Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Lance Bradford | Photographer

I didn’t have much of a choice, probably. I wouldn’t be very good at anything else and would not really enjoy anything else. It’s something I would do regardless of any conventional success because I feel compelled to do it.
It’s definitely not boring. Read more>>

Christina Cooper | Photographer, Amateur Documentary Film-Maker

I think I’ve always been drawn to artistic hobbies. When I was younger, I loved to dance. I think it mostly came as a byproduct of my love for music. In my 20s, I would DJ around town and eventually became the first female DJ of the Soular Grooves collective with Houston’s own, DJ Sun. Read more>>

Arnet Jonuelle | Blurr Photography, LLC

I actually found this career accidentally. It started when I was doing brand ambassadorship in 2018 for fitness clothing, in which I would send pictures of myself modeling the clothes. You can imagine how difficult this was with a big ol’ camera, so I had the idea of meeting up with the other ambassador girls in my area, and I would just take pictures of them. I surprisingly enjoyed directing and posing them, finding locations that would complement their outfit colors, and editing the pictures to look cute afterwards. Since then I expanded to photographing families, couples, and many, many more. Read more>>

Courtney Bryant | Screenwriter/Film Director/Actress

I decided to pursue an artistic/creative career because I felt called to express myself. I really felt trapped at one point. Trapped by societal and familial pressures. Pursuing my dreams of acting and screenwriting has taught me so much about myself and the lengths and sacrifices I’m willing to make to succeed. I found that in other professions although they were great choices at the time financially, I was giving more of myself to others. Giving back is good but pursuing a creative career taught me to give to myself first. Read more>>