Check Out Morgan Duke’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Duke.

Hi Morgan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I picked up photography as a senior in high school, and that love grew throughout the years. In college, while pursuing a nursing degree, I started taking photos of families that I knew and nannied for, as well as my friends’ weddings. I continued to pursue photography as a part time gig while finishing up my nursing degree and working full time. When I moved from Auburn, AL to Columbus, GA in 2014, I started attending regular yoga classes at a studio, which ended up turning into my first paid commercial/branding job in photography. Word of mouth traveled from there! I built a solid business base in Columbus and other parts of the Southeast. I continued pursuing photography throughout my next nursing degree, and ended up balancing being a nurse Practitioner alongside photography for 8 years. As of this July, I left my career in nursing to pursue photography FULL TIME! Woohoo. This was a huge leap, but I’m excited to trust my intuition and calling. I specialize in lifestyle imagery and love to tell visual stories. I love to photograph a wide range of subjects including families, weddings and events, artists in studio, interior designers/spaces, small and large businesses, just to name a few.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This journey hasn’t always been linear. But nothing ever is, right? It has taken a lot of grit to forge a path in this creative space. At times, it has felt like there isn’t room for us all. But I’ve learned—there is. The biggest struggle for me was balancing my nursing career alongside a photography business that was growing beyond what I imagined. I believe I did it well sometimes, and others not so much. The people in my life (my husband, family, and best friends) have supported me from day one and urged me along, which ultimately gave me the courage to fully leap!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I believe every moment holds beauty—the way a child’s eyes light up when they see a popsicle, the way the sun glimmers through the trees, the way a building reflects in a lake, the way an older man reads his newspaper in front of a cafe—the art of stopping and observing. I find creative inspiration for my work in my travels, and hope that my work exhibits a sense of vita ordinaria (every day life). I specialize in creating professionally curated images for commercial branding and interiors along with narrating moments through imagery in lifestyle sessions. I am most proud of having my work exhibited in an art gallery in my home town (shoutout to Highland Galerie in Columbus, GA). Witnessing how others enjoy my tiny point of view is so rewarding.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I would say I’m a calculated risk taker! The biggest risk I’ve EVER taken is leaping full time into this creative work of photography and retiring from my nursing career of 16 years. Here we gooooo!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.morgandukephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgandukephotography/