We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful DeShanna Hampton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with DeShanna below.
Hi DeShanna, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I think to be successful one must work hard, be dedicated to your craft, and have a willingness to never give up, no matter how hard it gets.
DeShanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Photography started out as a hobby, a way to find something to do. My then neighbor asked if I would take photos of her son for prom and Face Photography was born. I began to make a plan in order to gain customer in the city that I live. I hosted a contest for brand ambassadors and it worked! The public picked the girls and I picked themes and I captured them in various locations. I am proud of that start. I thank those women for helping me create my one of a kind photography company. Face Photography led me to my filmmaking career. Tyesha Brown asked for my help with her campaign called “Black Girl Magic”. That project was the beginning of a longstanding production partnership. She hired me to capture behind the scenes photos of her stage play “All is Fair in Love and War” I went to every rehearsal, filling in for actors when needed and she tapped me to be stage manager. To date, we have created 5 feature films and currently writing our sixth.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I hosted a contest to pick 5 ladies to be brand ambassadors. They had to get their friends and family to like my business page in order to vote for them. I love capturing subjects that are eye catching and creative. My only advice is to not get so caught up in the amount of likes that you are receiving, trust me people are watching, even if they aren’t clicking ‘like’. Keep posting and going!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is to always focus on myself, never worrying about what my photography/filmmaking peers are doing., always striving to be my authentic self.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @face_forever100// @curvygurl76
- Facebook: Face Photography LLC// DeShanna Monay
- Twitter: @itsDeShanna
Image Credits
Personal Image by Panda Szn Studios