Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamal Johnson.
Hi Kamal, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Oh wow! Where do I even begin with my story? Growing up, my family did a lot of traveling, so we always took pictures to document our vacations or excursions. I naturally loved seeing photos because of that. Seeing how they developed or what was captured. Always trying to remember how I felt in those moments or what the artist wanted to convey. So, when I moved to Hawaii in 2018 (hands down, the most beautiful place on earth, not debatable), I just had to capture the island’s natural beauty. A couple of months later, a friend who was leaving gifted me a camera, and I just went nuts, taking it everywhere and taking pictures of everything and everyone. My time in Hawaii truly helped me develop as a photographer. I started to learn what I enjoyed shooting and what I didn’t. Fast forward to the present, I now focus on lifestyle, weddings, and boudoir photography. For me, it is the joy of seeing when models and clients see their images and their face lights up. So yeah, that’s a little about me!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Overall, my experience as a photographer has been amazing! Most of the people I’ve met in this community have been welcoming and extremely helpful in my development. I think the most challenging thing I have dealt with is moving here and having to remarket myself. To gain more business, I’ve expanded my offerings to local boutiques and events including this year’s San Diego Swim Week and Comic-Con!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My niche is lifestyle photography. After learning the fundamentals of photography, lighting, and editing, I found that the true beauty of some complexions were lost. I specialize in color retouching, especially for Black, Polynesian, Indigenous, Chicano, Native people of color and their varying family dynamics.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Technology to near-perfect cameras that match the human eye. While less post-editing will be required, the art of photography will still exist because it will still need a good eye. Due to the growth in social media, I see photography needs expanding to both photography and videography to capture more than just a still image that can edit away every imperfection. I also think we will start seeing a lot more diversity in models. For a long time, the industry has held an image of what the perfect model looks like. I see that truly going away in the next 5-10 years as many agencies start to incorporate more ethnicities, body shapes, and sizes into their catalogs and shoots. This in particular, is why I started to incorporate boudoir into my lineup.
Pricing:
- Lifestyle/Family Portraits $200/Hr
- Engagements $300/Hr
- Events $500/Hr
- Boudoir $1000/Hr
- Weddings $2000/Hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cpphotography57.mypixieset.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/cp_freelancephotography
Image Credits
CP Photography
