We recently connected with Natalia John and have shared our conversation below.
Natalia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?
My Shero will always be my mother Celina Felicien, and the reason she will always be my Shero is because, my mother was the first example of what a Strong Black woman looks like. As far as I can remember, my mother was a business owner, she never worked for anyone. I learnt a lot from my mom, specifically good morals, values, and empathy for others are just a few. Today I can say because of her upbringing I am who I am, and I was able to pass it on to my children. Remembering that my mom never worked for anyone is the reason I chose to start the entrepreneurship journey. My journey as a photographer subconsciously started with my mom because she traveled a lot and came back with tons of disposable cameras, and I was always excited to see what she captured. She had boxes filled with pictures and many albums too. What I love about photography is the art of Capturing the Moments, that’s why I love the saying, “a picture can say a thousand words,” because there is always a story to tell.
Natalia, 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?
My name is Natalia John, and I was born in Barbados and raised in Saint Lucia. I am a mother of 4 children, three girls, and one boy, and I recently got engaged to my fiancé Anthony Jai Brown. I am the CEO of Black Diamond Photography, and I am also a Mary Kay Consultant.Lol, how did I get into the business? Even though I grew up seeing my mom taking pictures with disposable cameras, it was one best friends that lives in New York, Keisha Mae, that pushed me to learn the art of photography. In 2021, I bought my first camera, a Sony A6000, and YouTube became my best friend. I started to practice with my children or random people. One day, I met a brother named Jordan, aka Favor, selling T-Shirts, and I bought one and asked him if I could take a picture of him selling his merchandise; he invited me to an event he attended every Wednesday called, Still Life Sessions. Still Life Sessions changed my life, Salakida, Bess, Ron and the rest of the crew welcomed me with open arms, and even though it was no female photographers present I didn’t feel intimidated. The tomboy from my childhood surfaced. Still Life Session is an event where nude or seminude female muses would pose for a certain amount of time, and here is where I connected with other creatives, like myself, and this is where I got hands on training from the other photographers that didn’t mind teaching me what they knew.
My other business, I was returning some photography equipment to Fed Ex to be shipped back to the company, because children photography was not for me and that a job that I quit. There I heard an accent that was pretty familiar, and when I introduced myself to Ms. Marie, she indeed was from Saint Lucia. It was a breath of fresh air to speak to someone in Creole, which is what they speak in Saint Lucia. We exchanged numbers and later that night we spoke, and she invited me to a call, after sharing with her my financial struggles. She told me to keep an open mind lol. Later that week when I joined the call I heard Mary Kay, I said to myself that is not for Black people lol, boy was I wrong. Listening in, I was shocked to see the money some women have been making, but I didn’t know crap about Make up or skin care, but I wanted to join anyway. The night I joined was my birthday February 4th, and Ms. Marie bought me the starter kit and said Happy Birthday. So, I started my skin care journey to learn how to better take care of myself because I was not doing a good job at that. Once I saw how well the products worked on my face, I knew I had to give it a shot. So, I decided to incorporate both businesses to assist women in loving on themselves more.
Being a part of the Still Life community is where I fell in love with capturing the beauty of women; and Still Life is where I also first heard the term Boudoir photography being used. Boudoir in French means a woman’s bedroom or private room, and Boudoir photography has been around since the 1920s, and was considered to be illegal because of the nudity, but it was stated that it built confidence. Boudoir photography has become more popular
due to its intimate and even healing experience. Boudoir then went from an illegal practice to empowering women. To some, it might be viewed as sexual, but most women say they felt liberated. Women – by nature -are nurturers, caregivers, and lovers. We routinely care for everyone else while putting themselves on the back burner. Some women get so overwhelmed by social, professional, and personal pressures that they lose sight of themselves. I strive to ensure that my photo sessions represent an intimate and bold act of sensual self-indulgence. I take supreme pride in the entire process, from the consultation to the final edit. The entire session is an exercise in self-love and a defiant stance in self-acceptance.
I get to form a special bond with my clients, we discuss personal stuff and that can be very therapeutic, because many of us are battling internally. I allow my clients to release whatever they want without judgement. So along with their Boudoir session, my clients are able to tell their story, and we all have one. I don’t just focus on the photoshoot, but on the person as a whole. The preparation for the session is the most exciting and vital part. It all starts with the clients’ vision, the hairstyle, nail color, the special outfit, if any lol, selecting the music, and really taking the time to pamper themselves. Clients get to focus on self and remember some of the things they enjoy but don’t get to do quite often. At the end of a session, the Mission is to allow women to feel free, to see how beautiful they are inside out, and to love the good parts of them as well as the bad parts. Without letting the outside world make them feel they are not beautiful QUEENS, because they don’t fit into what society might define as beautiful.
I am proud of the bonds that have been formed within the last year, and I am excited to see what’s next. I believe what sets me apart is that it’s not just about business for me, but also, my down-to-earth, non-judgmental personality. I allow women to be themselves, with no judgement, we all sin in our own way, so who am I to judge someone for what they did/do. I just want women to be happy with themselves inside and out.
What I want potential clients, followers and fans to know is, that I am not a therapist, but a Boudoir session with me is more of a way to pour love into other women. The world needs more love and I have enough love to share. With my work, I want women to see themselves perfect the same way Yahweh sees all his creations.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative would-be taking pictures the response that I get from women when they see their photos.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal is to educate myself better on applying Mary Kay makeup. I want to travel and share this experience with women all over the world. To be able to travel and have pampering parties and educate women on how to take better care of their skin, along with having with an amazing Boudoir experience.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Personal Photo taken by Anthony Jai Brown Portfolio Images: Muse : Kyomi