Meet Lavonte Lucas, a Fall 2023 Community Reporting Fellow
Lucas will be doing community reporting work in New Orleans this fall as part of the Lede New Orleans Community Reporting Fellowship program.
By Liza Montgomery
Anyone that lives in the South knows that most kids feel inclined to pick up a football or learn how to play an instrument in the band. However, since Lavonte Lucas’ mom bought him his first bridge camera, his love for photography hasn’t stopped growing and has outweighed the more popular interests of his peers.
Lucas, 23 and a New Orleans native, recalls a strong sense of community growing up in the Magnolia public housing developments before Hurricane Katrina. During his childhood, the neighbors vigilantly looked after the children, ensuring they stayed away from trouble. While growing up in a single mother household, Lucas quickly recognized the invaluable commodity of time. He recalls his mother working a 9-to-5 job to provide the best life possible for him and his siblings. Consequently, Lucas noticed that his family members were investing the majority of their time working jobs that weren’t their passions.
As he continued to mature, he was determined to find something that would give him the freedom to choose how to spend his time. He quickly learned that his passion for photography would meet this goal. Since finding his calling, he has flourished as a photographer. Lucas’ work has been published in magazines allowing him to establish a loyal clientele and helping him to create new opportunities for himself personally and professionally.
For Lucas, entrepreneurship, “was a sense of freedom and something that I can hold onto. I know that at the end of the day, when I leave school, I still have something that I can walk away with. For me, that was photography,” Lucas said.
Lucas started his photography business six years ago after beginning a dual enrollment program at Bard Early College New Orleans. While in school, Lucas was exposed to Gigsy, a company that offered photography training services and professional opportunities. After enrolling at Dillard University, he continued to advance his photography abilities as a contributor to the Dillard University newspaper. Through these experiences, Lucas developed his technical skills and his interest in entrepreneurship. As a new entrepreneur, he focused on establishing his professional identity in the community, pursuing projects important to him, and building loyal clientele. Lucas immersed himself in Sunday second lines and Mardi Gras festivities to capture the New Orleans culture and put himself out there as a new photographer.
When Lucas walks through his old neighborhood and talks with the locals, it reminds him of his roots and the value that comes from sharing community stories. These stories have been the bridge to a career that has opened up his world. He feels appreciative of his entrepreneurial traveling opportunities that have allowed him exposure to places outside of his hometown like Turin, Italy. Looking back on his experiences, Lucas feels it is his responsibility to use his craft to proudly represent the people of New Orleans.
I spoke with Lucas to learn more about his interests and reasons for joining the fellowship. Here’s what I heard. Note: This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Lede New Orleans trains creatives to make equitable media that inspires and informs our city. What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
Equitable media looks like correctly allocated resources, access to equipment, and safe spaces. A lot of where we are plays into the psychology of our productivity. More enclosed spaces create more of a tunnel vision focused area and more open spaces create more creative productivity.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
I’m looking for a challenge. I really want to get the technical skills to make sure I do things the correct way. I want people to really feel like I am a professional and I am doing really good ground work.
What things have you learned about yourself since becoming an entrepreneur?
It’s a lot that I learned about people and myself. Because as an entrepreneur, you really are like, boots to the ground. You do all the work essentially yourself until you get to a point where you can actually hire other folks to help you out with the load. So for now, it’s like, nose to the grindstone, I’m really working and making sure to try to get myself out there.
Imagine it’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
I have a two year old pit lab mix named Sosa. He has really brought me outside and makes me really enjoy being outside. Sosa is really adamant about going outside and so you just gotta go outside and enjoy the air.
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