Art & Life with Andrew Leggett

Andrew, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born and raised in Memphis, TN. I went to a creative and performing arts high school where I studied broadcasting and drama. It was there that I fell in love with Film and Television. I’ve always been creative, and in my earlier years I would shoot and edit BMX videos with my friends. Eventually, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in editing. After working as an editor in LA, I started to miss creating for myself. One thing I realized was that my camera was always with me. As an admirer of still portraits, I was fascinated by what a single image could convey.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
In 2014 I bought a new camera and decided I wanted to try street photography. Seeing a single picture and coming up with my own story of who that person is has been a passion in my life. It all started with a single image I took at the Santa Monica Pier where I saw a guy playing the game where you have to knock over a bottle with a baseball to win a prize. He was juggling the balls, and I asked if I could take his picture. After that, all I wanted was to stop people and ask them for their portraits. I think I have probably asked around 250 plus people by now. About nine out of ten people agree to have their photograph taken. The most challenging thing for me is when I miss out on a great portrait because I’m too nervous to ask someone to be photographed.

Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I think being an artist is hard work today. Everyone with a camera or cell phone thinks they are a photographer. The internet is flooded with millions of photos each day. It makes it hard to stand out in a sea of seemingly endless options. But that just makes me try harder to take great photos. I think the arts community in LA is tricky. A lot of people are willing to take advantage of others to succeed, which is why artists need to push themselves to excel. Having said that, I think Los Angeles is full of motivation to create art. Opportunity is all around you. You just have to know what you want to create.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Right now my website and Instagram are the best places to see my work. My website is www.leggettcreative.com and my Instagram in @leggettcreative.