As someone who occasionally takes life too seriously, it’s no surprise that that is exactly how I decided my path as a cinematographer.

 

Creativity has always been an expressive outlet for me. From editing photos for my very humble celebrity fan page as a teenager, to shooting my first short film in high school with my three-year-old cousin as the subject, and everything in between. Finally, a project in my 10th grade Civics & Econ class lead me to discover the role of Cinematographer. I am incredibly grateful to have been paid to work in the industry of what I love to do since I was 19 years old, and I haven’t looked back since.

 

As the head of the camera department, I enjoy the excitement and responsibility of acting as a painter, using all of the tools of the various departments (camera, lighting, locations, art, etc.) like they are paint, brushes and other instruments to bring to life the illustrations of each frame. This is what I do. I cannot imagine living this life in the full-time pursuit of anything else. 

 

Today, I hold experiences from a variety of productions through my work on upwards of 25 short films, a multitude of commercials and 6 feature films with studios including Lionsgate, Universal and Searchlight Pictures.

 

Throughout my filmmaking career I have, and will continue to, creatively contribute to stories centered on Black characters, not period pieces or historical dramas that profit off of the trauma Black people have experienced. 

 

Audiences crave to see unambiguous Black people on screen in roles outside of drug dealers, slaves, baby mamas and every other “Black Trauma Porn” fantasy that Hollywood has been obsessed with force-feeding to unwilling, and/or uneducated viewers. I want my work to reflect people who look like me in the most beautiful ways. Black people are not a monolith, and the systemic hardships we face do not make up the story of our lives, but rather are impediments on our otherwise tremendous history of resilience.

 

It is completely absurd to believe otherwise, and quite odd that it is still unimaginable to some people that there could be something as simple as a Black mermaid, a Black demigod, or even a Black person just existing in the world of a fantasy drama series. Black people exist in the real world. The goal and mission of my creative journey is to properly represent us in the various realms on our TV screens, too. I’m ready for the next generation of Black in every genre from romance, to action, to sci-fi. I look forward to experiencing my growth as I continue my creative journey through mainstream media as it is today.