Moving Along

What’s Next after Instagram dumps photographers in favor for pushing reels to compete with TikTok?

Good Day Peeps,

I hope you all are doing well. Meet Jillie. Jillie is a self-taught artist based in Atlanta GA.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to say that I do appreciate your support. That being said, I believe it is time to say this.

Greetings All,

Hope you are doing well for your Friday. I must say on this particular day, I reflected on a day 6 years ago, when I did my first baby shower. I haven’t done a baby shower photo session since. About a month or two ago, Mrs. Grissett contacted me in regards to photographing her baby shower. I was quite honored that she and Mr. Grissett chose me to photograph their baby shower considering that I haven’t photographed a baby shower in 6 years. As it turns out, the experience of being around a family who’s welcoming, fun to be around, and to discover the gender of their first child was quite an amazing time. The family members wore the colors blue to represent a boy or pink to represent a girl.

Mr. & Mrs. Grissett will be welcoming a baby boy on September 11.

Below are the images of this awesome day. I hope you all enjoy them and the weekend ahead.

A new life means being able to pass on your legacy to your children. We must be able to teach and show them the errors of our ways and guide them down this path in life.

Please click on the photo for best quality.

7: The Beginning of a New Life

Greetings All,

I hope all is well and you are having a good weekend so far. I am not much of a person who can share my personal life outside of my work, however, today I will do something different. This post will not intentionally depress you as my goal is for you to leave this post feeling good about life.

November for me, is a month that I have mixed emotions about. On one hand, we are in the middle of the fall which allows nature to display some of the most beautiful colors we see on the trees. On the other hand, it does symbolize that the old life departs for the winter, before new life begins in the spring.

November sometimes leaves me feeling empty inside because on this day, November 10, 1995, one of my Brothers passed away. Being young at the time, I sorta already had an understanding of death due to another family member passing away a year and a half prior. Selfishly, I miss him, however, at the same time, I understand he was only supposed to be around for 17 years. His football number was number 7, which the school decided to retire after his death. I have to admit, he’s the reason why Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is one of my favorite rap groups. Overall, though I didn’t have too much time to spend with him based on the the age difference, however, I do remember saying to both of my brothers all the time, “Shut up Marcus, Shut up Jodie.” I do appreciate the time, you allow me to come with you and your friends one particular day to hang out with you. Good Times Brother. I do hope I am able to see you again so I can tell you once again, “Shut up Marcus.” :)

On a positive note, This month is my 7th year of being a photographer. My first assignment was being invite to photography a music video shoot for local Columbus Artist FeeNix. It wasn’t a paid gig, however, it was an opportunity to get into photographing people. It was quite an exciting opportunity to be able to photograph a couple of pics of her because it would lead to where I am today as far as my photography work. I began to understand that while we can capture the memories of people and life into our minds, pictures are worth being able to go relieve a moment, opportunity or event. Humbly, I overall feel blessed to have this talent. I thank The Heavenly Father and Son for this gift. Overall each day, I look to improve myself and art.

I want to end this entry on a positive note. Enjoy life to the fullest, Do the things you want to do while you can. Most importantly, Enjoy your Sunday and week ahead.

Spirit and Energy

Greetings All,

I hope you all had a great weekend. This weekend was an interesting positive life experience. I will say that it did start out bad, however, after a talk with someone, it turned out good in the end. I will share my experience about it, however, I will not say names. This is not a bashing blog. The most important lessons to take from all of this are to understand spirit, energy, and learn when to cut people off when they show you through their actions they're not interested in you.

It started 9 days ago when I inbox someone about a photo project I am working on. The person didn't respond back until 3 days later. The person was interested. After our conversation, I checked in with the individual the day before the shoot and nothing was exchanged. Then Friday the day of the shoot, I checked in to see if we were still on schedule to shoot and nothing was said or even read, however, the individual made a status update on FB. By that time, I was a bit annoyed because of the fact it only takes a second to reply to a message. By the evening, the individual blocked me. I was quite pissed at that point.

It was at that point, I spoke to a close friend about the situation and when I showed them the inbox, my friend concluded that based on the inbox, the person said they were interested but they really were not interested based on their one-sentence statement. Not to mention, we both concluded that even though its social media, a lot of people paint a picture of who they really are on social media and in real life. I am not saying that is the case for everyone because some can be whoever they want to be until you meet them, some will tell you who they are based on what they say, post, and some don't have time to devote to putting everything about them on social media. We concluded that based on the person, profile, they probably have been hurt a lot by people and may not know how to confidently say they are not interested in something. It takes courage to confront someone about something. the individual chose to run and not say they were not interested in participating in my project from the jump. The individual probably didn't understand that my proposal was for a photo shoot not trying to get with them by no means. Nothing in my conversation with the individual suggested that I was trying to hook up with the individual. For the record, if I want to get to know or date an individual, I will let it be known up front what I am looking for. I have no time for hidden agendas or use my work as a crutch to get with women.

At first, I was mad at the individual. But after my conversation with my friend about the situation, I felt bad for the individual for being put through so much in with men in her life and not having the courage to say up front, Thanks but I am not interested in the project. Sometimes we have the eye to see right through a person from the start. The answer is right in front of us, however, sometimes we try to force the door to open when clearly The Most High and Son wants the door closed.

This experience brings me to energy and spirit. I believe that it takes spirit and energy to make a connection. If the chemistry and vibe are positive, the connection will feel natural. It will not feel awkward or be forced. This does not mean everyone will be open at first. Some people take time for them to open because they are protecting their inner soul and everyone isn't worthy of seeing their most inner core. We should not chase after people or something who do not feel the same way.

Some people will say yes, just not hurt our feelings, however, actions speak louder than words. If their actions or putting you off all the time say otherwise, then it’s time to cut bait on them and move on. It makes no sense to lead someone on or give them false hope if you are not truly interested in something or someone. I do understand when someone says, "They need time to think about it or We'll see," that's totally okay. When someone makes those statements, it means they need to have a better understanding of what it is or the person before they make their final decision. Those statements can also mean in a nice way, "Not right now or I am not interested at this time." They can change their mind later though.

Timing also plays a critical role too. Based on where the individual is at this point in their life, the person or opportunity may be right, but the timing is wrong. If a person has their mind made up, they have courage and confidence enough to tell you yes or no. If they say no, thank them for their time and depart. No need to force it, if they are not willing to open for you. We should stop allowing our minds to go into a negative place if a person is not interested in you. We delay our opportunities when we stay upset at someone whose indifferent about us from the start.

Why continue to chase something or someone who does not share the same interest or lifestyles we have or want? Love and hate are strong emotions with similar behaviors. If you love something you will fight for it. If you hate something you will fight against it. If they have no love or interest for you, then why waste the time and energy fighting for them? We chase people who are indifferent about us sometimes. There is no love or hate there, however, they have no interest and do not want you to be a part of their life.

Life is like the stock market in a sense. When you make an investment, it’s a 50% chance of a return on the investment and a 50% chance you lose it. There is no need to get upset with someone if they are not interested. We made the initial investment not them. We must look at ourselves and say okay that's the way life goes. Life does not always go according to plan. We continue to strive forward. If someone wants you in their life, they will not hesitate to put you there. Don't worry about them not wanting you or to be a part of what you are doing, when there are plenty of people who will fight with you and be a part of you. Those people who are indifferent about you are not losing any sleep over their decision and neither should you. At the end of the day, we cannot make or force anyone to do anything. They have to make the decision through themselves and actions to commit to something.

Aside from that experience, I was booked to photograph a 70th Birthday party for a client on Saturday night which is also a fun, positive, and enjoyable experience. It was a good opportunity to network and be around people that were willing to allow me to capture her milestone. The experience felt natural, fun, and positive. As always, I appreciate anyone who allows me the opportunity to capture their inner soul, family, events or gatherings.

In closing, I will say put yourself first. Love yourself first. Choose your own path, journey, and happiness. Try to understand your spirit and energy. Once you do, it will become easier to figure out who's interested and not. The signs are always there, however, we sometimes ignore them and when we do, we only have ourselves to blame. That is okay too because we’re not bulletproof. We are supposed to go through the trials and tribulations daily. Just know and understand when it’s time to cut bait. Know how to connect with your spirit and energy, then it will be a little easier to see who’s for you and who’s not.

I wish you all safe journeys and a great week ahead.

London Mahogany will help and encourage anyone.

Your heart will desire what it wants, however, If we are spirit first, then we must walk in Spirit.

The Man Behind the Camera-Raw Form

Greetings All,

I hope all is well. I hope that this blog may inspire confidence, positivity, and courage for someone today to make moves. A part of life is about changes. You must be willing to change or life will pass you by. I was speaking with a friend about myself, I decided to write this blog and open up a little. I hope that you don't allow life or even one day to pass you by because you were afraid to open up to the environment and those around you.

I am in a better place now so I can allow myself to open up to you. Now I don't normally open up to any and every one, however, for once I believe I can give some a glimpse into my window.

I am sure a lot of you may not know me so let me tell you who I am. My name is Jeff D Stewart. Mostly everyone calls me DStewy DSoul or Stewy. Some of the people close to me would describe me as a goofy, yet mature guy with some wisdom and knowledge. I am a 28 yr old negro man that was making a decent living for the last 6 years until I decided that something was missing and at times, feeling empty.

I decided back in January 2016 that I need changed my path in life and started over because the military became part of the reason I had a hard time opening up to other outside sources and being a lone wolf growing up added to the stress of opening up. It felt forced at times to be a family in the military because in my opinion some of the people in the military are not genuinely all too concerned about you or your welfare and there were some people I was around that I felt wasn't sincere about you until you got in trouble.

Then and only then they cared because it took away from their time. I need a breath of fresh air desperately by that point because I wanted to be free and not feel like I belong to someone else and have to do things 24-7 whenever they needed it. People have said, "Man how could you leave the military right now?" I said, "simply because money isn't everything and I was tired of the particular lifestyle at that point." I knew that the military wasn't the end all be all.

There was more to life and a career than the military. The feeling of being free was sort of non-existent while I was in. It wasn't like I could just go any and everywhere without having to tell a superior. I felt like it was time to move on because I was no longer satisfied with just making a decent living and not happy with what I was doing.

I felt like the military by that point was a safety net from taking a leap of faith and get out to pursue what I really want to do. Now I am glad that I left because it's possible now that I would still be stuck in the rut had I stayed in any longer. I can do whatever and go wherever I want without having to tell a superior or the idea that the military is all up in my personal and private life. For the record, I did my time honorably so no I did not do anything stupid to get kicked out.

Being a lone wolf, I walk alone and mark to the beat of my own drum going back to my childhood. I am an only child on my father's side. I have one brother left and I am the youngest. It's not that I didn't have a family, I have both of my parents. They did the best they could to take care of me and that usually was a lot of time at home by myself. My brother is 8 years older than me so a lot of my time as childhood was spent with grandparents and aunts when my parents were working.

I blame nobody for my upbringing because in a way it allowed me to analyze the world at the time without too many distractions from others at times. A lone wolf also has flaws too. Over the years, I haven't been good at communication and I understand that it's created some distant feelings from others. Fortunately today, It's a slow process to work on communication with others on a consistent basis.

I do apologize to everyone that I may have pushed away from inconsistent communication on my end. It was never intentional. It has always been apart of my makeup due to walking alone. Hopefully today, I put an end to this type of behavior. It's one reason why I do photography.

It has allowed me to open up socially to others over time that I may not have had the courage to before I picked up a camera. It has been a crutch of some sorts but I will be able to walk away without always having a camera in my hand as far as social interactions go.

I understand that I must build personal, professional relationships with people, and be consistent with communication without always having a camera in my hand because if I don't then nobody will really know the real me without the camera. The bottom line is if you're interested in someone or something, no matter how busy you are, you must be willing to make time for someone or something.

If you choose not to, then the opportunity, the person may not present itself again especially if the person has moved on to someone else or if the opportunity has run through your hands like sand.

I am single. I have no kids. I have never been married and of course, I am not rushing marriage or kids because there will be a time and place for that but it will not be anytime soon. One Day, I will have that all together, however, I am not in a proper mind frame at this time to even consider those major life-changing events. When the time comes, of course, I will be in a better place to take care of another time and marriage.

My first introduction to the art world was in the form of poetry as a teenager. That would last until I pick up the camera in 2007. I didn't necessarily transition into photography right away. It would take another 4 years before photography became a full-time hobby. I write poetry every blue moon not as I used to when I was a teen.

I do at this point along with my poetry have a ton of work that hasn't seen the light of day yet on my end. I've been reminded a time or two that it's selfish to have a talent and not share it with the world. It's a waste to have a talent and not show it. It's taking the time to slowly but surely post more and share my work. It's not easy quite yet but I am getting a little better than showing my work.

Whatever you do, please do not have a talent and not show it because at any given moment you can go from a talented living individual to a dead talented individual who people find out about you long after you're gone. It's okay to be a starving artist, entrepreneur, or whatever is your nichè but you do not want time going by not sharing it because you never know what you do could be therapy, inspiring, or make a positive impact on someone else's life. As adults, it's two of our responsibilities to be role models, mentor the community, teens, and kids coming up. Don't Be selfish and not show what you can do.

A random fact about me is I happen to have an appreciation for women with pretty feet. I happen to express that with my foot photography that a few of you may have seen. No, I am not ashamed to admit one of my loves for women's feet. Everyone has something that they like about the opposite sex. I love everything about a lady's body, of course, however, I just happen to like her feet just as much as I like her mind, body, and soul. Never be afraid to let someone you may be into know what you like.

I am not saying tell them everything in one sitting, however, let things organically play out. It will save you a lot of time and headaches later on and even if it doesn't work out, the individual will respect your honesty at least.

Part of my mission in life is to be able to teach, mentor, & lecture those whose willing to listen and it's up to you to do whatever you feel is best with the knowledge. Aside from being an artist, it's also my responsibility to express and share my work hoping that it will invoke some type of feeling within you. It's a duty of mine to the best of my ability to uplift someone's spirituality and positivity. It's a goal of mine to capture and record life's moments, cherish them, hopefully, it will inspire someone, give them the extra push to get out there and live life.

It's never too late to start or learn something new. We are here to learn, grow, adjust to the changes in life to the best of our abilities. I am a late bloomer as far as getting out more, going to more social gatherings, putting myself out there more so people can gravitate towards me, learning to do more, talk more without always having a camera on my hip, and beginning to enjoy life. I just learned after all of these years to tie a tie this past Thursday. So It's only too late when you passed on from this place.

Also if you tired of being stuck at a dead-end job, then it's never too late to start something new and venture into a new path in life. We all have talents and maybe you haven't tapped into all of your talents yet, however, with that talent you're capable of at least being able to survive.

It won't happen overnight, however, if your willing to make sacrifices, effort and dedicate them over time it will come to fruition. Also, don't quit your day job cold turkey until you at least have something going for yourself that is making the same amount of money at your main job if not more.

Today I embrace my soul, my name, my work, my brand because they're gifts The Most High and Son gave me and I can't allow these gifts to turn into a curse for not expressing or showing them.

I believe that this will be a good stopping point for the moment to give you a glimpse into my thoughts. I hope that you take this part of me and use it to the best of your ability. Enjoy your day and week ahead.

Peace & Blessings.

-DStewy DSoul

Source: The-Man-Behind-The-Camera

KalonGasm Is Done

Greetings All,

I hope all is well. I did a little mention of KalonGasm in my previous blog A New Day, however this will be a little more in depth blog about KalonGasm.

I have to admit there’s something been on my mind for a few years now. I’ve been going back and forth the last 2 years with my boudoir work and keeping separate from DSoul Fotography. It was out of fear because if some people saw my boudoir work combined with the traditional work, I was afraid that some people were going to run off. After heavily thinking about this, I’ve decided that I can’t satisfy everyone and it’s no point. I’ve learned that if some people are turned off my some of my work then they weren’t in my clientele market to begin with. I have decided to merge my boudoir work into DSoul Fotography. KalonGasm will continue to be in use under DSoul Fotography when it comes to my boudoir work.

In Jan 2014, KalonGasm was born. At the time, I did a little boudoir work before 2014 however it wasn’t much. Boudoir wasn’t necessarily a venture I wasn’t quite interested in at the time because I was focused on other ventures. I didn’t really start doing boudoir work until mid-late summer 2014 while I was in Korea. By that time I was already working with a burlesque model over there. I decided that I could use the opportunity to learn about boudoir photography. It gave me a chance to update her and her burlesque models their portfolios. It was by this point, boudoir work was something I could add to my repertoire. From this point on, I began to invest my some of my energy into KalonGasm which allowed me to work with a Korean nude model and a plus size model before I departed from Korea.

KalonGasm is defined as a KalonGasm is a intensely skin deep pleasurable experience that Celebrates the Beauty in Women. The intent of KalonGasm is to show off some intimate, erotic aspect of my fashion glamorous boudoir work. KalonGasm strives to capture the aspect of erotic & boudoir photography that excites and arouses the viewer. KalonGasm strives to make the work one of the most highly exquisite images that capture sensuality and pleasure. KalonGasm explores Sensual Classy Boudoir that plays with intense emotion. KalonGasm also strives to make the photo shoots real, raw, spontaneous, sophisticated, fun, professional, sensual and classy as possible. The boudoir work you see, are of models, muses, and everyday women that have given him the opportunity to capture them intimately through my lens.

KalonGasm is alive and well. It’s been merged into my DSoul Fotography brand. Yes I know the title is misleading however it worked. It got you to check out this blog :). The images you see are some of my boudoir work in 2014 with Sparkle Fox. I hope that you all enjoy. Have a great weekend.

-DStewy DSoul

A New Day

This blog I will discuss Modeling Portfolios vs Regular Portraits. I know what you’re thinking, why the heck is this blog entitled Modeling Portfolios vs Regular Portraits. This blog is BY NO MEANS comparing models to regular people or to say shooting models is better than shooting people. Shooting models & regular people is a preference that varies from each photographer. It’s intended to illustrate that as a photographer, if you love photographing people, then be open to balance the two out or pick or the other and stick to it.

Hopefully, this post will inspire someone and learn from my mistakes. I also want this to be a learning experience too. If you happen to take up a new hobby as a photographer and you’re serious about it, You will definitely benefit from this. While you may love a certain genre of photography, if people are willing to pay for your services/talent, take the opportunity if it’s worth your while. Please keep in mind that it’s up to you to find your niche in photography as well and understand it’s okay to say “No” to some gigs. Remember you don’t want to hurt the market by taking every opportunity with little to no pay.

When I first started freelance photography, My first gig was shooting behind the scenes for a video shoot. It was around that time, I realized that I can earn a decent living over time doing photography. I began to practice with people and the world around me until I got a good feel my newly purchased entry level canon DSLR camera. It was also around the time circa early 2012, I began to models and a local music artist here in Columbus GA. I fell in love with shooting models, never to look back.

Over time, while gaining some traction with my work, I met a lady that had a modeling team here at the time trying to get her business going as well. I began to shoot her models which would be considered a time for trade shoot, in which me and the people involved would trade pics as payment for time. It was also around the time, I was sought after by a few people that liked my work at the time, requesting to book me for regular portraits session. Needless to say I wish I would’ve been more confident in myself and work to take those opportunities because there were times I missed out on opportunities due to being blinded by modeling photography. This was also around the time, when I saw other photographers works that blew my mind, I got a little discouraged which in terms caused me to take a little break from photography and much more not post my work on social media.

After a little bit of a hiatus around fall 2012, I returned to the scene to continue to shoot models. Around this time, I began to attend a poetry show that ran shows once a month around here and I proceeded to capture their events for the next year and a half. Also I was approached by a few people for regular portrait sessions. I provided my services for some portrait sessions opportunities, however a problem again because I loved to shoot models. I didn’t take some of those opportunities to shoot regular portraits and earn money.

In 2013, while the owners of the poetry shows, models and some clients were receiving their images, I was still blinded to shooting models. I also wasn’t posting much of anything else on my website or social media if it wasn’t modeling photoshoots. Here’s where I made a big mistake. During the summer and fall of 2013, I did a 5 year old’s birthday party and baby shower. As soon as each client received their images, I kept the images on file for 6 months. After 6 months, I deleted those images, even the finished product, because I was blinded by shooting models thinking, I had no need for those images. A decision until at this point I regret making because I could’ve shown potential clients, that I am more than capable of covering a baby shower.

I continued to push with shooting the poetry shows and models until I left for Korea in the spring of 2014. While in Korea, I began to shoot everyday Koreans & tourists in the form of street photography. While I enjoyed street photography, I was also shooting some of the american and Korean models as well. I also had the opportunity to capture two friends of mine wanting to take some photos before a military ball. I also provided photography for the job I doing at the time in Korea.

I returned back to the states April 2015 and didn’t shoot again until May. I went to South Carolina to photoshoot a friend’s grandson’s 4th B-Day party. I have those images that I will post at a later time. In June, I did 2 regular portraits sessions first with a lady I met that day and since has been a good friend of mine. The next one later in the week, with another good friend of mine that I’ve known since 2012. These two good friend of mine were the people telling me that my work is great and I should be getting paid. I began to take that into consideration but not quite yet because I had to missed at least one more opportunity for it all to sink in.

The last time I didn’t do a paid session was last summer, when a lady of one of my friends reached out to me to shoot her child’s senior portraits. Either out of fear or being stubborn, I didn’t take this opportunity. Needless to say, that could’ve been the one to propel me to where I could be right now with paying clients. During this time, I was shooting models more than ever, however I began to approach regular people and photoshoot them as well.

While I enjoyed photography up until that point, there was missing something in the process. I wasn’t earning money back in my work. Part of this was my fault. During 2012-2015, my confidence & self-esteem was low when it came to posting my work, meaning I was caught up with likes, good comments, but not marketing my work that ultimately would bring in money. I wasn’t quite confident in posting my work myself on social media outlets because I was too busy trying to come off as perfect in my work which over time I began to realized that I am not perfect nor I am nowhere near the greatest photographer. I have a library full of photos I haven’t posted yet but will see the light of day soon.

The lightbulb finally came on when I realized that, unless you’re working for a modeling agency, selling the images to a art gallery, magazine, clients, etc. and/or if a model is paying you to build a portfolio, models paying photographers are very slim. In most cases as a photographer, if you approach a model first with a concept, more than likely, you have to pay the model especially if they’re portfolio is amazing or if they’re modeling full-time as a main source of income, as opposed to regular everyday people paying you for your artistic talent. There are special circumstances: if a model is blown away by your work and/or if you have a amazing concept she doesn’t have in her port, she will more than likely be willing to do a time for trade photoshoot though this is not always guaranteed depending on the model.

I must admit that it took a while for me to realized this especially since I didn’t have someone constantly telling me,”Hey I know you love shooting models, but to make money and reach a larger market/audience, you have to shoot everyday people because everyday people do not relate to models.” This explains why I have a lot of work with models but not much portraits sessions with regular everyday people. I have posted works with models however I believe a lot of potential regular paying clients haven’t or can’t contacted me because all they see my from my work is models. Since they can’t relate, a lot of people believe that’s all I shoot. I have to admit that it’s a mistake I made early on in my journey with photography. This is a issue I am fixing this now because I am more than able & willing to shoot regular people now, I just need time to work my way into their graces and prove myself. I learned from my mistake and I am in a better position now. I still shoot models on the regular, however now I finally understand that regular people are the ones who enjoys my work and are more than willing to pay me for my artistic talents. I love to shoot regular people because it gives me the opportunity to capture them in their everyday lives or illustrate a day in the life of that person that will last a lifetime. I still love to shoot models as well, however now I have balanced shooting models and regular people.

Today, I am confident to say I am available for booking. I am comfortable with my work, I know everyone will not like my work and that’s okay. I am confident enough to own, promote my work especially if it means getting more eyes and bring potential paying clients to my work. My confidence is not based on likes or follows because the some of the people who are watching you grow but is not liking or commenting are more than likely the ones that will contact you when the time is right and everything falls into place.

If you happen to enjoy my work and I fit your vision, please feel free to contact me. At the end of the day whether you’re a model or everyday person, I am more than willing to photograph you that will create a story. I appreciate you taking time out to check out my work. Please enjoy your day and I hope to hear from you.

Moving Along

Becoming Jillie

Connecting As A Human

Mr. & Mrs. Grissett's Baby Shower