism board or brand with a really cool idea reading this, send me an email and let’s make some magic.
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