Today we’d like to introduce you to Darian Clark.
Hi Darian, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The early days of my photography career started when I was a young child, age 12, using a film camera my grandfather gave me. Watching him take photos my whole life inspired me to become the photographer I am today. Although, I lost sight of that around the age of 15. In 2013 at the age of 21, I was serving in the United States Army on deployment in Afghanistan. During my tour, I taught myself how to be a graphic designer during my free time. That led to a successful career creating mixtape covers, album covers, logos and song covers for various artists all around the world. One of the biggest frustrations during my career were some of the images I received to edit. Since this was 2013, camera phones were not as good as they are today and it made my job even harder. So that’s when I decided to learn how to take photos of my clients myself and that’s when it just hit me. Photography took on a life of its on and I completely fell in love with it and with my graphic design background, using photoshop to edit images became very easy. Around 2015, I gave up my career as a graphic designer and decided to focus only on photography. By 2016, I decided to end my contract with the military to chase my dreams of one day having my own photography studio. I spent 1000s of dollars, learned everything I could and completely invested into my craft. By 2021, Black Visionary Studios was born and I’m happy to say, it’s one of the best and fulfilling decisions I ever made in my life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
From beginning to end, no journey will be an easy or smooth ride. I’ve had my share of obstacles with learning proper exposures, lighting techniques, dealing with various clients and personalities, and especially learning how to properly run a business. So trust me has not been easy, I’ve invested and sacrificed a lot to get to the point I’m at now. From leaving the comfort of the military life to quitting a 80k-paying full-time job. My life has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, good and bad but honestly, seeing it all payout, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I believe my career as a graphic designer and really learning how to edit photos is what allows me to stand out. Don’t get me wrong, I take beautiful unedited photos but to really bring those pictures to life, you have to edit. I specialize in more contrast realism. I want the world to see your true beauty. I want the dark and black colors to be just that and I want the colors to pop. So, I take my time with every image. I heal the skin and remove unwanted blemishes one by one. I touch the eyes so that they pop. I’ll even go as far as removing stray hairs or loose strings from your clothes. I take my time. My father always told me, If you do it right the first time, you won’t have to do it again. So I remember that every time I edit an image, because when you see that final image, If you’re not jumping for joy and excited, loving your images, then I haven’t done my job.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I’m currently shooting out a small studio I set up, but in the next five years, I will be in a big studio with various setups. I’m also a film major in college so I’ll be adding video to my services as well. Photography, music videos, and films. If it involves a camera, I want to perfect it.
Pricing:
- $150 Headshot Package
- $250 (Most Common) 1Hour 5 Retouched images Package
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blackvisionstudio.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/blackvisionatl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/blackvisionatl
Image Credits:
Male Red Jersey Model – Dwayne Female Black Dress – Jori Female in Window – Mica Female drinking wine – Alyssa Male shirtless – Pierre Johnson Female with afro – Angel
