Meet Jordan Mayfield | NYC Based Director of Photography, Editor & Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan Mayfield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
For me when I started in film I was doing it on the side while maintaining regular 9-5 jobs as much as I was not a fan of these jobs they were still giving me skills I could use in many ways down the road wither it was how to repair something fast and keep the show moving it also gave me a prospective to just keep moving keep working and stay focused. So when it came time to leave my regular job and pursue filming full time it was scary and a risk but at the same time a fun one. Also the timing happen to work out i had just came back from a film trip and work had come to a slow and I i felt like i was at a breaking point.
I think if you can use any fear as fuel to keep going it a great tool to keep you on track even when times can get hard or challenging not to say there wasn’t times where i was ready to pack it in and i got help from close family and friends but in the end those are just fears and tools showing them selfs to you its up to you to use them. So taking the risk was worth it cause in the end I got to grow stronger in my craft as well as travel, explore and create with new people and close friends. I think having those “Regular jobs” if you even wanna call them that since what might be regular to you might be someones love or strong suit as a career. Risks are a key part of being a good creative I feel like we take risks daily when we are creating something whether it’s personal or for a client you’r putting yourself and you’r Art on display.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always been into different art endeavours I was always drawing or painting in elementary & High-school . But I always wondering what more I can do what have I not tried that I might be good at its a blessing and a curse cause I don’t tend to sit still or relax for long. But in the end I fell in love with filming and editing I feel like its an endless canvas there is no wrong or right way sure there is specific ways clients or people will want an image to look but you may have your own creative methods to capture and bring that vision to life. Over the years i think i have learned to pick who you want to work with and make sure you both share the same respect for what your trying to create together and that having an amazing team makes your work just come out even better in the end and its something you can all learn from together its one of the best feelings there is bring something from concept to completion.

For me i love cinema and movies but when it comes to creating I’m always more pulled towards more short form content like commercials or short films / documentaries. They all just feel more real and relatable to but once again you can learn so many invaluable skills from these major productions that you can adapt to you passions or content you love to create.

For me like i said before i wanna do so much in and out of my craft and we don’t have forever so I’m always trying to keep things moving big or small. But then the flip side to that is I’m not someone that believes in more is better and that just pumping out content is a way to go and I know a lot of people feel different in that aspect. Fore me I just wanna have things I’m proud of that i created or help create and if that adds up to a lot in the end then great but what i love is creatives that don’t let things “slip” they power through when its the hardest to do and they are always creating on or off the clock cause in order to get great at what you love you have to keep learning and growing and this looks different for all people so its very interesting.

I have been freelance for about 16yrs and now for the first time I’m with a great company that allows me to create stories from scratch and with teams of amazing people that wanna make awesome art and content. Its interesting working directly full time for a company and also a massive learning curve on all fields from communication to the smallest things sometimes but that’s what makes it so interesting. Big thanks to the team over there at Exos from the creative team coaches and athletes you all amazing thank you for welcoming me in. Big shout out to Josh currie, Hannah Kaufman, Chase Altieri along with the entire staff you all awesome.
For me a big thing for me with this full-time move was they allow me to still create outside of work i can still do freelance as long as it does not interfere with my job at hand. For someone that’s always thinking of ideas and wanting to keep thing moving this was vital it keeps things new and fresh it allows the ideas and creative process to not be “Boxed” you can flow ideas, skills from job to job allowing for infinite growth.

As a creative i think a hard thing for most of us to learn is how to take criticism how to spot the constructive criticism and how not to take it all personal and instead learn from it and build from it. This is a forever evolving process for me I learned a lot while living in Hong Kong a few years back about this and how to grow from it.
It’s also important I think to not let people ever take advantage of your ideas this may seem small to some creatives but you’re thoughts your ideas are priceless be careful who you share them with hold them close.
And lastly always try and be honest with your thoughts and criticisms i feel like people always want please others and sometimes this is not easy but in the end your team should trust you and understand you to the fullest cause in the end you where hired for a reason. Lastly i love the people that know there worth but don’t talk about they create for all the right reasons i feel like the people the grow the fastest go the farthest are the ones that will always gothic extra mile event if there is no check on the other side of it these are the ones that cherish their vision over any amount of money.

I think building a name and a brand takes a lot of times and a lot of mistakes will be made over and over again but you need to be able to bounce back from those and grow stronger. I feel like if you look at a mistake enough there is always a way to make it right or make it work it just might take longer or have you reaching into your tool bag to make it right. In the end these creative journeys are forever growing enjoy it grow with it and make sure to smile cause you lucky you have something you love to do everyday and don’t forget there is no ceiling you can take as many avenues as you wish and create whatever you want in any medium you want…

For me I’m most proud of the adventures I have had and the people have become friends with those times and relationships are priceless. Me and my wife moved to Brooklyn, New York just over 3yrs ago and its one of the best decisions ever she has a lot of faith in me. She would always say ” You have nothing to worry about you talk to everyone you will meet so many people” well needless to say she was right things moved fast when i got her and i would not change a thing.Im grateful for all the opportunities I have had and friends i have made a long the journey and i know there is so so much more to come.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to walk around and explore the city its the best way in my opinion to explore and meet people here in New York. Everyday is different. Its hard to nail down one food place but you have to get some Slices to go while walking around and when you get tired on your feet find a small bar or cocktail spot for a drink or two. And if you’re with me and my wife you gonna be going into a lot of Record shops and vintage shops I love collecting records and clothing but most of all its just fun hunting while exploring.

In the end some of my favourite places to go are the following ( no specific order )

1- Savant 1463 – This is like a second family to me for the most creative inspiring people, conversations and fashion this is home. -Brooklyn
2- Corto coffee – Brooklyn
3- Joes Pizza – It was my dog “Bunny”‘s last meal . -Manhattan
4- Trad Room, Japanese – Brooklyn
5- Saragina, Italian – Brooklyn
6- Bait & Tackle – Records -Brooklyn
7- Record Grouch -Brooklyn
8- Five Leaves -Brooklyn
9- Paule Gee’s Slice Shop – Brooklyn
10-Elle effe – Mexican -Brooklyn
11- El Santo -Mexican -Brooklyn
12- A1 Records – Manhattan
13- Mis Lillys – Jamaican food – Manhattan
14- L Train Vintage – Knickerbocker Ave,Location (12am Only)
15- BREW- Bar -Brooklyn
16- Toy Tokyo-Manhattan
17- Brooklyn Museum
18- Did Beacon Museum – Upstate NY
19-RAS- Ethiopian Food – Brooklyn
20-La Bicyclette Bakery – Brooklyn

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
For me when i was getting into Filming it was all about Professional action sports for me particularly Professional Skateboarding I grew up with some amazing skaters that i got to travel across the word with to capture them and create video parts ect. But I would have never got into editing if it wasn’t for a few people one being A old friend ( Sean Keating ) he was a snowboard film maker that trusted me to help with some projects back in the day these where amazing times. When I decided to pursue making my own Full length skateboard film i was so new to editing so i had a ton of assistance from a close friend and amazing creative ( Clayton Larson ) he help show me the ropes along with Arron leyland. But in the end when got a little more comfortable in my craft I started to reach out to other creatives and people I liked and wanted to work with or for and learned as much as I could when I could. As life progressed and I got older and thing changed from only actions sports to more commercial work ect i just tried to keep focused on new things i wanted to create and learn from. I’m beyond thankful to many people from the past til now for all the great times, Learning and creating with them all and beyond grateful to them for hooking me up and trusting me with amazing opportunities so thank you to everyone below along with my new team over at Exos they have been amazing to create and grow with.

My Family,My wife Ashlee Grosse, All the friends that have supported me over the years, Jason Bothe, Jim Diehl, Brian Siswojo, Ant Claravall, Michael Graham, Cornelius Rosenbaum, Jordan Hoffart, Matt Berger, Rob Sluggo and the Sluggo family, Jordan Owen, R.B. Umali, Exos, Skateboarding,

Website: www.jmayvideo.com

Instagram: @jordancmayfield

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-mayfield-347a3b41

Youtube: https://vimeo.com/jmayvideo

Other: Here is my youtube but i mainly use my Vimeo for all content streaming https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTj7aKESJbTVHpnLYtUJFRQ

Image Credits
Jim Diehl Jordan Owen I may have better photos ill look this week and contact another photographer i have 1000’s of folders of photos and videos i just don’t get a lot shot of me lol.