Shooting the Soul

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the photos of Detroit-raised photographer Lamar Landers speak for themselves. Landers’ camera catches natural moments and the raw character of his subjects, who include artists and creatives, as well as everyday people. His entry into photography came when he was starting a clothing brand and taking his own pictures of the pieces. “I wanted to get something on Facebook. Instagram wasn’t even popping at the time,” he says. “People said that I had a ‘good eye.’ I didn’t know what that meant, but I kept shooting.”

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With his photographs, Landers strives to catch his subjects in their genuine state, honing in on the intimate moments between himself and his subjects. In his Theorematic series, he documents artists and creatives around the world. “I try to interview people who really invest their time in their art form,” Landers says. “Wherever the music and the art is, I’m there.” Although the series has taken him places like Amsterdam, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Los Angeles, to name a few locales, Landers still likes to focus his camera on local artists. His recent subjects include Detroit rappers Fatt Father, Bang Belushi and L.A.Z. of Clear Soul Forces. 

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Right now, Landers is shooting a Summer of Portraits at the Handball Courts series. As the name suggests, he’s been spending the summer taking spontaneous portraits in the Palmer Park handball courts. “I’m shooting people in their most natural form – no glitz on it, no glamour.” 

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