About - Aj Lewis

Photography as an art form

I was born and raised in the west suburbs of Chicago. I've always been an artistic and very creative person. From writing poems and short stories, to drawing. i didn't get into photography until much recently, around 2017 to be exact.

I was always a homebody and grew up fascinated with nerd culture. Video games, anime, super heroes, magic.... so when I was invited to go to Acen(Anime Central) for my bday back in 2016, thats when the spark started.

I wanted to continue going to these conventions. I really liked seeing the cosplayers. It was like seeing my favorite characters in person. I wanted to capture these moments, but didn't want common phone quality images. So without knowing anything about cameras. I went and bought my first digital camera. Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 4k bridge camera.

I had no idea what I bought, but the pictures came out nice. I only shot in automatic mode, so i really didn't have any clue what I was doing. I would have other people use my camera and the pictures never turned out that great. People kept telling me i took great photos, but from my perspective, it's not that hard to do. Someone finally pointed out that it's a gift to be able to take good photos with training.

So photography was just a hobby until i needed more income after the C-19 pandemic happened. I figured I'd try to start a career in something I really enjoy doing. My bridge camera broke and i got the Canon EOS R5, and started shooting in manual. Learning from experience, YouTube, and Instagram.... The rest is history.

Capturing the hidden beauty for all to see

Many people seem to think that to be a model, and they have to look a certain way. I've always been fascinated with how unique it is to see people with completely different styles look beautiful, cool, and interesting in their own way. I try to capture the hidden beauty that people can't see in themselves. I have a creative approach to photography and excel in discreetly capturing poignant moments, whether it's street photography, lifestyle photography, or boudoir or events.