Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith McCoy.
Hi Keith, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Keith McCoy, and I chose the camera as my weapon. This is a reference to the first book that I read upon losing my job and truly embarking on the path of an entrepreneur. The book is titled “A Choice of Weapons,” and it is the autobiography of legendary photographer Gordon Parks. It rekindled a passionate fire for photography and has become my way of life. I am a Detroiter, born and raised. I attended Academy Southfield for elementary, Ludington Magnet Middle School, and the illustrious Renaissance High School. Upon graduating high school, I attended Western Michigan University, where I graduated with 2 Bachelor’s degrees: one in Film, Video, & Media Studies and the other in Multimedia Arts & Technology. I am currently pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts in Photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
I grew up with a camera and a camcorder in my household, as my Dad was the family photographer and documenter. He always captured the candid snapshots, especially while people were eating. Years later, I realized this is where my love for photography originally started. When I first picked up photography in high school, it was just a hobby that I was exploring. I never knew how passionate I would become about the medium until much later. During my undergraduate program at Western Michigan, I started to gain a deeper understanding of cameras and their capabilities. This is when I decided to purchase my first camera, a Nikon D3500, and I began photographing my college experience. I was blessed to have friends around me who were heavily into fashion and music, so I had ample opportunities to continue practicing outside of classes.
Upon graduating in 2019, I began working in a position outside of the media industry, where I gained valuable leadership and training experience. At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do in the media industry or how to take my photography to another level. So, I was still actively searching for jobs within the media field, while continuously developing my photography skills at home and through freelance opportunities. I decided that I needed to upgrade my photography equipment to a professional camera and establish my business, Scuba Studios, LLC. During this initial period, I spent a lot of time learning and investing in my skillset, so when opportunities arose, I was ready.
Over the last 6 years, I have continued to invest in myself and my business, which in turn has helped me invest back in the community and clients. I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Photography, which has challenged me even further and has changed how I think about photography. Upon graduation, my goal is to open my own Commercial studio, with a focus on fashion, music, and portraiture photography. It is my dream to create a space that fosters creativity and brings Detroit’s unique flavor and style to mainstream media, while having a positive impact on local businesses, artists, and students.
I also work part-time with the College for Creative Studies (CCS) with their Community Arts Partnership (CAP) program. In this program, I lead and co-teach after-school art programs across Metro-Detroit, ranging from elementary to high school students. This program has been a blessing to me, as it has helped me mentor students and encourage their artistic skills. By working with students, I’ve learned to create from a space of freedom, as children are less critical of themselves and their art. Additionally, I teach part-time at Schoolcraft College as a DSLR instructor. By teaching these classes, I can pass on the knowledge that I am acquiring at a Master’s level to beginner photographers. Through these classes, I can open their eyes to the amazing and vast field of photography. Later in my career, I would like to teach at the collegiate level, where I can use my career and connections to assist the futures of students.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, I don’t think any entrepreneur’s road is going to be a smooth one. Some of the biggest challenges were deciding to start the business and following through on my plans and ideas. You have to be willing or crazy enough to take the leap of faith to even start your own business. There are no guarantees that you will land where you expect to. It’s hard to go from a stable job with benefits like a 401(k), health insurance, and a retirement plan to being on your own and having to grow your business. One of the biggest changes was not having consistent money at the start. Truthfully, this almost made me quit and look for work elsewhere. It takes money to make money, and thankfully, I invested in my camera equipment before leaving my previous job.
Another struggle is finding the right clients for you. Finding clients isn’t always a challenge; there are plenty of people who need photography services for different events and occasions. However, you will meet potential clients who want to undervalue your worth. Early on, I was willing to take any price for work because I thought it would open opportunities up and build my portfolio. Although this did help my portfolio, I felt that I was overworking myself for the amount of money that I was receiving. Knowing your worth is so important to your business and to your own confidence. The right clients will be willing to pay what you perceive your own worth to be if your portfolio backs that up. I learned that it’s okay if I’m not the right service provider for every potential client and their budget.
The last big struggle that I can think of is knowing how to use my network to my advantage. It could just be me, but I feel that entrepreneurs try to do everything themselves. Most of the work is up to you; however, you have to know when to leverage the people around you and know who can assist you. I’m still learning now that I can’t do everything by myself. I need other people to help me continue to grow. So I began to utilize people around me for my growth, but also looked for ways to help them in exchange.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a photographer and videographer by trade, specializing in creating beautiful portraits of people and telling stories through videography. I am known for fashion photography, but I also work in other fields of photography, such as product, event, and automotive. Fashion photography has become a huge passion of mine because fashion is a way that people can visually express themselves. You can tell a lot about a person by what they wear, whether it’s through textures, colors, or patterns. I aim to do more narrative-based work that allows me to tell the audience about a given topic.
I am most proud of my growth as a photographer over the last year. Being in this master’s program has challenged me to look at photography from a different lens (no pun intended). I have become better in several areas of photography and have created projects bigger than myself. One of my favorite projects was “The Misappropriation of Educational Funds”. In this series of images, I visited a few abandoned schools around Detroit and photographed them as they are. The goal was to document the locations as found while simultaneously expressing the need for a revitalization of our educational system and our communities. There are many eyesores in our neighborhoods in the form of abandoned buildings, yet we only see progress in areas of Detroit like downtown.
What sets me apart is that I am continually discovering who I am as a photographer by reflecting on my experiences growing up in Detroit and envisioning what the future of Detroit could look like. At one point, I was looking to move to NY, LA, or ATL to work in their established media industries. However, I decided to develop the media industry here in my hometown, bringing brands and opportunities here. I’m not content with just shooting birthday or graduation photos, and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with those styles. I’m more interested in shining a positive light on Detroit that the mainstream media hasn’t. I also want to provoke thought and change through my photography. In the previously mentioned project, I hope that one day I can see some of the buildings I visited turned into community centers or other assets to the community.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I believe that my personality, skills, and integrity have been extremely important to my success. Starting with a personality, I try to connect and establish rapport with every client. When I’m on a job, I try to bring positive energy and humor into the room. As I have continued to develop my skills, I have been granted more opportunities to continue working at a high level. Lastly, my integrity is where I treat every client the same, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation. It doesn’t matter if you’re paying me thousands of dollars to cover an event or $200 doing a personal photo shoot; you get the same treatment from me. I aim to be consistent with every client to ensure that when they leave, they have a positive experience.
Pricing:
- Individual Photography Sessions starting at $200
- Even Photography & Videography starting at $400
- Videography starting at $200
- Art Prints starting at $50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.scuba-studios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scuba_studios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574605748667
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-mccoy-521445107
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ScubaKeef
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/scuba_keef/
