Lisa Jones can be seen in the web-based competition series ‘The Creator Series’ on YouTube on Monday, Aug. 29.

As an award-winning local portrait photographer, Lisa Jones may prefer a life behind the camera, but that hasn’t stopped her from participating in the web-based competition series ‘The Creator Series’ on YouTube on Monday, Aug. 29.

Jones became aware of the competition while attending the Shutterfest photography conference in the spring. As the creator of the conference, Jones was aware of Sal Cincotta. So when he announced his concept for the competition series and encouraged those attending the conference to apply, Jones said that she did so on a whim. When she received an email several weeks later congratulating her on her advancement to Round 2 Jones said she thought “there’s no way they’re going to pick me,” and decided to present herself as truthfully as possible in her application video.

“Why should you choose me? Well, to be honest I don’t really know that you should. I’m a sixty-year-old, gun-toting grandma from northern Alabama,” Jones said in the video.

When she received the email congratulating her on being chosen, Jones was equally shocked, “My first thought was ‘Oh, crap’ except I probably didn’t say crap,” she said.

The competition will showcase 10 photographers from varying backgrounds competing across seven episodes for more than $20,000 in cash and prizes. Jones said that in an attempt to create a level playing field, none of the competitors were allowed to use their own photography equipment. Instead, they were each provided cameras from the show’s sponsor Canon. Despite normally using a Canon camera, being forced to use new equipment was the first challenge that Jones needed to overcome.

“Even though I am a Canon user, the camera body that I was using was not the exact one that I use. Similar, but not the same. The other issue is as a photographer when you have your gear, everything about that gear is set to your preferences and so it’s all those menu settings that you go in and personalize. and the cameras that were put in our hands, they weren’t set up that way,” she said.

The most difficult part of the competition, however, were the time constraints. As part of each episode’s challenge the photographer’s are forced to create an image in just 10 minutes using subject matter that they have received no information about beforehand. As a portrait photographer who meticulously plans and creates images that she expects her clients to place on their walls, this type of “run and gun” photography stood in stark contrast to Jones’ normal method.

“I go and meet with my clients ahead of time, and everything is kind of planned out. and even in the work, my method is very slow and methodical. You know, I’m looking at details and I’m posing and I’m placing everything down to the little finger,” she said.

To overcome these challenges Jones relied on her belief that nothing in life happens by chance, and knew that there was a reason that she was chosen. So, she did what she does best — simply be herself.

“I really went with no aspirations of ‘Okay, I’m gonna go win this.’ I just went. and my goal in going was to be myself and to be true to my art so I didn’t want to go and try to be somebody else or to recreate myself, or to produce something in my images that was different from what I would do for my clients … and I would say from that aspect I accomplished my goal. I went and I did me, I did what I do,” Jones said.

Find the series online at behindtheshutter.com/creator-series/, or visit Jones’ website ljonesphotography.com/.