Women In Photography

The Shooter: Peyton E Fennell

The Brand: TheFennellFocus

TheFennellFocus Photography started roughly in 2017. I created an instagram page as my first move toward branding myself as a freelance photographer, however, the page sat on ice for about two years before I even started using it. My first time shooting was in high school, on and off until about two years ago. I kept coming back to pick up a camera, I finally couldn’t put it back down. I am a very anxious person, and photography is my outlet, its where I feel most comfortable. I am ever evolving and changing, this is an industry that does the same and I get to grow along with it. I have three main objectives when it comes to my craft, which are; keep creating to keep myself happy, showcase the beauty and diversity of my people & lastly make people feel their absolute best about themselves in front of the camera.

The biggest struggle I’ve had as a photographer was branding myself, and figuring out exactly what “my style” is/was. I am still figuring that out but last winter I decided to archive all my photos and start over. Since then I’ve been reaching my own new heights and allowing my creativity to continuously flow.

As a black female entrepreneur, this shit is hard but so rewarding at the end of the day. Just keep going and don’t allow anyone to instill fear into your plans.

~ Stay Fly ~

Website – https://thefennellfocus.bigcartel.com/

Online portfolio – https://www.instagram.com/thefennellfocus/

A lot of people don’t understand the art behind photography.

The therapeutic side, the free realm to be as creative as you want to be. When i was 19 years old it was the darker time in my life. Lots of anxious and emotional tendencies. But the one thing that was like coming up for fresh air was being creative, first it was writing, then it’s was painting, and so on and so forth. Then randomly one day someone saw something in me that i didn’t.BeautyThe photographer asked me if I’d be will to do a photoshoot. Me having zero confidence and anxious thought… why me? I’m not a model. Instantly wanting to pull away i pushed myself to try it. So i did, set the date, then date got here and i was thinking of excuses not to go but i still did. The photographer who saw the beauty in me is the person who sparked me and made me feel so in my element. That feeling is what engraved me into photography and made me pick up a camera. The creative side and making people feel beautiful and their true self. Not many people can wake up everyday and love what they are doing for a living. I’m so humbled to be in this industry and making people feel beautiful and important while doing it. 
https://instagram.com/rt_goodwin?igshid=zjsf5l7v0hg

We all have something we do that takes us to our happy place. Photography does that for me. Dating back to 2010,I always had a curiosity about cameras and what they are capable of. I realized I felt the most joy in my life behind the lens.  I have always been an artistic soul, but nothing has ever lit me up quite the way photography has. I am artistic and nontraditional with my work.My goal is to create something different every time.

 https://instagram.com/kcoseophoto?igshid=2l569evsj836

When I was 18, I did my first photoshoot for my birthday. I asked my friend if she would do the honors at Clove Lake Park. I wanted to do something fun, and expressive. During that photoshoot my love for photography began. I have always loved the art industry since I was 7 years old.

When I started college I took a photography class for beginners. It touched on the basics of Digital Photography. After that my major went from nursing to art and photography. It’s funny because my mom always said that’s the path I’ll go down, but I guess you don’t really think about it when you’re young, but my mom has always known me like the back of her hand. I love photography. I love the different processes, the history, the adventure behind it all. Capturing moments of love, passion, freedom, authenticity, and adventure is SO amazing to me. I love sharing those moments with my clients, where they are 100% themselves, and they trust me to capture whatever is coming to life in that moment. That is what My photography means to me. It’s everything & SO much more. 
Instagram handle @elizabethmalavephotography 
The photographer who took these photos is @myriamgonzalezco

MelissaBStudios is run by a Haitian Photographer Mélissa Baptiste. She gained a profound love for photography in her senior year of high school when she took a digital photography class where she learned the fundamental basis of photography. After her first year of college she invested into photography equipment and started taking pictures of anything and everything. She decided to go a step further by attending photography workshops, taking photography, film and creative art courses while in college. She took this passion of hers professionally and turned this passion of hers into her brand MelissaBStudios. She is known for capturing the essence of individuals in beautiful portraits that expose the person’s individuality and emotions.

I am a Creative and Entrepreneur from New York. I am the owner of MelissaBStudios, a company that covers all your visual content needs. My journey to becoming a photographer is definitely not a traditional one. My educational background is in International Criminal Justice and Africana Studies, the love for creating and capturing photographs came about as a way to express myself through creativity and help others see themselves in a positive light. If you ask what made me become a photographer I would say my love for capturing memorable photographs while creating a vibe on set that the person being photographed will always cherish. Making the person being photographed feel beautiful by showing them the different sides of their beauty. Shooting with MelissaBStudios is an experience, it’s not just about getting the shot it’s about enjoying every second of being in front of the camera. The best part of photography for me is all the behind the scenes work that goes into capturing beautiful images. Working and collaborating with designers, stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists and creative directors to bring a concept to life makes it all worth it. Being a photographer you are in many rooms and spaces where you are creating part of someone’s history through photographs, basically freezing time in the matter of seconds; that is not an easy task but it is one that I truly enjoy doing. It is definitely not all glitz and glamour when you are running a creative business especially being a black woman in a mainly male dominated industry, it gets a little intimidating at times but the brand and the content speak for themselves. My experiences in this field has been eye opening to say the least the good, the bad and ugly are all valued. These experiences created  lessons which gave me more knowledge and awareness in the creative and business aspect of being a photographer.

French photographer Henry Cartier-Bresson said “It’s not the photo itself that interests me, What I want is to capture a fraction of second of the real ” this quote basically shapes MelissaBStudios mission statement and what we stand for as a brand.

Portfolio https://www.melissabstudios.com  

Instagram | @cimagephotographie