Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kenya Graham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kenya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero is my mom. She is the strongest woman I know and has her own business. She taught me many things without really trying to teach me if that makes sense. I learned from her by watching her as I grew up. When I’m passionate about something I go for it even if I don’t feel the support from others. She is my #1 supporter and I’m hers. When she started her business when I was a little kid it was different because social media wasn’t as big as it is now. She couldn’t promote her small business like how people do now through TikTok and Instagram. It was all about word of mouth and business cards. And during that time I noticed some people didn’t seem supportive and kind of didn’t believe in her, but that didn’t stop her. Now I’m doing my thing on my own and even if people don’t take it seriously, I know there are people ( even strangers) that love my work!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Kenya Graham and I’m a 22-year-old photographer and college student. I always had a love for film, music videos, music, etc you name it. I love anything that deals with visuals and being creative. I can’t tell you what exactly got me started but I always wanted to make something my own. Something that I envisioned and brought to life and people love it. I’ve been told a lot that my photos make them feel like they’re in the 2000s or it looks like an album cover. And that puts the biggest smile on my face because that’s what I go for. I like my photos to make people feel something like it’s stills from a film or a music video. I do occasionally take birthday, graduation, prom/homecoming photos if people ask. My dream is to have my work in magazines and album covers. I want to be a director of photography/cinemaphotographer one day when the opportunity is given. I don’t have a big team or anything, I’m usually doing this on my own with my models or I bring my best friend along who is also a photographer for creative direction. I’m most proud of uploading my work because I didn’t think anyone would care and I didn’t expect people to like my work, especially with my older stuff. I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go. But, I appreciate the support from everyone and my models who gave me a chance and brought my visions to life. Because I was so scared to reach out to anyone to model for me when I first started doing this considering my genre is a bit different from what I’ve seen from other local photographers.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I had made a whole new Instagram account and posted on my main account to follow me expecting zero response. But thankfully people did and I went on from there. I started building my page by reaching out CONSISTENTLY to many people and working with so many people. And when I upload and tag my models they share and, that brings more people to my account. I also followed other local photographers whose work I love and would one day want to work with. It’s still all about word of mouth when it comes to small businesses but thankfully we have social media so it makes it a bit easier. I celebrate every new following I get because that tells me they like my work and I’m happy about that.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I say the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is when you finish. It takes hours, days, or even weeks to get everything together when it comes to photography and I’m sure that applies to anything artistic or creative. And since I don’t have a team or anything I have to build the scheduling with the shoot and editing on my own while going to school online and working full time. But I always get it done and it’s the most rewarding thing ever for me. And the cherry on top is when my models love the finish work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: business page @_.muckii._ and personal is @kenyaaaag16

Image Credits

Models in Photos Instagram Users

@ahyokathegxddess @alizajaane @leeleesun @hoodrxchkd @besneedshelp123 @jaded_ange1 @kiritoezz