As an actress, model, and overall social butterfly, it's very important to work with people who make you feel comfortable and overall accept you with open arms, but that is unfortunately not always the case. Kharan and Regis, the brains behind CreativeSoul, make you feel like you are a part of their family when you shoot with them. You feel the love and joy with each *click* of the camera! Every time I have had the opportunity to shoot with them, it's like visiting your family you haven't seen in a while. (I'm either the little sister or the talkative, hyper-active cousin...still trying to figure that one out!)
When you think of power couples, who do you think of? Jay and Bey, perhaps? What most people don't realize is that there are power couples that surround us just like them. Reg and Kharan are my power couple! This young photography team has already accomplished so much and still have so much they have yet to do, and as the little sister (I chose this title) I am beyond proud! They are truly changing the game in the children's photography world and making history. I am glad that I was able to meet these game-changers! Not only are they inspiration for photographers everywhere, but they are inspiration to young couples trying to grind by doing what they love while balancing work, relationship, and life.
You've most likely seen their work unless you have been hiding under a rock these past couple years. Do the three stunning girls with voluptuous curls for days and retro roller-skates ring a bell? And trust me if you've seen it, you would remember it! You can see the joy on each of these girls faces and like me, you probably wondered, "What was SO funny?". I came up with a few possible scenarios...Inside jokes, something REALLY funny just happened, or Regis was at it again making the girls laugh at his jokes and funny faces!
Oh! And they don't just do editorial and commercial! They do child photography, editorial, couple photography, and family/lifestyle photography! You will probably realize upon visiting their website and social media pages that no one picture is the same! Their photos truly fit their name, they're the epitome of creativity! I did a photo-shoot with them once, it was a shoot for "It's My Hair Magazine," and it was candy themed! Every kid's dream...honestly! Reg taught me how to make sprinkle coated sunglasses...and my life hasn't been the same since! Oh, and they made the gumball accessories as well...did I forget to mention they're creative and their house is the mansion of DIY creativity?
Their work never ceases to amaze me. I am beyond amazed each time. I have met so many wonderful people through CreativeSoul and each and every time we connect, it feels like a family reunion. They are truly something precious and worth keeping an eye on! Now let's get to the interview before I start crying and can't see what I'm typing! C'mon Trin, hold it in...
INTERVIEW:
TRINITY: What sparked your interest in photography?
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Our interest in photography actually came about at the beginning of our love story. Mushy I know, lol! When Reg and I met we were long distance for over a year in a half. I was living in Oregon and Reg in Maryland. We would try to plan visits about every two months and would schedule something we called photo dates during each trip. We’d find a cool spot and walk around taking photos of each other and really bad selfies (before selfies were even a thing) so that we would have memories to last until the next visit. It’s surreal to us now because at the time we never thought about being photographers - we were just trying to capture and preserve memories of our love.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: In 2006, we decided to move to Atlanta together and Reg decided to go to school for photography. While in school, Reg started teaching me some of the tips and tricks he learned and we would go out and practice on our own. I guess we kinda got a 2 for 1 deal with his education, ha! Eventually we had enough of photographing flowers and buildings so we decided there was no reason to wait until after Reg had finished school to start our business. We asked my mom to round up a few kids that we could do a few test shoots with and we started our business right in my mom’s garage.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Yes, I know most couples find it hard to work together but we’ve always known that we’ve wanted a business together, no matter what we were doing. I think being long distance for so long actually bought us together more as a couple because after we were able to come together we’ve never wanted to be apart like that again. Not too many people know but the name CreativeSoul Photography actually comes from the first business we started together - CreativeSoul Designs. We were actually a web/graphic design company at first - but we were not able to make that business work out for us as a couple - too many differences of opinions, lol!
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: The biggest thing that helped us was figuring out our lane and staying in it! Reg is much better at some of the technical things that I am (such as lighting, prop making, retouching etc.). I’m much better at the client side of things, business and marketing so we try to stay in our own lanes which gives us a sense of personal ownership even though we both own the business. It has also helped us avoid lots of arguments!
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: As I mentioned Reg went to school for photography but honestly most of what we’ve both learned has been through our own learning and experiences. We were both into graphic and web design when we first met so all of that has helped us with our photography business.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Not sure I remember the first, but most of our goals back then were about building our portfolio so that we would have examples of our work to show. At that point we were just excited to get a few clients that allowed us to get creative and showcase what we could do.
TRINITY: When you envision a shoot, what is the process in bringing it to life?
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: For personal shoots I am really big on waiting until I can get all of the right elements together - Models, location, hairstylist, props, etc. We have so many ideas that we’ve had sitting in our notebook for years until the timing was right.
For example, I had our roller skate girls shoot in my mind for years until we could get all of the right elements together. It is worth it in the end to see the perfect shoot rather than rushing it and coming up with something that we are not happy with. For client shoots, we often don’t have that liberty so we typically start with a mood board or concept (for bigger shoots) which outlines details of location, props, theme etc.
From there, we work to pull all of the elements are put together. We often act more like conductors getting everything together for a shoot and making sure we are able to execute our clients’ vision.
TRINITY: This is gonna be a hard one, but can you name a few shoots that you’re particularly fond of and why.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: This one is pretty easy for us because there were two shoots that were transformational for us. The first was our “City Girls” shoot in NYC which was our first shoot with natural hair girls and our first shoot to ever go viral. Even though it didn’t see the success of some of our other shoots it is the first shoot that transformed our business and our direction. From there, the roller skate shoot was our big “aha” moment and truly transformed our business more than any other shoot. In a matter of months we were able to gain more of a following on social media which allowed us to continue in the direction that we wanted to go photographing more editorial/styled children’s shoots.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Looking back we’ve always had a love of photographing children. We were always coming up with concept and ideas for children but never thought we could have a business that mainly focused on children. We decided to test the waters by setting up a separate children’s website a few years ago so that we could show people what we were doing. When we started getting more requests for children’s shoots, it allowed us to get rid of some of the other things that did not make us happy.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: For sure, we love photographing all races, but representation is so important to us. When we first started getting more involved in the children’s fashion industry we were saddened by the fact that it was very similar to the adult modeling industry in that there was very little representation and diversity in a lot of the shoots that were were seeing. We decided to carve our own path for models that were not being represented by the traditional outlets.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Inspiration can come from many different places for us whether it’s locations, various clothing styles, movies, etc.
TRINITY: What kind of shoots do you enjoy most?
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Definitely children but we love when we’re able to get creative and have our team with us that can really help us bring our vision to life.
TRINITY: Please tell me a little about your latest venture traveling abroad. Any particular place that “took the cake”.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Over the years, we’ve been all over the US photographing kids in various settings. We’ve always loved being able to go to different places and find new/unique locations, scenery and models.
We’ve always known that our dreams were bigger than the U.S., so we finally decided to take the leap this year to start our World Tour. In 33 days we were able to visit 7 countries (UK, Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece, S. Africa and Ghana). We had so many great experiences in each location, but if we had to name a couple, I’d say Greece took the cake in terms of vacation spot.
I’ve never seen a place more beautiful than Santorini and the people were SO hospitable and nice to us. We kinda felt like rockstars, haha. Ghana is a little more personal to us and feels like home. When I was in college I spent a summer in Accra, Ghana and have always wanted to go back there. It was a surreal experience being able to go back there - this time with my husband and being able to photograph kids there. We were even able to meet up with an old friend that I met in college over 16 years ago!
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: We were most excited about visiting S. Africa and Ghana.. we knew that this would be the perfect fit for our brand and we’ve always wanted to experience it for ourselves. Having visited Ghana before I knew that there was a different side of Africa that was not being shown in the media. Although there are definitely parts of Africa that is still very rural, there’s a whole different/modern side of Africa that is not being shown. We believe it’s important to see/show both sides when visiting anywhere in Africa. We plan to discuss this a bit more on our new upcoming website launch in a few weeks.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Haha, it’s funny when I think about the “yellow couch” because the yellow couch was really just an old ugly sofa that we purchased on Craigslist for about $100. When we first got our new studio I knew that I wanted one main piece of furniture that would be our signature piece but couldn’t afford the fancy sofa that I really wanted.
So we decided to fake it till you make it and found a cool diy tutorial on Pinterest on how to paint a sofa. We decided on yellow because we wanted a “happy” color - plus it was one of our wedding colors so we decided to roll with it. Reg spent about 2 days painting that sofa - it was literally the first piece of furniture in our studio. It’s funny now seeing how this ugly $100 sofa has now taken a life of it’s own. People usually don’t leave until they get a photo on the “yellow couch”.
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: Not sure if there was one big moment in particular but I would say the few shoots we’ve had where the client was not completely satisfied. Each time we’ve tried to use it as an opportunity to improve our business and try to avoid any situation like that from happening again. It has made us better about asking questions up front so that we can know more about what our clients are looking for.
TRINITY: In what direction do you see CreativeSoul headed in the near future?
CS PHOTOGRAPHY: We truly believe that for those to whom much is given, much is required. Although we have not had an easy pathway to success, we are truly grateful for all of the opportunities given to us over the years. We receive so many messages from moms telling us how our work has encouraged their daughter to love themselves or love their natural hair.
Next year, we hope to transition our brand to more of an empowerment brand for kids of color. We are planning use our photography and influence to further encourage kids to dream big. We would also like to continue our World Tour with stops in Cuba, Toronto, the Caribbean and possibly Brazil. We’d like to continue to use our platform as a connection point and voice for the continuous advancement of our community.
The first shoot I did with you guys was beyond my wildest expectations! Upon walking in the studio, I immediately felt a familiar bond and connection with you that I've felt with few people. You have become a part of my tight knit family and I couldn't be happier! Each email or phone call I have received from you regarding photo-shoots has put a smile on my face...literally days that turn into nights awaiting the day of the shoot. I am so grateful that you two took the time out of your hectic schedule to be a part of this interview. By all means you have inspired me to make my mark on the world by following my dreams! I am truly humbled to have been able to cross paths with you guys more than once. I know that the journey for CreativeSoul Photography is one that only goes up. You two define what being a boss couple extraordinare, filled with creatitivity is...I wish nothing but infinite blessings, success, and more beautiful memories made. Most of all thank you for impacting me and making me feel undeniably special, along with the millions of other people you have *touched* with your gifts! I love you guys SO much!