Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony McKnight.
Hi Ebony, 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 backstory with our readers?
Growing up in my household, my dad always had a camera or video camera on him. It didn’t matter the occasion birthday, wedding, learning how to skate, my dad would document it. This gave me early exposure to playing around with cameras. I had my first camera when I was 11, during this time I had no pursuit of photography, I simply wanted to capture me and my friends.
Fast forward to college 2018, I was trying to find creative outlets in my free time. I originally wanted to take a swing at modeling, so I asked for a DSLR camera for my college graduation. I probably used the camera for myself for about the first month, but I wasn’t really feeling the “modeling”. Shortly after getting my camera, a good friend of mine (Hey Tiff!) asked if I wanted to take some pictures of her. This day literally changed my life. When I tell you, I had no idea what I was doing behind that camera, but I knew I was loving it! She loved the pictures, and so did her friends and coworkers. One of her coworkers was into photography at the time, viewed my pictures and said, “Tell her keep going” and that’s exactly what I did.
From that moment on, I was constantly practices, studying, and trying new things to develop my style. Around 2020 I finally started to figure it out my “niche” and what came naturally. I started to test out more editorial styles and a few conceptual shoots. One of my bigger projects, “Flawda Water” kind of gave me confirmation that I’m exactly where I need to be.
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?
I wish I could say it’s been a smooth road, but with everything in life there are ups and downs. One of my biggest struggles have been imposter syndrome and creative funks. I always say I’m my biggest critic because regardless of how others view my work, I often think I’m not doing good enough. Some days I’ve even asked myself “is this really what I want for myself?” I oftentimes feel I’m not as skillful or creative as I’d like to be. It’s been a struggle trying to tune out those negative voices in my head. I constantly try to remind myself that God me this creative gift for a reason, and I just have to enjoy the journey for what it is.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
A little bit about the work I do, I’m a Florida/Atlanta photographer. I reside in Florida but travel to Atlanta often for collaborationsM. I specialize in editorial/portrait photography. I feel like this style is what I’m most known for, and I personally believe it’s one of my strong suits. Even though that’s what I’m most known for I do want to explore in conceptual shoots more often. That’s why “Flawda Water” is a project I’m most proud of. It was my first time trying a conceptual shoot and it turned out to be one of my most successful shoots!
I believe all photographers have a special way of capturing people. I personally focus on highlighting black culture through a lot of my work. I know many people who do that as well, so that alone doesn’t set me apart, but I believe the way I tell these stories and highlight each individual sets me apart.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Covid has taught me two things. One is to save up money during the strong seasons of your business! I was completely unprepared for the decline in clientele when Covid hit. Although I was working full time outside of photography, I couldn’t help but think about how unprepared I would’ve been to lose majority of my clients temporarily. The second thing that Covid taught me was to utilize social media as much as people to network. With networking event’s decreasing at the start of Covid. You had to get creative on how to put yourself out there!
Contact Info:
- Email: visualsbyshawtyeb@gmail.com
- Website: shawtyeb.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawtyeb/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawtyeb
