We recently connected with Maurice Keys and have shared our conversation below.

Maurice, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Initially when selecting the perfect name for my photography business I was truly overthinking it, but it’s because I wanted something that had meaning. Then it hit me! Why not incorporate my first love, which is music, into my new venture? Yes, I’m a photographer, but I’ve always been a musician first. I’ve been blessed with the gift to play the piano/keyboard, and those particular instruments have 88 keys so that’s where the name 88 Keys Photography was composed from.

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

I have always had an immense interest in photography, and it wasn’t a surprise since I’m a very creative person in regards to art and music. While it was always an interest; let’s be honest, Photography is not the most affordable hobby so it was not always feasible for me to indulge in my photography desires. Well, 2 years ago that all changed for me when my boss at that time, blessed me with my first professional camera. This was during the same time when Covid 19 was beginning to run rampant and the world was shutting down around us. During the shutdown, while out of work, I started to practice my craft, and it turns out, that I was pretty good at it. When my wife, Shatera Keys, saw my work and how passionate I was about it, she told me that I had a God-given gift and encouraged me to start 88 Keys Photography, and here we are today!

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

My business partner and I met over 15 years ago. I was a musician for a gospel community choir, and she was one of the singers. We instantly hit it off! What started out as a casual friendship soon turned in a serious courtship and that has led to my happily ever after because my business partner also happens to be my beautiful wife.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I have always had an immense interest in photography, and it wasn’t a surprise since I’m a very creative person in regards to art and music. While it was always an interest; let’s be honest, Photography is not the most affordable hobby so it was not always feasible for me to indulge in my photography desires. Well, 2 1/2 years ago that all changed for me when my boss at that time, blessed me with my first professional camera. This was during the same time when Covid 19 was beginning to run rampant and the world was shutting down around us. During the shutdown, while out of work, I started to practice my craft, and it turns out, that I was pretty good at it. When my wife, Shatera Keys, saw my work and how passionate I was about it, she told me that I had a God-given gift and encouraged me to start 88 Keys Photography, and here we are today!

Of course at the time, I was thinking that this would be a great 2nd source of income for my family, but wasn’t thinking that this could actually be THE SOURCE! As time went on, the photography business picked up, and more and more people were showong interest in our services and booking with us. I was working my delivery job and coming home to conduct photoshoots and/or editing photos. It was becoming a bit much to balance, but I stayed steadfast through it all.

My wife and I are people of faith, and we genuinely believe in listening to and obeying the voice of God so the moment we knew this side hustle was supposed to be more than what we thought was when we actually listened to what God was telling us and acted on it. God showed us both that a regular job was not what he had designed for me. It was one of the scariest times of our lives because income from photography isn’t residual. Clients can cancel at any time and at times people may not book at all. Through it all we stayed prayerful and obedient to God’s word, and an opportunity was presented where I could work full-time in my passion. Since then I haven’t looked back and doors continue to open!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/88keysphotography?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/https://m.facebook.com/108001710896646//
• Other: Email address: 88keysphotography@gmail.com Tiktok: @88keysphotography

Image Credits
88 Keys Photography