S2.E7 – Jeremy Cowart on Purposeful Photography, Embracing Risk, and Using AI Without Losing the Art

In this episode of f/22, Greg Lutze and Zach Hodges sit down with world-renowned photographer and artist Jeremy Cowart at his studio in Franklin, Tennessee, to talk about a career built on chasing ideas, embracing risk, and using creativity to help people.
Jeremy traces his unlikely path from painter to graphic designer to celebrity photographer. The journey started with a three-megapixel point-and-shoot and a Hollywood agent who called out of nowhere in 2005. He's candid about faking his way through his first big shoot (10 sets to light for Prison Break, having never used a light before), the imposter syndrome underneath it, and why he's always been drawn to the possibility of failure.
The conversation moves through his signature techniques, the multi-light LED wall rig, custom Capture One code, 60-second shoots, and the stop-motion approach he stumbled into on a Star Trek shoot. It all leads to the work he says matters most, his "If You're Breathing" project, where he makes art alongside people in extreme need and funds their stories through merch. Along the way, Jeremy gets honest about money, the feast-or-famine reality of a creative career, the surprising story of being hired by a global brand specifically to use AI, and why, after 20+ years, obsessive learning is what keeps him relevant.
This episode explores
- How to break into paid work (and landing a rep)
- Why embracing risk and failure beats waiting until you're "ready"
- Building a signature style and a clear creative perspective
- The truth about money and feast-or-famine income
- Using AI as a tool without losing the art
- Why social impact work can be the most fulfilling work of all

Jeremy Cowart
Website: jeremycowart.com

Big thanks to @harlowecreators for beautiful lighting for this episode.

Chapters:
00:00 "I Faked My Way Through My First Big Gig"
00:36 Welcome Back to f/22, Franklin, Tennessee
01:40 From Painter to Photographer
03:02 A 3-Megapixel Canon & Shooting Musician Friends
04:46 "I Got a D in Photography"
06:30 How He Started Getting Paid Work
08:04 Landing a Hollywood Agent in 2005
10:12 Imposter Syndrome & Faking the Prison Break Shoot
14:56 The "If You're Breathing" Project
18:07 Projecting a Mother's Words Into Her Daughter's Eye
20:23 Building the Projection & LED Wall Setup
24:22 The 60-Second Photo Shoots
27:26 Discovering Stop Motion on a Star Trek Shoot
29:15 Why Social Impact Work Matters Most
33:42 The Financial Reality, Feast or Famine
35:21 Obsessively Learn, The Carpenter Analogy
38:24 Talking AI, the Good and the Bad
43:04 Hired to Use AI for a Global Brand
45:10 Keep It About the Work, Not the Gear
47:33 Where to Find Jeremy
#JeremyCowart #PhotographyCareer #CelebrityPhotographer #PortraitPhotography #CreativeEntrepreneur #PhotographyBusiness #AIandPhotography #SocialImpact #F22Series #VSCO #PhotographyCommunity