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

CINNAMON, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

As a photographer, being mischaraterized is pretty constant. As a niche portrait photographer, being mischaracterized only happens before being introduced to my work. Once I show someone images of what I do and describe my focus, pretty much everyone “gets it”. Photography exists in this gray area as anyone with a camera is a photographer. I think people generally think of a photographer as a person with a nice camera.
When I was first starting out, I did like so many other beginning photographers and what I photographed was pretty generalized, but over time I leaned more into what I love about,
Now, once I explain that I am a portrait photographer that specializes in the empowerment of women, people generally understand what I mean. They still may try to get me to be their wedding photographer though.

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?

I’m a contemporary portrait photographer who offers a luxurious portrait experience in my home studio. I want my clients to not only know they look good for their session because they’re getting a pampering session including hair and make-up as well as custom style guidance, but I also want them to feel beautiful. That’s why I cheer my clients on, hype them up, and guide them through the entire session. Getting pictures taken doesn’t have to be unpleasant. My repeat clients would tell you that it actually fills their cups and boosts their confidence when they have a session with me. I customize each session to my client’s desires. My first job is to learn as much as possible about my client and what they want to get out of a photo shoot. I love designing each session and I believe that there is magic in creativity. One of the first things I ask my clients is “who do you want to be photographed with?”. My clients will have multiple sets in their session, they may want to do something a little saucy by themselves and then have their partner bring the rest of the family for a family set at the end.
I grew up being photo-shy and would have been perfectly happy avoiding cameras for the rest of my life until my little sister started avoiding pictures even more than usual. This was just after her second pregnancy which left her with a beautiful, healthy, happy baby whom she adores (he’s just turned 9) but hated her body since it had not let go of the extra pregnancy weight. I wanted her to love pictures of herself because I thought she was the most beautiful mama in the whole world. I had already been carrying a camera around and taking pictures at every event I attended etc. My son was into sports and it was near impossible to get good pictures of him doing some of the really cool jumps and kicks and such he would do with a cell phone camera. The cameras on phones have gotten MUCH better since then. The challenge of getting pictures of my sister she didn’t hate was different than just taking pictures and that’s really how it’s been ever since. The goal is to make the person in front of my lens fall in love with themselves. I love the challenge and I’ve never been particularly competitive about much, but I’m always trying to outdo myself with that something extra in my images.
I love reading client reviews, but I am probably the proudest when I see one of my portraits large on the wall.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn being camera shy. I know how I got there, we’re bombarded daily with messaging that we are not enough and that we don’t deserve to exist in images unless we’re pretty, thin, etc. It’s taken a lot of practice and reflection to move into a comfortable and accepting of myself and not hate pictures of myself. In order to teach others how to accept themselves in pictures, I had to do the work first. It’s a continued practice. We’re far more critical of ourselves than we ever are of others. I would like to challenge anyone reading this to try to stay curious and ask yourself some questions when you find yourself in such a situation. I ask myself if I would say those things to my sister, or my best friend. Of course not, I would never want to put them down.
As with anything else, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
I’m a self-portrait artist and have taken hundreds of pictures of myself. I use self-portraiture for a lot of my creative experimentation and to put ideas that I have together. Taking lots of pictures of myself has given me a pretty good understanding of how a lot of poses feel to my clients as well.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have always felt a strong sense of responsibility for my part in making this world a better place. I love that I can offer a relaxed and fun experience for my clients that will leave them with images that may be cherished for several lifetimes. For each client, I hope to take the best picture they have ever seen of themselves and change their perspective of themselves in a lasting way. This passion is all worth it if just one person chooses to love themselves a little more.

I don’t want to create images that continue the problem. It’s easy to blame “the media” for our conditioning of low self-worth, but if you use a camera, you are creating the media. I understand that I am creating media and art that people will see and give them permission to exist in images. I want to show diverse bodies of all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, abilities, etc. I strive to create images that will inspire little girls to grow up accepting themselves and knowing that they deserve to exist in beautiful images in every season of their lives.
As a woman, not hating your body feels like a form of resistance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cinnamonrosephotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinnamonrosephotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CinnamonRosePhotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinnamon-johnson-a00908b7/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CinnamonRoseTog
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYd0VCiZfJ-ogVk07RglWFw

Image Credits
Lawanda Hinton Anna Mang Tiffany Platenak Piper Crumbaugh Emily Bell