We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Virgil Kere a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Virgil, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission is to serve and help people view themselves how God does, in His image, beautiful inside and out, imperfectly perfect, and to help tell the stories of those people one image at a time.
I fell in love with photography as a means to freeze time and create lasting memories. However it has become even deeper than that because we live in times where a lot of us struggle with doubt, figuring out who we are, our purpose and even with love. Loving ourselves, loving others. Chasing ever changing societal standards is a battle that doesn’t yield lasting results. If only people could see themselves the way God does and believe His words, a lot of us would be much better of. And this is part of my overall mission as a photographer, to bring out the beauty in everyone and everything. This is why I photograph from the heart, I photograph how it feels, not just how it looks.

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

Few years ago, I had bought a camera to start filming videos for Youtube. However, a turn of events led me to use the camera to take photographs rather than recording videos. I fell in love with the art and it became a hobby, an expensive one. As I kept growing as an artist, more and more people grew interest in my artistry and started hiring me for my services, this is where I started to view photography as more than a hobby but a real opportunity for business. I originally started photographing landscapes and cityscapes, but quickly gravitated towards people and portraits. The smile and joy on my subjects’ faces after a session was the greatest indicator that I was doing something that mattered and impacted lives for generations. From there I started digging deeper, learning more and more about the craft and art. Today my main streams of income come from portraiture (branding, family etc…) and events (mainly weddings). I would be remiss not to mention that what started off as a solo adventure, turned into a husband and wife business. Before we got married, my wife then girlfriend, would often times come to photoshoots with me to help and assist. I’ve then realized that her presence (and experience as a female model) was key to helping my subjects (especially women) be more relaxed, pose and enjoy the shoot. A lot of the people that we photograph have never been in front of a professional photographer or in studio settings and can sometimes find it intimidating. I believe that us being relatable, kind, patient with a true servant heart and keen attention to detail is what sets us apart from others. We do not show up to a shoot to provide a service, we show up to provide an experience and ensure that your needs have been met beyond expectations. We become your best friends with a professional camera. I’d like potential clients to know that we are here for them, if it is of importance to them, it is of importance to us. We are here to listen to them, guide them, advise them. We are here to capture beautiful imagery with meaningful storytelling.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I believe that in this journey as a photographer, the main ingredient for success is curiosity. I consider myself to be an artist first and business person second. I often ‘semi’ joke with peers and friends that if I could only focus on the art and craft and let someone else handle the business side, I’d be the happiest photographer in the world. I am a curious person by nature, so I draw inspiration from any and everything. You never stop learning in photography, the moment you stop, is the moment you fail. And as you grow and evolve as an individual, so does your photography, because your view of the world evolves. So I’d say that my creative journey is fueled by the thirst to learn and get better in order to provide greater quality to my clients.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have briefly touched on it in the previous question but the most rewarding aspect is 1) seeing the smile and expression of excitement and happiness from my portrait clients when they view their photos and 2) being able to provide storytelling imagery to my clients that will be passed on to their children and children’s children. It is great to have someone look at your photos and say “it’s beautiful” it’s even more meaningful to me when a couple looks at their wedding photos years down the road and are reminded of how that particular moment felt at that exact point in time and space.

Contact Info:

• Website: Currently being revamped for rebranding. www.virgildavidphotography.com
• Instagram: @iamvirgildavid
• Other: As my wife officially joined the business, we have renamed and are in the process of revamping and rebranding so the current website is not up to date. My Instagram will have more up to date content (even though I don’t post as often anymore).

Image Credits

Virgil David Photography