We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Latoya Fits Okuneye a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Latoya Fits , thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I have been able to earn a full time living as a creative and that came from starting my business with the help of a full time job I did for a year- I was an au pair for private families this job helped me fund my personal projects, I was then able to start posting my work on Instagram/online, eventually the people who I needed to see it saw it and I started getting booked for more photography jobs – landing my first job with a major brand in 2021- NIKE. My biggest milestone was landing my first 5 figure jobs with a major brands.
It was super hard building a business from scratch as I come from a working class background so building and being able to pour back as fast into my business was quite difficult. I am grateful for how far I have come but am aware of how much far I’m stil yet to go!
I think if I wasn’t starting without any financial support I would have hit a more massive milestone by now.
I think the process would have also been faster if I was more aware of financial literacy before I started but I have learnt and I continue to build up my business better going forward.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Latoya “Fits” Okuneye (b. 1998) is an award-winning art and commercial photographer based in London, renowned for her vibrant, intentional approach to visual storytelling. Her signature use of bold colors and compelling narratives has established her as a distinctive voice in the industry.
Specializing in TVCs, social-first content, and OOH campaigns, Latoya places people and communities at the heart of her work. She has collaborated with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including FA, TikTok, and Disney. Her passion for socially impactful storytelling also shines through in her personal art projects, one of which is featured in the prestigious Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition for 2024/2025.
I first picked up the camera in May 2019, posting personal projects that cost me £10-£50 to make on instragram
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I believe a story in my journey that illustrates my resilience is when I first started earning larger sums of money as a freelancer a lot of it went back to supporting my working class family, It made it hard to save money and it also meant I re invested back into my business a lot slower, I got into moments of comparisons and what ifs,
However I have found beauty in my story and the fact I didn’t have the greatest head starts is the reason why I am widely resourceful- it’s that resourcefulness and passion that has brought me this far and will continue to take me further. I trust that I can go very far with deep focus, strategy, hard work, talent and commitment and also just being a kind persons haha
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
More funding for working class creatives! I cant emphasise this enough, for those who don’t have the privilege of nepotism, I believe big companies can invest in working class creatives- so many untapped talents, a good head start is everything
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.latoyafits.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/___fits___?igsh=NmQ2NG43d3RvM2Vr&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/___fits___?igsh=NmQ2NG43d3RvM2Vr&utm_source=qr