Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Ita.
Eric, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Nigeria. I moved to the United States in 2001, to live with my dad. I loved computer science back then, so my first professional job was in computer networking. At around 18, I found my way into the modeling industry, where I fell in love with photography. I graduated with a degree in film but I worked as a nightlife photographer for the first half of my 20’s. After convincing my father to loan me $2000, I opened up my first photo studio in 2008. I’ve been working for myself ever since. My first film internship after graduation was with American Express, but I’d accumulated a ton of credits as a photographer. I spent the summers of 2013-2015 in the south of France, and that single opportunity was transformative because it allowed me to gain real life experience in the film industry.
As time went by, I felt the need to tell stories through my photographs, and use them as a means to build my community. I began a series called “STREETS OF THE WORLD” ad over the years, I traded specially selected photos for donations toward my personal cause (Which I Call “WORLD STREET PROJECT”) which is simply giving the youth, among them, motherless children, tools to educate themselves. I provide school supplies and sponsorships in form of school related fees, with the belief that Education is the way to rise out of poverty. Through my journey so far, I’ve been a speaker, a teacher, an avid world traveler and through my company (LAWRENCE CREATIVE GROUP) I tackle the commercial side of my work, partnering with companies and agencies to create advertorial content, corporate events, weddings, and sound mixing for podcasts and so on.
Great, 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?
My father supported everything I ever wanted to do. He wasn’t like the typical stereotype of an African parent. He was a scientist and an educator, an open minded soul and a fantastic conversationalist. When I lost him, it drove me into a depressive state, which affected everything else in my life. I lost a step mom, 2 of my best friends, seemingly within a short period of time. I realized I’d reached the point in life where people seem to get off the life train. It was quite difficult trying to deal with those losses while building a business. I never turned to drugs or alcohol but I had a terrible sugar problem which caused me to become pre-diabetic and that changed a lot of what I could physically do. I always had a hard time convincing big companies to hire me because of my age. They tend to equate experience and talent to age. It became imperative to structure my business in a way that was flawlessly professional and I left little room for doubt. A lot of what I deal with nowadays really involves my peers who under-bid on jobs just so they get booked. The reality now is that someone else will do the job for less money, so I find myself constantly having to put my worth aside, for the sake of survival.
Lawrence Creative Group – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I rebranded in 2015, renaming my company “LAWRENCE CREATIVE” after my dad. My aim was to literally keep his memory alive, and it became a way for me to heal, but also as a way to never really let him go. My original goal was to bring creative together under one roof, but I quickly realized that most creative prefer to operate on their own, so I decided to build a small team of trustworthy creators and designers, refocus on social media content creation, weddings and corporate events, which is what we specialize in now. I’m proud of the fact that ad agencies trust us enough to work with us. I’m proud that we’ve been consistently on an upward trajectory financially, (Covid-19 aside)
What sets us apart is the fact that we’re absolutely not driven by money. We love people, we care about building true friendships and relationships and we just want to live creative lifestyles. We value kindness over everything, which means we constantly work with non-profits and individuals who make a difference in the lives of others.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was fortunate to give a lecture at a Redken Symposium, and being on that stage was a very profound moment for me. It felt good to know that I have valuable thoughts and ideas that other people may benefit from. It’s been a great motivator. Self-doubt lingers over the minds of creative like myself, and we hide behind our creativity, but often find it difficult to speak out loud for fear that people might actually hear our voices. It’s a great feeling when people say, thank you for your insight, I learned something. That’s a great motivator.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lawrencecg.com
- Phone: 702 335 3629
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: lawrencecreativ
Image Credit:
Personal Photo: Rudy Plaza
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