Today we’d like to introduce you to Inyang Essien.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m currently a photographer based in Dallas, Texas. I specialize in event, portrait, and lifestyle photography. I am also building a foundation in digital marketing and videography.
My introduction to photography came from my dad who taught me and my siblings how to use 35mm cameras when we were kids. Photography quickly grew into a passion of mine and I decided that I wanted to capture memories for others. After a few years of shooting different things for friends and family, I found myself shooting events and portraits for a variety of clients.
As of late, my work reflects my exploration of identity through the topics of culture, sexuality, and socio-economic standing. My attraction to such topics is driven by the limited representation and discourse surrounding these topics. As the emotional being that I am, my photographs serve as a visual representation of my emotions and passion.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest obstacles were rooted in self-doubt. I had to overcome self-doubt, fear of failure, and fear of “not being creative enough”. It was very helpful to find a category of photography in which I feel most comfortable creating work.
Another one of my challenges was accepting myself as an emotional being and learning how to redirect that energy to into my work. My personal projects are the greatest representation of my empathy, as the basis of each project is a derived from topics that hold sentiment with me.
I believe that learning your worth is a rite of passage that many, if not all, emerging creatives must face. In the beginning, when clients, including friends, told me that my prices were too high, I would lower them for fear of losing clientele or building a bad reputation. I’m so grateful to say that I learned that when my work began to speak for itself, it was worth it to wait for the clients who were willing to invest in my creativity.
I was in my early twenties when I began freelancing. Due to my slim frame and soft features, I wasn’t always taken seriously. I would arrive at an event that I was contracted to work and found myself being scoffed at for “looking young.” Sometimes working with male creatives posed a challenge because they believed that a business relationship was synonymous with a romantic relationship. I found myself weeding out “colleagues” because they could not accept my decision to be solely professional.
I wouldn’t alter any part of my creative journey because every obstacle that I encountered is why I am able to get the job done today.
Yangy Visuals – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I established Yangy Visuals as a photography business in 2016. When it comes to shooting events, I pride myself in capturing unforgettable moments. It’s important that my clients trust that I know what I am doing without me telling them that I do. I achieve that through striving for consistency, timeliness, and quality when delivering the product.
When it comes to storytelling, I make it a point of duty to develop a relationship with my subjects. Whether I’m meeting a model on set for the first time or I spend three months chatting with a newly engaged couple, comfort and trust are vital from the subject in order to capture their essence and tell the right story.
I’m grateful to have found a balance between capturing my client’s visions and finding time to work on my own personal projects. Duality lies in the ability to work on a client’s project at the same that I am working on a much different personal project and fully appreciating both. Most elements in the creative field are subjective, but I strive to validate the perspective of everyone contributing to a project in focus.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Earlier this year, two images from an ongoing series entitled Idet that were selected to appear in ART214, a multi-venue juried exhibition featuring Dallas artists. One of the images is currently on display at Oak Cliff Cultural Center until May 24th!
With projects such as Idet, my goal for my viewers is representation-that they see themselves in my work. As a first-generation Nigerian-American, my upbringing in America differed from that of my mother’s in Nigeria. I was able to portray my culture in a way that I was able to relate to-by revitalizing timeless hairstyles while appreciating equally timeless textiles.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yangyvisuals.co
- Phone: 469-684-0200
- Email: inyang3000@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yangyvisuals/
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