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

Deneka, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Particularly in photography, understanding that networking and creating a support system of like-minded people in your industry is key. There will be times that you’ll need guidance on how to navigate pricing or complex relationships and having a mentor or colleague that you trust who to bounce ideas off of, provide business advice or just honest and productive critique of your work is a game changer.

Continuously learning and honing your technical and artistic craft will help to keep your motivation high and combat stagnancy. We all go through periods of being artistically catatonic lol but finding exercises to keep things fresh will help to pull you out sooner.

And finally, hiring a team that maintains high spirits and possess a creative problem-solving positive mindset will ensure that you are not only hired again but will engender trust between you and the client.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a native New Yorker who originally started off working administratively in Real Estate Law. Determined to be a photographer, I applied for jobs at colleges that had photography departments with the intent of getting my degree for free. The New School hired me and while working full time and attending classes at night, I managed to graduate with a Bachelors in photography and human rights. My goal was to be a photojournalist, but after shooting a show at a local venue, I was hooked on live concert photography. For years I photographed live music for Hot 97 radio station, Revive Music, a music brand, and event production company for Jazz as well as local rock and indie rock bands. This led to photographing promotional portraits for musicians in all genres. I’ve since expanded and am almost exclusively shooting events for nonprofit clients as well as individuals advocating for social justice in all fields.

Despite the shift in subject matter, the goal is always to represent the client/ artist/ subject in a way that speaks to their marketing needs while using light, composition, and color in compelling ways. A discussion regarding either a client’s process of their work or the subject matter of their projects is how I ensure that the visual representation matches the client’s brand.

I’m most proud of the times where both my client and I have collaborated to create imagery that speaks to who they are as well as what their work represents. This can be most acutely witnessed in the portraits of the musicians I’ve photographed.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Sure. The first pivot was changing my focus from photojournalism to music. My thought was to be an overseas photojournalist but speaking to several active photographers and witnessing how their work affected them mentally and physically, I determined it wasn’t a good fit.

The second pivot was away from music. As much as I loved it, there weren’t as many opportunities that provided enough financial security. This is not to say that it isn’t doable, but all the photographers I know have several streams of income, either within the photography business or elsewhere. So, my solution was to shoot more galas, fundraisers and conferences. Whenever I had the time or bandwidth, I would photograph musicians or other creatives.

And just recently, during COVID I began to offer my services as a retoucher as well as a consultant providing guidance translating the legalese of contracts to other photographers.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The feedback that I often receive is how pleased my clients are with respect to how I prepare. I ask clarifying questions to help streamline their aesthetic as well as technical visual needs. And with portraits, I have diagrams, mood boards and a plan in place so that no time is wasted figuring out technical or creative direction. Showing the amount of pre-production prep and including my clients in the creation of their visual story has contributed to my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.denekapeniston.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dpshutter/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deneka-peniston/

Image Credits
Copyright Deneka Peniston www.denekapeniston.com