We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deseri Rice a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Deseri, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
This is where I feel a lot of creatives get discouraged. Something that I never too much had an issue with but I preach to my creative friends on the daily that strangers will support you more than people you know and that’s ok! Our goal is to build an authentic liking or audience because what happens when you start trying to appeal to family and friends just for their support is you’ll start creating things you don’t enjoy. Your passion becomes a job not in a good way. The motivation and drive dies. I’ve been blessed to have supportive friends and family even though my audience is unconventional they will attend openings and shows and share content. And it’s ironic my friends came from me photographing them. New relationships will form once you open yourself up to creating an authentic audience that truly loves your work. Long story made short, I don’t ask my friends and family to support, I give them freewill and again I say I’m definitely blessed to have a support system that truly wants to see me succeed.
Deseri, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Deseri, owner of Au Courag Studio + Gallery, and I am a beauty, fashion, and concept photographer who also develop budding models. I create and capture captivating concepts for brands, artists, and creatives mostly in studio only. I also retouch photos. Here’s my unintentional long journey. Thanks for reading in advance.
I started photography somewhere between my last year in college after taking an elective intro to photography class. Loved it ever since and even more when I didn’t get accepted into the graphic design program, decided that wasn’t for me. After college, I really started shooting local music shows for fun to take my mind off a heart break from there my business kinda just started. Befriended artists that loved my work I captured of them in their element and they wanted more. I became “the shootah.” I enjoyed the play of catching the flashing lights and learning the artist moments in their sets. It was special. It was different and told the visual story through their performance. That’s one thing I can say that I felt set me apart from any other underground concert photographer at that time but I knew I wasn’t truly fulfilled although music is my first passion. I went wherever I was needed and paid good money for my services. Did a few second shooter jobs for weddings which were really fun but still not quite the fit.
It wasn’t until I did my first fashion show, Atlanta International Fashion Week where I felt that euphoric feeling in my veins not only during the shows but also going through my images. I fell in love with the posing, the art of fashion, and the beauty of human features. Not saying that wasn’t there before in other photo genres I explored but it wasn’t the focus. I found my lane. I befriended designers and models, worked on my portfolio, and traveled to New York Fashion Week twice a year for about 2 years hoping to dive into that world but I felt I didn’t quite fit. I was super quiet and shy and although I landing cool opportunities, I didn’t network like I should’ve. Or if I did, I didn’t follow up because of fear. I started working with my artist friends that needed the content for albums and really enjoyed getting creative with set design. Fell in love with studio photography once I could afford to rent the space every now and then. Then I feel like here I was re-birthed.
I consider myself an artist first before anything. I knew since kindergarten I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. Studio photography I felt was a perfect realm of creating concepts on a blank canvas and turning it into something completely different while also including fashion and my appreciation for the human form. Photoshop was literally like second nature. I don’t think I ever had a moment struggling to figure it out probably thanks to myspace days of me doing God awful edits to my photos (I might include one in this interview lol). It was like the over painting of my photos. So, I created more for fun with my close friend who models, Samantha aka Icywon and developing concepts for more artist. I had the freedom to create and enjoy while I had my full time corporate job fund everything. Still was in a weird limbo of not having the time but having the money. I wanted my own creative space.
2019, I was really going through a rough patch with my job where I felt discriminated and wanted to leave but couldn’t. I had financial obligations. At this point, I had a few clients but not enough for sustainability. I was charging $50 per shoot! 2020, covid hit along with my job downsizing and I was cornered into quitting. I was in the process of rebranding and going with the photography thing full forced since it was now my only income with my part-time at Walgreens. Au Courag was born.
Au Courag, ooh-ku-rāj, coming from the French word au Courant, meant all things current. I was always inspired by Vogue spreads and knew I wanted my name to represent my brand but also live up to the quality standards of the magazines I looked up too. I also was heavy into thrifting which the rag part came in, like rag to riches type thing. It was definitely carefully thought out. I was super proud of myself. I created a magazine of my personal projects for fun and hosted my own art shows showcasing my works printed and mounted on canvas. I was doing my own thing without validation and I think that’s what grew my organic audience. People wanted to be a part although I had no idea what I was doing.
I got my own space in February 2021, right in the city of Decatur on Candler Rd. It was another proud moment. I could finally create freely and have been doing just that. This new journey definitely has it’s rough patches. This year has definitely been the roughest in my life and I feel like I’ve entered my struggling artist phase that I jokingly use to think what was required to be successful. But I’ve been pushing through thanks to God, support of my mother, friends and clients I’ve received over the years. I’ve definitely found myself as an artist/photographer and recently decided to niche down to only what fits my brand. In the process of currently rebranding to reflect what that looks like.
If you’re still reading this thank you! I have so many important pieces in my journey that I wanted to highlight to give the full scope of who I am and the meaning behind Au Courag.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
This year. Right now. This was the toughest year for me financially. I’ve gone days without food because I couldn’t afford it and thankfully to medication that carved my appetite it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. I asked for help from my partner and mother more than I wanted to this year and debt through the roof. I went all in without a solid plan and paying for it daily. Literally, every time I told my mother that I wanted to sell everything and quit she pushed me even though it was her pockets I was hitting too. I was heavily depressed that my mom couldn’t retire because she wanted to help me keep going. I was at my all time low and things just kept happening digging a deeper hole. I knew if I quit, I had nothing else to offer or do. I’ve been doing this for way too long. It’s all I know. So I’m continuing to fight. It wasn’t until recently that I shook the depression and went a different approach. I started listening to podcast, engaging more in help groups, and this week I was blessed to cross paths with two people that wanted to help elevate me. I’m so so grateful for Crystal Byrd and Alain Fagnidi.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think a lot of non-creatives look at business as business of making money when for us it’s making money doing things we love and also being appreciated for our craft. I know a lot of times I’ve experienced when my things or services aren’t selling my non creative friends would point to the product and not so much the marketing. Like, I should probably adhere to what the majority wants and sell what’s needed. It’s not easy getting out of the supply and demand mindset, not saying that it shouldn’t be considered. Its important that creatives stick to their niche and find out what works in that arena. We aren’t art producing machines.
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Image Credits
1-2 Mali Gerome 3 Lucas Hemingway 4 Morgan Magras 5 Mariama Tatum 6-7 Destiny Allera