Joel Harris, from The Creative Urge, standing in the middle of a deserted road in Valley of Fire State Park, holding a camera, wearing sunglasses, a backwards cap, a long-sleeved shirt, camouflage pants, and hiking shoes.

My Journey

I'm Joel Harris — a photographer based between Las Vegas and Chicago, and the guy behind The Creative Urge. For over 15 years, I've photographed everything from live music sets and DJ performances to weddings, portraits, editorial, and commercial work, but somewhere along the way I realized that the hard part — for me and for almost every photographer I've ever talked to — is staying creatively engaged.

My path here wasn't a straight line. I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, learning graphic design and visual communication from my father before I even understood what "design" meant. That early foundation led me into photo sessions alongside working photographers and models, then into studying Visual Art at Colorado State and the University of Northern Colorado. From there I cut my teeth at design firms and ad agencies, then landed corporate gigs with companies like StairMaster, Nintendo, and Fiserv — where I got pulled into video production and never looked back. Eventually I bet on myself and launched my own boutique video production company in Seattle, called Matter + Form.

Then HDSLR cameras came along and blurred the line between video and stills, and I fell headfirst back into photography. I shut down M+F, moved to Denver, and spent years dialing in my craft across sports and music photography while soaking up everything I could about every other genre. In 2019 I packed up for Las Vegas and went all-in across every avenue of photography and production. In 2025, life opened a new chapter in Chicago — though I still make regular trips back to my old haunts in Seattle, Denver, and beyond.

Somewhere in all that movement — new cities, new genres, new chapters — I kept running into the same question, both in myself and in the photographers I mentored: how do you stay creative when the technical stuff becomes second nature? How do you keep the spark alive when you're photographing the same kind of session for the hundredth time? That question is the reason The Creative Urge exists.

An ice hockey player in a black jersey with a Florida Panthers logo, wearing a helmet and gloves, standing on the ice rink. Behind the glass, a Joel Harris with a large camera lens is capturing the game.
Joel Harris, taking a selfie from a top-down angle on a sidewalk at night. He is wearing a black T-shirt with a large white camera graphic and a plaid button-up shirt over it. The background shows part of a parked car and concrete sidewalk.
Joel Harris with a camera taking pictures of elk in a field with dry grass and a barbed wire fence.
Digital artwork of a Joel Harris shouting with an intense expression, surrounded by abstract black and red paint splashes and splatters on a light background.
Joel Harris wearing a hockey jersey and helmet playing hockey.
An engagement photo sesssion is taking place inside a large red sandstone canyon with three rocks. A man and a woman are holding hands, facing each other, with Joel Harris kneeling, taking their photo.
Joel Harris holding a Canon camera, taking a photo in a black and white photo.
Joel Harris kneeling on the grass with a camera, photographing a woman standing in the middle of the grass field in an urban park setting during daytime, with modern buildings, trees, streetlights, and a cloudy sky in the background.
Joel Harris in a white jersey with black and grey gear, skating on the ice with a hockey stick, behind a glass barrier in an indoor rink.

My Approach

My approach is simple: it's all about people, memories, and shared experiences. A moment between people — a touchdown, a set, a first kiss, a slow dance — is gone the second it passes and never happens quite the same way twice. If a photograph can pull you back into a feeling, then it's done its job. That's what drives every session I do.

That belief is also what led me to build The Creative Urge. Along the way, I kept running into the same question — in myself and in the photographers I've mentored — of how you stay creative once the technical side becomes second nature. How do you keep the spark alive when you're capturing the same kind of session for the hundredth time? The Creative Urge is my answer to that question. It's a podcast, a YouTube channel, courses, and a growing set of tools, all built around one goal: helping photographers and creatives get unstuck, stay inspired, and keep making work they're proud of.

Whether I'm working with a couple on their wedding day, a family in a portrait session, or a band under stage lights, it all comes from the same place. My job is to notice the moment and capture it before it disappears — and through The Creative Urge, my goal is to help other photographers learn to do the same.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. Whether you're here for the podcast, the YouTube channel, or the courses, I hope you find something that helps you create more and stress less. And stick around — there's a lot more coming.

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