EXCLUSIVE: KILSUALS with Jonathan Burkett
- Nigel Palmer
- Mar 8, 2017
- 4 min read
On Tuesday, March 7, theRelay interviewed rising photographer, Jonathan Burkett.

1. Can you tell our readers about yourself and your style of photography?
My name is Jonathan Burkett, I am an editor, photographer, and a graphic designer. I am also the founder of Kilsuals which is my brand of visual arts and the cofounder of IVEA (pronounced FoureEva) a clothing brand that expresses a unique style of creativity honoring Demarcus Pitts IV. When it comes to photography there is a few styles I center myself around: architecture, documentary, and candid. Those were the first styles I immediately gravitated towards when I first picked up my camera. Architecture is what I first began shooting when I first got my camera, I used to go around the city taking pictures of all types of buildings and structures. This helped me get started and learn a lot about framing and perspective.
2. How do you incorporate photography into your daily life?
To be honest i'm not always taking pictures daily, but i'm always observent of my surroundings and i'm always looking around for inspirations for photos. When i'm going about my day i'll find myself stumbling upon many different things that I can apply into my shooting techniques. I really need to start taking my camera everywhere I go, because I find myself missing opportunities that I might not get the chance again.
3. What's the most frustrating aspect of photography?
After shooting many events over the past year, the most frustrating part of photography has to be achieving the right lighting. When i first started shooting this was the biggest issue I ran into. When i first began shooting, I would constantly find myself tweaking my settings throughout my shoots trying to get the correct lighting. I highkey recommend everyone who owns a camera to purchase a lightmeter if you don't have one, they'll save you a hassle.
4. What's your greatest achievement outside of photography?
Choosing my greatest accomplishment outside of photography is hard because there is many things I'm proud of that I've done in media. The one I hold closest to me, is receiving my Avid Certification last summer. Avid's programs are held the highest by the industry for editing. Being the only person in the state that's not a professor at UNO with the certification is something I'm definitely proud of.
5. Do you have any favorite photographer?
I don't have a favorite photographer necessarily. Most of my inspiration and ideas for photos come from looking through my tumblr. I'll scroll through hundreds of images daily and just find random things reblogged that give me a new perspective on how I can approach taking a picture and editing. I find my greatest ideas come from outside photography.
6. What inspired you to start taking pictures?
I think what originally inspired me to take pictures was Dan Folger. He was Wiz Khalifa's photographer for a couple years and would take these polaroid photos of Wiz and plenty other rappers. The pictures he took were just these simple off guard photos of Wiz or whoever, but every picture always caught my eye. It was his story on how he broke into the industry that really caught my attention and made me feel like my dreams were possible. Vintage will always be better than digital in my opinion by the way.
7. Do you have any special talents?
Outside of creating I wouldn't say I have too
many special talents, but growing up I used to be very passionate about skateboarding. Being one of the smaller kids growing up, I could never play football like I hoped. I was always skateboarding with my cousin almost everyday for years. I thought I was gonna skate til I died or couldn't walk; one day I took a 10 foot fall onto concrete and that was it for me.
8. Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years I hope to have my brand Kilsuals succeeding at the expectations I have. Kilsuals is me and my partner Crownhead's way of expressing futuristic, forever influential pieces of art, whatever that might be. It will be a super portfolio for networking and marketing some of the most talented artists. The service will display all Kilsuals ( Videos, Photos , Cover Art) , fashion feed and other multimedia. Being a fashion head , I also hope to have our streetwear brand IVEVA established and respected. I have very high hopes for the future, ad long as i'm creating and innovating, I'll be satisfied.
9. If you could partner with anyone, who would it be?
It will never happen, but if I could partner with anybody it would have to be Kanye. If I could collab with him ever on any type of visuals, even if it was a one time opportunity it would be the greatest accomplishment for me. His ' Yeezus movement ' so to say gave me a whole
new outlook on how to approach creating and getting your ideas out. If there's one thing I can take from listening to his interviews, it's if you're doing what everyone else is doing , you're probably doing it wrong. Try to push the boundaries and go the opposite direction of what is trending.
10.What is a quote that you live by?
" Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. "
Instagram: @jonathanburkettvisuals
Twitter: @JonathanOVO_
Website: kilsuals.com
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