I’m Shekeidra
Many know me as just Shekeidra, I’m not huge on nicknames but sometimes I can be affectionally called “Kei” or Keidra. When I’m not deep diving into my clients work, I’m a baseball and basketball mom, trying a new recipe or finishing up an autobiography of choice or taking a nap. I’m an 80’s baby so I lovvvveee a good soulful jam and will give you a two step in a minute.
i am a creative that can speak to your needs because I have lived and experienced not only the need for great photos but photos that convert.
How it started…..
I can’t remember a time I didn’t have a camera in my hand. This was way before the camera phone, I mean a real film camera.
One day while at the park with my family I spotted a group of camera enthusiasts learning from an instructor about camera settings. It was then I wanted to learn all I could to at least shoot my family properly, a business was never in sight. But I didn’t even own a camera. So the journey of searching for my first DSLR began.
On a Thursday in May 2011, my husband and I met a guy at a Starbucks who was literally en route to sell his camera to someone else, gave me 10 minutes to meet him and it was mine. That $350 camera was the beginning to something great I never imagined.
A photography business was birthed to a first time photographer who had no clue who to shoot or what a business looked like. I merely started my business from my interest in photography and the need to be more flexible for my then two small children.
I shot my first paid shoot in a basement for over 6 hours, handed the SD card over to the mom and was paid $125. I couldn’t believe someone paid me to do something I would do for free.
I shot a wide range of things from weddings, to families, birthday parties, proms, branding before it was known as branding. I was in search of what felt good to capture.
The journey…
As time went on I became more involved with other likeminded photographers and photography communities and learned that people were doing this photography thing for a real income and impact.
When I had my son in 2017, I knew that my time and energy needed to be maximized more so I decided to pivot from weddings into branding. I wasn’t the clearest on what branding really was I just knew I was a lover of the details and had a natural knack in storytelling. I found business owners were known for their work but rarely the people knew them and that was what ultimately set their work apart from others.
This is when I honed in intentionally about where I could make an impact more . I started capturing clients who actually understood the value in stepping in front of the actual brand, showcasing what they did and how they did it to merge the experience with the actual service or product.
Business was flowing so well, I opened a natural light studio for other creatives to rent out to create content, shoot projects and host experiences for their clients. That space thrived for 2 years until my mental and family health began to take a back seat and I closed the space.
I began to evaluate what and who was most important and found myself in need of the same things I’d been giving my clients. I invested in myself heavily so much so the moment I began to get stuck or procrastinate or overthink something, I’d book someone because I understood the longer I waited or tried to do something outside of myself wheelhouse, the more time was wasted.
How’s it going….
Today I operate with years of experienced and have found myself more intentional. Firstly focused on my wellbeing and family.
Providing services to clients and projects I am aligned with, this is where and how I provide the best value and thrive.
My clients range from beauty brands, SEO experts, high yielding relators, project management companies, wellness brands and studios, media management and more.
I am committed to lifelong learning and continually exploring ways to better support women in thriving and showing up as their healthiest, happiest, and most empowered selves.
One takeaway I will share is to always invest in yourself, it buys the very thing you can never get back: time.