“I’m not doing it for anyone else”: Jacob Lewis embarks on a professional photography journey
For Jacob Lewis, photography has always been a personal pursuit. However, after enrolling in a Bachelor of Photography program at Photography Studies College (PSC), he’s eager to transform his passion into a professional career.
Now in his second semester, Jacob chose PSC to help “make some connections in the field” and refine his skills.
In just a short time, he has grown as a photographer – exploring different styles and finding inspiration in new, unexpected places.
“When I was just doing it as a hobby, I wasn’t really focused on anything. I think my interests have changed at PSC,” Jacob said.
“We started doing portraits of people, and I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed it. I’ve been focusing more on portrait photography since, so I think that’s the direction I would like to go.”
Surrounded by cameras from a young age, Jacob developed a fascination with photography by observing his dad and granddad capturing family moments.
“I distinctly remember an image that my grandad took of me at my uncle’s wedding in the South Australian bush. I was the youngest of my brothers and sisters and cousins, they all wanted to play together, and I got left out, so I stormed off,” he told Southbank News.
His grandad spotted him moping around the corner behind a tree and discreetly took a photo that has since become one of Jacob’s all-time favourites.
“He was very proud of that shot. It was always up in their house so every time I went around to theirs, I always saw it.”
Jacob is currently working on a project at PSC centred around family, where he’s exploring the ties that connect people to their home life.
“I moved around a fair bit when I was little, so there were pretty much only two constant things in my life – outside of my family – which still make me feel like I’m part of something. One is the ocean because we were always close to the beach or made an effort to go, and two is Vegemite,” Jacob said.
We moved overseas for a bit, but whenever I had cheese and Vegemite on toast it always brought me back to my childhood home. I wanted to explore that memory but in other people and try to photograph them with an object or in a place to get a sense of where they belong.
While PSC is playing a vital role in shaping Jacob into a professional photographer, he emphasises that he’s “not doing it for anyone else”, and that photography will always be something that’s for him to enjoy.
“I think everyone needs a creative outlet. When you finally print your photos or get film back or see your photo on a TV screen or projector, it’s quite fulfilling,” Jacob said.
“You might’ve had some help, but you’ve done that – your brain has created that photo. I think that’s quite wonderful.” •