What if your biggest business breakthrough came from doing what others said was impossible? Pat Miller sits down with visionaries Kahran and Reg, whose personal passion for empowering children of color has sparked a global movement and turned into a thriving photography business. In a world that often lacks representation and authentic diversity, Kahran and Reg share how betting on your vision can lead to your most impactful and profitable work.

Episode Highlights 🎤💡:

(02:28) - How CreativeSoul started in a garage

(09:56) - How Afro Art became a global series

(17:33) - From passion project to Disney collaboration

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I'm Pat Miller, and this is The Professional Photographer podcast. It's the industry Trend series live at Imaging USA in Nashville inside the Sony Cinema Line Studios. We're using their Monitor & Control app, and it's been really the star of the show. You would think people walking down the hall would stop and look at them doing podcasts. No, they're stopping and they're petting the equipment because Sony went all out. So thank you to Sony for making us look good here at Imaging. On today's show, we're going to talk with Kahran and Reg from CreativeSoul, and we're going to talk about how their passion project will really change their entire business. And it made a mark around the world. You see, they thought there needs to be some more diversity and representation in child fashion photography, so they decided to do something about it, but they just didn't do something. They did something amazing. So amazing. In fact, they've been all over the media, all over the world, and they literally made Disney princesses. This story is so inspirational. And those two are so cool. Kahran and Reg, they're standing by. We'll talk to them next. Kahran and Reg, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing?

Well, thank you so much for having us.

Imaging 26, been good to you so far?

Been very good. Yes, we are excited to be here. I can't even remember how many years we've been coming here, but it's been definitely over four, four or five years now. But it's always exciting. Always something new every year.

Always fun meeting new people, I hope.

Always, always. And we even are seeing some people that we, you know, see every year. And, you know, we have to get our. Our. Our Aussie together, you know. Yeah, for sure. And meet up. But yeah, it's always a good time.

Awesome. I'm excited that everyone gets the chance to meet you as I have. But if someone hasn't met you yet, this is the first time of learning about CreativeSoul. Tell them who you are and what you do.

Awesome. Well, we are Kahran and Reg of CreativeSoul Photography. This is our, I believe, 16th year in business, which is insane. And we are based in Atlanta, Georgia, and we are on a mission to empower kids of color around the world. And we photograph them in all of their glory. We allow them to be as creative as they'd like to be. And I tell people, we really just serve as dream makers, right? We get to really just do what we love and photograph these kids being whatever it is that they want to be in that moment.

You didn't build a business. You built a vision. This is a passion project that has grown. So can you talk about where it started and how you came up with this direction for what you're doing?

Well, I always have to say my mom. My mom will kill me if I don't say it started in my mom's garage.

Got to give her props.

So, yes, she sees this interview, and I don't say it started in my mom's garage. But, yeah, Reg went to school for photography, and I just started learning along with him. So we started, you know, I'm, as the wife, I'm like, wait, you don't have to start. Wait until after you have graduated to start your business. We can start right now. Right?

And so I thought, I'll have to go through the convincing of starting a business. But she was ready.

Yeah. So I'm like, we can start this right now. Right? So, you know, gathered up my nieces and nephews and, you know, in my mom's garage, we started off, you know, just photographing family and really anybody that would allow us to photograph them and started photographing really a little bit of everything in the beginning. So it kind of came to a point where we were like, wait a minute, we are photographing some things that we just don't really love, Right? And we're like, if we're going to build this as a business, it should be something that we actually love. And we knew that we had a passion for photographing kids. We just didn't know at the time that we could make a living from doing it. And so we slowly started to photograph kids, and people started to gravitate towards that. And, you know, from there, it took off. So I know we'll get into some of the other things, but, you know, we have, you know, kind of made it our lane photographing. It started off with kids with natural hair, natural Afro hair, and it morphed into so many other things. But we have just been really just honing in on our vision and focusing in on what it is that we really love, you know, each year.

Yeah, but a business isn't a vision. You've taken a vision and made it this incredible business. And it started when you were doing all of this work and then noticed this isn't as diverse as it should be. It's not as empowering as we would. Like, how did you make that transition from, yeah, we could do this, but we really want to do this?

Well, it started when we were in the children's fashion industry, and just to make this story short, we did consistent work, and we just never seen the diversity there. Yeah, we will see it in the catalog and the website side of it, but we don't see it in the actual fashion shows and in print. So Kahran was basically like, yeah, we going to show them.

And we're just. So we basically. We literally just started showing. We did a couple of personal shoots just showcasing kids with natural hair looking fashionable, right? We. We had. This is actually like our first trip to New York. We went and we had three little girl, natural Afro hair. We posted that it was. We were still very new to social media, to Instagram all that. We posted that. That series, and it went viral. And there were some. And this was like, way back in the day, right? And so at the time, we just happened to luck out in the fact that there was a movement of natural hair bloggers that were starting to blog about their natural hair, and a lot of them started posting it. And I think it was something unique because there was no one really focusing on children, right? Everyone thinking about the adults and natural hair and how we're relating to our own natural hair, but no one's really focusing on kids. And so I think it was something unique and different. So from there, we started to get parents that were like, hey, how can I get really cool photos of my kids like this? Right? And so we started to travel all over. You know, we use our social media platform and, you know, just said, hey, we're going to be in New York or we're going to be in Chicago. We would start doing different themes in each city that we went to. And so each place we would travel to, we would get parents that signed up processions, and we would dress them up according to the theme. And, you know, it kind of word of mouth started to spread, right? They would show the pictures, and then now, you know, their friends are like, wait, how can I get photos of my kids like that?

Right? It started off as a passion project, right? And then that's what we were doing on the side. Like, that's what made us happy. We always. We always had, like, consistent commercial work and, you know, regular portrait work. But then we had. We did that on the side, so it just kind of naturally merged when people saw, you know, that stuff.

Yeah. So I was like, wait a minute. I guess we can do this as a business, right?

It's a project that started with her, and I supported it and I loved it.

I can understand the draw and desire for more diversity in the work, especially in fashion industries, but it Seems like the real compelling difference maker is natural hair and how striking it is. Because your images are. They look like paintings. They're unbelievable.

Thank you.

Is that the real differentiator that you're letting kids be authentically them?

It is. And that's a big part of it. You know, definitely in the black community, hair is, you know, a big component of our identity. And you know, we really wanted. Our first, I guess, kind of major project that we did was the Afro Art series. And that was around 2017. Really. Just our idea was just like, hey, let's just show how versatile and beautiful Afro hair can be, right? How many different things you can do with it. And so, you know, it started off with a, I guess just a strong center around hair and just showing. Really the original goal was just, hey, let's just show how beautiful and versatile Afro hair can be, right? And from there it ended up morphing into so many other things, right? So 2017 was about the time when our Afro Art series, a blogger had reached out and asked, could they share our Afro Art series. And so we allowed them to share it and it went crazy viral. We had CNN at our door, we had BBC News came all the way from London, right? I mean, it was insane. And we were just like, oh my gosh, like, like, what is this? Right? That's when, you know, we knew that we were onto something. And from there a publisher from St. Martin's Crest had reached out and said, hey, you know, I don't have kids at the moment. She was like, but my future kids, my nieces and nephews need to have this book in the world. She's like, do you guys know anything about publishing? We're like, no. And so she literally walked us through the entire process, helped us get an agent and all that stuff. And we put out our first book, Glory Coffee Table Book. Which in that I was really excited because that's when we started to evolve from more than just hair, right? So from there I said, you know, if we're going to do a book, I want it to be something where we can really tell some of the stories of the kids. Because along the way we were reaching out to all these different kids and photographing these different kids and they were doing so many amazing things, right? And we were like, that stuff is not getting shown in the media, right? Like we met a little girl at the time, a six year old little girl that understood college level neuroscience, right? Like, what are we doing at six, right?

Yeah.

Like these were like the regular clients that come to us , you know.

And we were, like, seeing all these kids that were doing these amazing things. So in the glory book, we were blessed to be able to showcase all of those unique stories, Right. And to be able to travel the world. We traveled through Europe, through South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and was able to just showcase stories of kids around the world that were doing so many different amazing things.

So there's a vision here, this series. So I think that's instructive to photographers. Did it become a series because you had done a few, or did you have a vision? We're going to do a series.

It absolutely did not start as this is. We're going to make this a series, right? It literally was like, we are going to do, you know, okay, let's make this, you know, one, we were thinking about more process than anything, right? So we were like, if we're traveling to all these. these cities and these locations, we want to do something, you know, that's cohesive. Right. One, and then two, how do we make it so that it's not so crazy that we're doing a different, complete, different, you know, theme for everyone? Right. So we did one theme for each city that we were going to. And I think when people saw those together, you know, maybe New York, we might have done a cyberpunk theme, right. And then we might have did one where it was just all about color. So everything was, you know, had kind of its own spin. And I think when the blogger originally saw that, they were like, wait a minute, let's post this series. And we're like, sure, you know.

And then it became a series.

Right. So it wasn't anything. Right. So it wasn't anything that we planned originally. Like, we're going to plan this as a series. It was more of let's do this. And, you know, now it's morphed into so many different things. Right.

I definitely think that it got more tension because it was. It seemed to appear like a series. So it seemed like it was a set of different, you know, things that we had.

But there were different, I guess there were core elements that we had throughout. Right. Like, we wanted to pull in Afrocentric elements. We wanted kids to be able to connect with their history, but then also make it a little bit more in the present. Right. So that they could relate to it. So I think there were things that were carried throughout that felt like, you know, this intentional series. Right? Yeah.

It made it look like a series.

Yes, yes.

Put it together.

Yes.

I've heard you say that it's Creating a lane where there is none.

Right. I always tell photographers, if there is no lane, create one. Right. Because in the beginning, you know, we had this idea for things that we thought we wanted to do, but we didn't know any other photographers that were doing it. Right. And so I think a lot of photographers give up in the beginning because they feel like, oh, nobody else is doing it, so I don't know if I can make a living from it. And we were just like, we're going to go for it, and if it works, it works. If it doesn't, then we'll try something else. Right. And so always say, if there is no lane, create one. You know, you don't have to wait for someone else to pave that. That path for you. You can, you know, it's a little bit harder. Sure, for sure. But, you know, I think it pays off a little bit more in the end, because now you're one of one. Right. You're able to do something uniquely different and uniquely you.

It seems like the greats that I have on the podcast, the industry leaders, they almost all have that same story.

Yeah.

This is what I saw needed to exist in the world, and I'm going to do it. Whether or not it works. They are shooting for themselves and their vision that turns out to be artwork.

Right? That's exactly what you know. Because, I mean, I say everyone has something that they bring to the table that's uniquely them. Right. And so no one else can do that. It's always going to be uniquely you.

So if anything, if we were getting paid from this, we would still be doing this.

Right. Because it's something that we love.

Right.

So this is our passion.

Yeah.

And when people say that, that sounds like belonging, but it's for sure.

Right. And actually, I was going to say most of our. Most of the, like, the work that we did with natural hair kids, in the beginning, it literally was unpaid work, right. This was us just doing these projects because it's something that we wanted to do. And, you know, for us, we were able to, to really find our own style in doing that. Right. Because I think sometimes when you're doing it for clients and you're doing it for pay, then it's like, oh, now you have this other. You know, you have these folks that are kind of breathing down your neck, and you have to feel like you have to do it a certain way, right. But I think when you are kind of doing those. Those projects for yourself, now you have room to explore and you're able to do things your own way. When, when I left my full time job in 2016, I, We decided to, you know, we felt like our dreams were bigger than just the U.S. right? And so we decided to go on what we called our world tour at the time. And we traveled all over, I think it was, what, eight different countries in about 40 days, which was insane, right? And we had never done shoots outside of the country before. We didn't know anyone, you know, it was totally brand new, right, for us. But I think because it was something that we did ourselves, like we were able to make lots of mistakes, make lots of mistakes and then also just be able to build relationships with folks that, you know, we didn't know. We were able to network with, you know, folks in the industry and models and, you know, everyone else and be able to have that foundation and learn, you know, just how to do something and really develop our style, right?

So we've talked a lot about your vision and what it means to have this in the world. And I do want to talk about helping photographers that are watching to empower their vision. But I do want to ask one more question about what you're doing and the clients that you do it for, because there's a beautiful line on your website. "Your child deserves to be seen."

Exactly.

It's the greatest line. What does that mean to the parents and to the models, the kids that you're doing this for? And what does that mean to you to empower them?

It's so huge for us. I said, you know, one. One of the best things that I like about our clientele right now is that they are regular, everyday kids, right? And I love that so much more. Like, you know, a lot of people are like, oh, you guys could shoot celebrity kids, you know, things like that. But to be honest, like, I love the, just the everyday kid because they get to see this as a moment for themselves, right? That, you know, this is their opportunity to have a day that's just for them. And they get so excited about the process. I say, Kia is. Kia, our makeup artist is the person that they love to come in and they get their makeup done and, you know, they just love the process, right? And they love to see themselves in this new light. And I think for the parents, I think the parents understand the gravity of it, right? Because a lot of times they may see something in their kids that the kids don't even see in themselves yet. And so for the parents, a lot of times it's an opportunity for them to show their kids, like this is what I've been wanting you to see in yourself that I've seen in you all along. Right?

So, yeah, I always tell people that, like, selfishly, the reason why we do this is because I love the feeling of seeing a child's confidence level just boost.

Right? Yeah, that's the best.

It really doesn't end there. Like, the parents will email us, like, later and maybe like a year later.

Right?

Just tell us how that, you know, after that shoot, their confidence just never change, and they're just a different person.

We just had the little girl that we photographed in the Canon booth yesterday. So she's been with us since she was 3 years old. She is now getting ready to turn 13, and we photograph kids from 4 to 13.

Okay.

And so she's like, I'm almost a retired CreativeSoul model. She was like, but please, can I stay? You know? And I was like, well, you'll always be part of the CreativeSoul family, right? You know, but it's just that feeling of family and, you know, just a sense of belonging, right? And, you know, even thinking about her, like, this is a little girl with albinism, right? And in a lot of ways, when she goes to school and, you know, out in the world, she may feel ostracized in certain aspects, right? Like, that she doesn't fit in. And so this gives her a chance to, you know, you should have seen her out on the floor, right? Like, she's, you know, a little mini celebrity for the day, right? And so it's really an opportunity for them to, you know, just have their moment, right?

We have to get this in. You've turned little girls into Disney princesses. So tell this story, because this is just how nuclear your story went.

Yes. So this was crazy. We, I think maybe 2019, 2020 or so, we did a series of just really just showcasing our take on what our take would look like on the traditional Disney princess, right? And we were just doing it for fun, just to show this is how CreativeSoul would photograph Disney princesses. And that. That series went viral as well. And Disney, actually, it was Hasbro at the time. They had the Disney princesses. They reached out and said, would you guys want to do a doll collaboration with us? Like, of course, right? Yeah.

Right. Okay.

Yeah. Like, what does that mean? You know what? So we were so blessed to be able to do this with them. And we. We were, you know, just. It was so cool that they allowed us to be there for every part of the process, right? So we were able to first photograph the girls. So we had four girls, four princesses that we photographed and Disney worked with us to, on every detail. The hair, the makeup, the clothing, even the accessories that the dolls were wearing. We were able to give input and create this series of four Disney princesses. I think it was 20, 23. Unbelievable. Yeah. Amazing, right?

That's so great.

So, yeah, it's definitely an awesome experience for us. Something that we'll never forget.

Right now, someone's watching. They have their provocative idea in a notebook. They want to make this come true in the world. Give them a piece of advice. What should they do to take the first step to make their vision come true?

My biggest tip is starting where you are, right. We are always talking about, you know, waiting for an opportunity, waiting for someone to come knocking at your door or waiting for, you know, you to have more money or a better camera, right? And I feel like, you know, really just starting where you are. I think, you know, when I look at a lot of the big, I guess probably the biggest opportunities in our career, a lot of those happen, or I think all of those happen as a result of personal projects, right? It was something that we started off as a passion project, and, you know, people, you know, gravitated towards it, and then, you know, people notice it, right? And so it really started with us just doing something with what we had and then, you know, those opportunities coming to us. So I, you know, my thing is just starting where you are.

Yeah. Just be proactive in carrying out your dreams. You know, it doesn't have to be a giant step. It can be small steps every day, but just always make sure that you make it like a habit, you know, moving forward instead of staying, like, stagnant, you know?

Yeah. And I'm a big proponent of personal projects. Just period. Even, even as an experienced photographer, right? Like, they're always new things that we were wanting to test or try. And I just feel like when you're doing work for yourself, it gives you the most freedom to be able to, you know, just really, you know, just try new things, right?

So, yeah, buried in there is you didn't wait for someone to give you permission.

Exactly. Right? Not waiting for permission, right?

Yeah. Like, just go.

Yes. Taking a bull by its horns. Right. And going for it.

If someone wants to see the books that you put out or see the dolls, how can they learn more from you?

So definitely on our website, creativesoulphoto.com and if they go to creativesoulphoto.com/books, they'll get the links to all of our books that we published.

Awesome. Inspirational. Kahran and Reg, thanks for coming on.

Thank you so much for having us. I appreciate it.

Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of The Professional Photographer Podcast Live from Imaging USA inside the Sony Cinema Line Studios. A big thanks to Sony for doing all the hard work to make us look good. Now, if you're still watching the episode, that means you enjoyed the show, which means you should be a subscriber of the show. So click subscribe on whatever platform you're on. Also, leave us a like and a comment so we know what the guest said that really resonated with you. The other thing is, if you're not yet a member of Professional Photographers of America, what's going on here? Because PPA offers terrific benefits like incredible equipment insurance, top notch education and a supportive community of photographers ready to help you succeed. Join now at ppa.com. That's ppa.com. I'm Pat Miller, host to the show and the founder of the Small Business Owners Community. I appreciate you tuning in. We'll see you right here next time. Take care.