Check Out Billy Kion Ra’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Kion Ra.

Hi Billy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2015, I moved to Nashville after 16 years in medical supply sales. I quit my job in June of that year and looked to Music City to dive into the creative arts. At the time, I was dating a songwriter so I decided to start there. I enrolled in SAE Institute’s Audio Engineering program. Attending SAE was the first time in my life, I was surrounded by creatives.

It was quite the difference from the left-brained corporate world, but I began to learn how to flow. I really enjoyed my time at SAE. I got to work with incredible young artists, musicians, DJs, and more. Not having a background in music, I put teams together and we just experimented. I learned later in school that a lot of the classic bands from the sixties and seventies did the same. We had so much fun! I coined the term, “coloveration,” instead of collaboration, because I found that there’s no labor when you put together talented people and allow them to do what they love. Magic happens! And it was the magic that I experienced that caught my heart’s attention. I had never witnessed anything like it in the business world. It was so beautiful and has become a daily staple of how I live, by flowing into the magic that is present all around ME.

Towards the end of Audio Engineering school, I started taking photos with my phone and editing them. I found that I really liked it and would spend hours artistically editing nature or architecture shots drawn in by the colors, textures, contrast, and lines. I continued that after graduation even taking several online courses on the fundamentals of photography. At that time, it was very much just an enjoyable hobby, until… I was accepted by a local modeling agency and needed some headshots. I asked one of my roommates at the time, Jenn Cutliffe (@infinitely_evolving), who was a photographer/videographer for help. She said sure and told me to follow her.

So I did. We left the house, we lived in off Cleveland street in East Nashville and walked about a half-block, and turned down an alley. We walked another half-block and ended up at the back alley entrance of an old church. She told me to jump a small fence and get down in a little alcove near the back entrance. I was curious but just followed her orders. Lol, she put her JBL speaker down that she had brought, hit play on her phone, and said, “now dance.” So I just stayed in the flow. After our short shoot was done, we left and she simply told me she chose that spot because the lighting was soft there. Well, I ended up LOVING the photos. It was the first time in my life, I really saw myself.

I ended up continuing to work with Jenn on putting together a creative portfolio. I turned down the modeling agency and their very sterile looks and built the portfolio I wanted. With Jenn and her friend, Be (@beshootin), I got more and more incredibly artistic, fabulous photos. That’s when I decided I wanted to really get into photography. At the time, I was still using My iPhone to take pics. It took a lot of Uber driving, but in 2018, I bought My first professional camera, a Sony A7iii. I’ve never looked back, focusing My creativity primarily through My photography.

I built out a small studio and, as I did in Audio Engineering school, I began to just experiment and flow. For example, for probably six months of 2018, a few friends and I would set up the studio and dive into 4-6 hours of what we called, PhotoJourneys; using makeup, flowers, fabrics, and whatever else we could grab, we created mini-sets and entered into them like actors of sorts. Several of these shots live on my website www.djediphotography.com under the “Avant-garde” heading.

Of course, I also started shooting people’s portraits, events, band photos, etc., but it was the creative side of photography that I loved. Even when I am shooting an event, I am always looking for creative shots, ways to frame the light or movement or reflections. I especially love reflections!

Another important inspiration I took from that original shoot on the back steps of that old church off Cleveland street was to create a fun, safe space to capture people’s true selves. So many people, especially ladies, tell me they don’t like the photos of them that they’ve had done before, but when I deliver the photos we’ve taken, they love them! It really all has to do with helping people feel safe enough to take off their masks.

Recently, at an Ecstatic Dance Camp, after two hours of dancing, I took portraits of the participants that wanted them. I used a very basic lighting set and the backdrop was the siding of a house, but the portraits came out brilliantly! The images moved me deeply; so powerful, so real. I truly witnessed in the frame the divine spark of these beautiful humans. So I started the #humanmasterpiececollection (photos under the same heading on My website).

So all that to say, I enjoy flowing in the magic of playing with the light all around me, the light outside, and the light that comes forth from the inside of the subjects I have the honor to witness in the frame.

**One side note, the name of my photography is Djedi Photography (@djediphotography). The term “Djedi” (pronounced “Jedi”) comes from ancient Egypt. They were artists, poets, and musicians sent out by the Goddess Isis to conquer the world through their art. And, they were promised to return to at the transition of the age. The creatives here now with the vision for creating the new earth are the real “Return of the DJedi.”**

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely saving up to get professional gear, lighting equipment, etc. Also finding new clients. How to effectively market. I’ve learned to just flow and trust that the right opportunities come to me.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m especially grateful and proud of my “Avant-garde,” creative photography, and my new #humanmasterpiececollection. Always honored to witness in the frame the play of the external and internal LIGHT.

I specialize in almost everything. From flash/strobe photography to events, to weddings, I can do it all. I have had the unique opportunity to work with a couple of party buses downtown. That experience has definitely taught me how to shoot on the go! I can dance around groups in tight quarters and still adjust settings to get the shot. hahaha

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
For six months, when I was in third or fourth grade, I lived in a small town in Iowa along some bluffs. Some of the boys in the neighborhood I lived were convinced there were hidden marijuana fields somewhere in those bluffs.

I remember going out in groups daily on adventures through those hills searching and searching for the hidden marijuana fields. We had so much fun! Amazing adventures! Never found those fields though. LOL.

Pricing:

• 1-hour lifestyle shoot $144
• 3-hour event shoot $333
• #humanmasterpiececollection group shoot – $75 per person (minimum 3 people)
• Weddings – Starting at $555 and up
• Videos – Commercials/Music Videos available as well

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.djediphotography.com
• Instagram: @djediphotography
• Facebook: @djediphotography