Bored Panda reached out to Halyson to dive deeper into the inspiration and process behind his viral photo shoot videos. The artist shared that he believes the pandemic pushed him to reinvent himself creatively. "When I saw most people migrating to TikTok, I thought: why not show the behind-the-scenes of my photo shoots before sharing the final result? It was a time when most people were stuck at home, and it worked really well. In a short time, my videos were already getting lots of views. That’s when 'halysonfotos' really took off — both as a photographer and influencer."
Halyson told us that his ideas often stem from strong visual references like Pinterest and movies, and he’s especially drawn to anything that feels authentic. "For my urban photography, I always stay alert to elements like lines, subways, and neutral places. I spend a lot of time walking around and exploring the city. That’s where most of my ideas come from!"
According to the photographer, one of the most impactful moments of his career was when he approached a street performer portraying a "living statue". "The original idea was simply to create a video that would help people see street artists in a more human way."
What Halyson didn’t realize at the time was that the video would soon go viral. "People started asking me to help him [the street performer], so I went back to him, organized a live fundraiser, then an online one. It grew in a beautiful way — people started giving him money on the street, recognizing him as 'the man from Halyson’s video.' He ended up getting better housing, dental prosthetics, clothes, and regular meals.
He also shared his story with me — he had a hernia in his testicles and, at his age, worked every day under the hot sun, painting himself just to survive. That truly broke me and pushed me to keep helping him. To this day, it's the story that touches me the most and defines my career."
Looking ahead, Halyson shared that he hopes to improve his skills, launch a course to teach others, and keep sharing his art with the world. "Who knows — maybe even travel internationally!"
