Daily Inspiration: Meet Denetra Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Denetra Smith.

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 have always been fascinated with portraits and looking through our family albums as a child.

At 11 years old, when my mom presented me with the Kodak 110 film camera along with the flashcube, I instantly became a photographer. Only then, I didn’t know a thing about intentionally creating portraits or photography. I just knew I loved documenting my family and the cool places we traveled to while my dad was on active duty in the Army.

Fast forward a few years, a nursing degree, three kids, to being a military spouse with a husband who deployed several times with the Marine Corps, and several rolls of developed and undeveloped film later to me receiving an updated DSLR camera; given to me in 2009 as a Christmas gift by my husband.

It was then the notion of becoming a real portrait photographer became a possibility. I began learning and taking classes online mostly to understand how to actually create a portrait and how to use my new camera.

After a lot of practice, in 2011, I photographed my Pastor’s son and his girlfriend for high school senior portraits using the skills I had learned watching Creative Live (an online photography education platform). When I was done, I presented his mom (Dr. Susan West) with a slideshow of all the portraits. She cried first, then paid me, and then ordered prints.

Dr. Susan West was my first paying photography customer and encouraged me to use the gift God had given me to not only be a nurse but to see the world as a portrait photographer and to help people heal their self-image issues and document their lives.

I never thought any portraits I could create would make someone want to pay me let alone evoke any type of emotional response. I didn’t initially follow her advice and still photographed my friends and family and accepted whatever anyone wanted to pay me. After a while of continuing to watch Creative Live, I discovered Bambi Cantrell, Lindsey Adler, Jasmine Star, and Sue Bryce.

When I watched these women educate on the technical aspects of portraiture and how to run a successful portrait photography business full time, I saw what was possible. I followed their journeys of building and expanding their businesses as well as the businesses of other photographers.

I began to think Dr. West was 100% right and I have to do this business for myself and the people who can benefit from the gift God gave me. In August of 2011, I talked with my husband and my two younger sisters (who sort of were my “Voluntold” business partners), and RCK Photography was born. RCK stands for the initials of my three daughters, my youngest sister’s first two initials, and the initials of my middle sister’s oldest daughter.

We wanted our business to be affiliated with a sense of family and to treat our future customers as if they were our family being documented for our albums.

The problem with starting a professional photography business in 2011 was that hardly anyone was really teaching the business part of running a portrait business. I made quite a few mistakes and still continue to make a few mistakes to this day, but honestly, after discovering Sue Bryce that process began to change for me. Her teachings on the technical parts of creating a portrait as well as self-value and self-worth began to transform the way I began to approach being a business owner/portrait photographer.

In 2019, I started following a portrait photographer by the name of Dr. Tomayia Colvin who is a Black female photographer who began to tackle the disparities in the representation of people of color in the photography industry. She began to call to task major camera/equipment companies for their lack of representation, equity, and diversity. She created a photography conference called The Photo Cookout.

It was created mainly to give opportunities for photographers of color to speak at a conference and to support photographers of color with access to education. The Photo Cookout was the first photography conference that I had ever attended and was the first time I had ever seen 500 Black professionals in one room together! It was a game-changer for me for sure in terms of seeing what was possible for me as a Black female entrepreneur.

I am currently still subscribed to Sue Bryce’s education platform called “Portrait Masters powered by Sue Bryce Education” as well as enrolled in Dr. Tomayia’s “Ignite” mentorship program to continue to learn how to improve and scale my portrait business.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I found that there have been many challenges to having a professional portrait business, but one I have encountered quite often is when clients compare my services to photographers who don’t necessarily offer a customized luxury experience or printed portraits.

Those clients are typically shopping for a bargain portrait experience which is not something I offer. I’ve learned that I don’t need to compete with other photographers. I communicate and educate my clients about the value behind the services I provide.

My clients value me, and my experience, and understand the importance of printed portraits being more valuable than the piece of paper they are printed on. Above all my clients value themselves!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in providing personal branding/headshot portraits as well as family/maternity and senior portraits.

I create customized portrait experiences by working closely with my clients to design their perfect sessions. I then ensure that my clients have high-quality images they can use online as well as grace the walls and albums of their homes for future generations to see the documentation of their legacy.

My approach to portrait photography is to combine my love of fashion, documentary, and fine art portraiture into this hybrid of images that are authentic moments along with guided posing. I want my clients to feel like their photographs could appear in an issue of Lifestyle, Harper’s Bazaar, or Vogue magazines as everyday people doing ordinary things or as themselves all glammed up.

I am most proud of the fact that I didn’t give up on building my business when things got difficult and when it seemed like quitting would definitely be easier and that I found mentors who have helped me to grow. I think what sets me apart from others is my ability to help people show up as the very best versions of their true authentic selves in front of my camera.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I want people to know that I hated being photographed at one point in my life. I understand what it feels like to think you aren’t “enough”. I know what it feels like to want to lose a few extra pounds. I have gray hair and wrinkles now and the only thing I’m dropping like it’s hot are the chocolate chip cookies I baked as I try to eat them fresh out of the oven. They say “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

A picture can also quiet all of the lies we tell ourselves about not being enough. I have been working for the past 10 years as a professional portrait photographer to provide people with portraits that document their lives, celebrate who they are, build their brands, and show them the value and beauty in the life they are currently living.
I love what I do and I am blessed to wake up every day with the opportunity to photograph people.

With my help as a photographer, people have incredible images that document an important time in their lives and because we print their images on archival quality heirloom products, they have a printed legacy to pass down to the next generation.

I know that when I am no longer on this side of heaven and my children go looking for portraits of me, I will exist in albums, in framed portraits, and not just in some cloud, on a cellphone, or on an outdated piece of technology that no one can look at anymore. What will your loved ones find when they go looking for images of you?

Pricing:

• My portrait session fee is $450 and includes hair/makeup, pre-portrait session style consultation, 1.5-hour. portrait session, basic retouching, and a reveal/ordering session.
• My images start at $250 and go up from there depending on the size and printed media.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://rckphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rckphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rckphotography615/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RCKPHOTOGRAPHY

Image Credits
Zaakirah Nayyar and Denetra Smith with RCK Photography