Today we’d like to introduce you to Tenola Plaxico.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a traveling lifestyle photographer based in the Greater Memphis area, specializing in a professional headshots, weddings, branding, and marketing, food, cars, children, events, real estate, abstract, etc.
I began this journey 16 years ago as a junior in college merely picking up the camera as a hobby. That small inkling of curiosity has blossomed into a lucrative creative career that yields $25,000-$30,000 a month working just a few hours a week. Although my artistic expression spans many different visual genres, the formula is essentially the same. Natural light. Genuine connections with people. A fundamental understanding of how to amplify the subject in a compelling, enduring, and timeless way.
In my professional experience, a lot of photographers are principally concerned with equipment, and the meticulous minutiae around whatever software/platform is currently en vogue. I have set myself apart by deliberately not following trends, and instead investing myself entirely in the subtle art of understanding people, and light, and time. All of the best equipment in the world is wasted if the person or the thing that you are photographing is not honored. Exalted. Magnified.
A big reason that people are drawn to my specific brand of photography is that it highlights otherwise ordinary people/things/experiences in a truly compelling and magnetizing way. I try to tell all burgeoning photographers, and young artists in general: put yourself in your clients shoes. Imagine the nervousness, and the titillation, and the anxiety of being studied, and captured, and critiqued. Once you understand how painfully vulnerable is to have your picture taken, you can develop a language, a humor, and an insight for how to make people feel comfortable when they are in front of your camera.
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?
In the infancy of my creative career, I was not surrounded by the right kind of people. Creative people needs to be around creative people. But, they also need to be around business people. I am not only an artist, but also an enterprise. If I could go back 16 years, I would have been a lot more pragmatic, and cerebral about the ways in which I conduct business. Invoices. Pricing. Contracts. Per diem. Taxes. Photo archiving. Travel!
I was so caught up in the allure of being a creative that I completely neglected the significance of being business-minded. A lot of people stole from me in the beginning of my professional career. They knew that I was naive when it came to understanding the metrics of business, and they exploited that ignorance. But, I’m not at all unique. Disenfranchising artists is a ubiquitous practice. It is just as imperative that we protect ourselves as it is that we perfect our craft. Hire an accountant. Befriend some attorneys. Develop a partnership with a local art gallery. Ask other artists what they are charging for their work. Ask your competitors what they are charging for their work. Ask the top person in your city, or in your ethos what they are charging for their work. Use that cohesive cachet of information to more adeptly discern how you should evaluate your own time, and expertise.
We’ve been impressed with Articulate Photography, LLC , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m a lifestyle photographer, in general. I specialize in branding, professional headshots, and bridal photography. But, I also do family photography, and events. I do pretty much everything. If there’s a special moment that needs to be harvested with insight, care, and creativity, I’m your guy! A lot of photographers take weeks to render their edits; everything I photograph is guaranteed next-day. A lot of photographers also need a creative director, a makeup artist, a hairstylist, and an entire team on-site in order to make the photo session coalesce. I am a one-man team. By streamlining the entire process to a few very specific and intimate details, I have been able to save my clients both time and energy while also chronicling their story in a pervasive and enduring way. As I always say: less is more.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I am currently obsessed with cooking videos– namely Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa.” An artist is only as good as the art they consume. Watching her tediously and nurturingly coax raw ingredients into these masterfully-imagined culinary masterpieces… well, that’s just wonderful. And, it teaches me, in turn, to use more care and love in my own visual “kitchen”.
Pricing:
- Headshots starting at $550
- Branding photos starting at $1,000
- Bridal packages ranging from $5000 – $10,000
- Couples/Engagement Photos starting at $800
- Family Photography starting at $850
Contact Info:
- Instagram: ArticulatePhotograph
- Facebook: Articulate Photography
