Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikhailo Lavender Wills.
Mikhailo Lavender, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My interest in photography started around my freshman year of high school. I when to my first concert, Yungblud, and wanted to learn how to capture the best photos of not only the artists I was seeing but also the reactions of the fans. My first time ever using a camera was borrowing a family friend’s Canon during my sister’s graduation party and just taking fun photos of my family members. I found it so fun and wanted to learn more about how a camera worked and just to get a better understanding of photography. I was able to take a full year of college muti-media classes during my senior year of High school and learn more about how cameras worked and the history. During my last year of high school I was lent a camera to take photos of my brother’s softball games. That entire summer I don’t think there was a time I didn’t have that camera on me. After all that I was able to start making connections in my community.
Starting off I just took photos of my friends in our free time, whether it be downtown, at coffee shops, or at parks. Soon enough I was taking photos at concerts, gigs, and outdoor band shows. I wouldn’t be where I am with my work without my friends, family, and community supporting me and believing that I can improve my work.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to get where I am today was a little rough at the beginning. I had a hard time finding what I really wanted to do, being sports, models, concerts, or the themes/aesthetics of what I wanted my page to look like. I only had a few friends at the beginning, and our schedules didn’t always line up to do a shoot. There was also the struggle of learning what kind of editing style I liked and how to stay motivated to continue editing till they turned out right.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a photographer based in Mankato and the Twin Cities. I specialize in mainly concerts/music, sports, and models but I am really open to doing anything and widening my horizon. My proudest moment so far was being able to take photos of the K-POP group JustB at their 2026 Minneapolis stop in their US tour. They are one of my biggest inspirations not only in photography but also in life.
One thing that sets me apart from other people is that my photos are meant to show the true emotions for everyone I photograph and that all the smaller/less known people get their time to shine and be a star.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was very creative and chaotic child. My parents always say I marched to the beat of my own drum. I grew up in a small town, all the kids had name brand clothes and nice shoes while I was just wondering around in crazy outfits that didn’t go together and looked “different”. Personality wise I was very shy but once I got to know people, I was loud, energetic and just a goof ball. I loved painting or doing anything artistic. I was in band in middle school and played percussion because I loved the ability to play more than one instrument.
Pricing:
- 150$ for minimum 2 hour shoot
- 20$ per additional hour per shoot
- 15$ per location change per shoot
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/lost-starzphotography/home?authuser=3
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lost.starzphotography?igsh=cmo5NjV3czF6YjJj&utm_-source=qr
