Rising Stars: Meet Jordan Baylon of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Baylon.

Hi Jordan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Back in 2012, when I was taking design classes at Platt College, I was given a Canon Rebel T3i to do some assignments for a couple of the digital photography and photoshop classes. While I dabbled with photography before, it was mostly casual things at family events and gatherings. This gave me a chance to start exploring ideas beyond just snapping a picture.

Originally, I was studying Graphic Design with the goal of moving into Entertainment Design to be a Concept Artist. However, between my long workdays and longer nights buried under sketchbooks – I hit a point where I just burned out. My brain and hand just didn’t want to cooperate with each other. I was under a lot of stress and wasn’t in the best of health at the time. I kind of lost the drive to draw.

I believe it was around 2015-2016 when I started branching out to other forms of photography. By this point, I was working at a local airsoft shop doing product photography for the store’s website. It was starting to grow stale, creatively speaking, as I could only take photos of the same airsoft replicas with different logos on them for so long. So, I decided to take my trusty Canon T3i camera out to a few cosplay and photography meet ups to try something different.

From that point on, I got immersed in a whole new field of creative expression that I wasn’t getting from my job. I got to see a new perspective of fandom and convention culture that I didn’t get as a regular attendee. It has led me to work with many creative people, some of whom have become amazing friends. I got to travel to different places and have had my creative eye challenged in unique ways to help create a shared vision with those friends.

From those experiences, and my drive to seek more unique perspectives on the things I’m passionate about, I started exploring my hobbies using my camera to create cinematic moments. From freezing the action of a sword fight at my local historical fencing club, Einhorn Los Angeles, to capturing the unique and immersive events that are brought to life at Neotropolis and Wasteland Weekend.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has bumps that still provide interesting obstacles to navigate. There are the mental challenges that pop up every so often. Feelings of self-doubt just before a big group shoot or at an event are common for me. However, once I start looking down at the viewfinder, those thoughts get pushed aside as I try to focus on capturing images that my friends and I would love to see. And once those thoughts are gone – the creative processes that I’ve built up over the years kick in and everything works itself out.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Most of my photography focuses a lot on cosplay, alt-fashion and various types of fandom culture. I love this sub-genre of portrait photography because of the wide variety of subjects that people can draw from. It also gives me a chance to put myself, and my friends into those worlds and realities. There is a unique tangibility that comes from doing cosplay photography. It is a collaborative effort between passionate fans to create something that’s fictional and bringing it to life and grounding it in the real world.

Especially in the cosplay community – where most people are not trained actors or actresses, they aren’t professional models – they’re regular people who do this for fun and for the love of whatever character they want to portray. Being able to capture that passion and frame it in a well edited, cinematically composed image that feels part of the world will always be a fun creative challenge.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Whether it is from an established IP or an original creation, being able to help my friends create a unique vision that captures their passion for a show, movie or book will always be something I enjoy. That creative pursuit, coupled with the desire to find new ways to use my camera to view the world around me, and the worlds in fiction, will always keep that fire lit in me. Because, in the end, I’m not just snapping a photo – I’m composing a unique experience with friends and telling a story with it. I’m blending fantasy and reality by painting with lights and shadows and immersing them in a place that doesn’t exist.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuf_spawn/

Image Credits
Photo by: @howl_of_dawn

Cosplayers:
@katiesimrell
@triforce_of_procrastination
@grimoireal
@ustrina.rising
@justohl
@wtfrederick
@vevalaviva_
@leiaaurora
@akaitokuroi
@miguelv_papo
@skellebee
@raycroft