Life & Work with Charles Kennedy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Kennedy. 

Hi Charles, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started in media back when I was still in high school. I didn’t know what I really wanted to do until about eleventh grade when a mentor of mine recommended that I join the audio/visual ministry at our church. From there I learned that I wanted to get into broadcast media/live audio/audio engineering. I studied media communication at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. When I entered the program, my focus was strictly on audio. I had it set in my mind that audio was going to be my career route. In 2010, I was invited by one of my classmates to take part of a 48 Hour Film Challenge with a few other classmates of ours and some industry connections. That 48 Hour Film in 2010 was the turning point for me. It brought me out of my shell and opened my eyes to a whole other career path into filmmaking. During that same year, I started taking interest in photography and started to learn that aspect of visual storytelling, and really the rest is history. It took me a while to find my “thing” but once I did, I didn’t look back. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road at all. Lots of twists and turns and huge bumps along the way. One of my biggest struggles didn’t become apparent until I graduated from LTU and started working my first corporate job. I gave up on filmmaking. I didn’t think it was sustainable, it wasn’t safe and I wouldn’t be able to have a real family with it. I focused solely on my corporate 9-5 for about two years which in turn made me miserable. I was depressed working my job, and I didn’t see a real way out of it. In 2016 my grandmother passed away and that made the weight of what I was already dealing with almost insurmountable. Her passing was a blessing in disguise because grieving her death led me to asking a lot of questions which manifested itself into a screenplay and an eventual short film. In 2018 I got laid off from my corporate job and I had a choice: either find another corporate job or take the risk and freelance/be an artist full time. I chose the latter and the first six months to a year was extremely rough trying to build a clientele to where I can work enough to make money that justifies me not working a traditional job. I was probably making less than $1k every month in that first year struggling to break even. It has taken about two years go get to a solid place, and right now I’m making more money than I ever have. Going through the challenge of giving up on my passion and losing one of the most important people in my life brought me back to the path I belong on but it was a struggle to get there. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Freelance Photographer, Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Producer, and Editor. I specialize in Portrait/Editorial/Headshot photography, and writing, producing, and shooting narrative/documentary film. I’m most proud of my work as a filmmaker. I’ve won several awards for my work, but the most important thing is that I’ve had the opportunity to meet and reach so many people that I ordinarily would be able to. The amount of beautiful souls I’ve met while filmmaking is incredible and I’m a better human because of. 

What sets me apart from others is that I don’t consider myself as a Jack of all trades but more as a Swiss Army Knife. I’ve acquired lots of skills/tools along the way and I have a tool almost anything just like a Swiss Army Knife. 

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I think mentorship is vital, but I believe that mentorship can come in different forms than the traditional idea of a mentor. I feel like your peers and colleagues can be your indirect mentors. When you network, you meet so many different people who have had different experiences than you and that can lead to asking lots of questions and learning from people the same way you would with a traditional mentor. Networking is almost like mentorship on steroids. You have the opportunity to get wisdom from more people and more diverse perspectives on the journey to success. 

Networking and trying to learn as much as I can from people has worked wonders for me. I don’t have a mentor so I’ve had to try to fill the void by learning from others either by watching and then doing or asking. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.charleskennedyjr.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ckennedyjr
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ckennedyjr