James Drakeford

I am a proud Dayton, OH native specializing in photography, social media, and creative direction. After high school, I moved to Columbus to attend The Ohio State University and graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). In the summer following my graduation, I made a personal commitment to spend more time on creative endeavors, mainly photography, as it’s always been an area of interest for me. Now, my life revolves mostly around fashion, photography, and education. My strong suit in photography is in capturing detail, creating feelings, and telling stories. In 2015 alone, I’ve had photos used and or featured in Hypebeast, NBC News, Highsnobiety, Sneakernews & other prominent platforms. I’ve taken all styles of photography – portrait, product, events, candid, landscape, residential, and more. I’ve worked w/several boutiques & businesses in the Short North/Downtown Columbus area including (the late great) Milk Bar, Homage, Brigade/Co-Op Shop, Lady Bird, and Super Chefs to name a few. I have also had work featured in nearly every major Columbus publication, most notable work, my first photojournalism project and solo exhibit, Black Innocence.

Professionally, I am the full-time manager of Columbus’ only true lifestyle sneaker boutique, Sole Classics. I’m responsible for social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr), product imagery on SoleClassics.com, and managing daily operations.

Personally, I spend a lot of time working on photography projects and concepts. My photojournalism projects are usually inspired by social misconceptions, I like shaping and uplifting the culture by imagery. I enjoy painting here and there. I really enjoy sharing and spreading ideas that have empowered and or motivated me, I do this through any medium I can. I founded The Idea of Being Somebody (TIOBS®) in 2011, a social lifestyle movement based on three principles: self-determination, self-education, and self-initiative. TIOBS® Spreads messages of self-actualization through clothing and web posts on TIOBS.com. Although, free time has not been on my side as of late, TIOBS® is still something that I care deeply about, and I’ll continue pushing the message for as long as I can.

Much of my inspiration comes from people and their relatable, but unique experiences. I love hearing about each person’s individual story and path. I’m fascinated by reality and authenticity. Reality can be tough to deal with, so it’s inspiring to learn how people get over their hurdles in life. Lately, I’ve been very inspired by unity and acceptance. The older I get, the more I notice how divisive we are as people, divided by a multitude of simple, cultural  characteristics that hold no moral or ethical weight. The bridges we create between each other, consciously and subconsciously, reinforce our fears and judgements that are derived from our lack of understanding; ultimately deterring us from positive relationships. I’m uplifted and thankful for all of the authentic connections I’ve shared with people over the years, especially the people that possess characteristics that are unlike my own.