We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ikyo Bailey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ikyo below.

Ikyo, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

This may not seem like a huge thing from the outside, but I am one of few photographers who share all of their raw images. To me, that is the art. Not the edit or effects added after, but the image itself. I love seeing the excitement on my clients faces when they see how amazing they look on camera. And it show me how far I have come with controlling and balancing the light and colors of the natural image and scenery.

Ikyo, 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 full official title, with all the bells and whistles on it is; Multi-Award Winning, 100+ Published, Gallery Shown, Fine Arts, and Fashion/Commercial Photographer.

Its obviously a mouth full, but what that tells people is that I care about the outcome of the shoot just as much as the client does, as the casual viewers on social media, and as the art enthusiast who experience my work in gallery spaces. I am a fan of my work and will ensure that every image I take is up to the standard of the mouth full of a title I have obtained on the road to mastering this art form.

This journey started for me as a fan of photography and the works of black artists capturing the beauty and light in black people through image, and light. The spark to create was always within me, but it was only through the camera did it fully express itself.

Now as a photographer, I use my talents to highlight brands, and people looking to show their spark to the world as well. ColoredShot Photography acts as a magnifier to the light of whoever is infront of my camera.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Being a creator requires a different type of sacrifice. All things cost something right, this is something we all know very well. The sacrifice for creatives is stability. Non creative people rarely understand the necessity of struggling as a creative. Going through that period of instability and really leaning in and learning how to hold yourself up as a creative financially. It takes time and honestly feels insane going through it.
Interestingly enough, we’ve seen the story play out for thousands of people. Everyone knows whats on the other side of the great creative struggle, but few are insane enough to jump into that fire and get to the other side.

Any advice for managing a team?

Building a team is an interesting balance. Instinctively we want to all form a version of the justice league in our field, pulling together the greatest artist we have in our network and create work on the highest level. But something that I have learned, and that is often overlooked, is gathering a team based on their potential to grow. A person who is constantly growing through the team they are in will be able to maintain their own flame, and so much is possible with a team, you are able to show them the distance they can go through the work the team does together. Its one thing to inspire others, but putting them in a position to inspire themselves leaves a greater impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coloredshotphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloredshot

Image Credits

Model: Chelsea-Starr @chelseastarrj