Meet Rakim Davis of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rakim Davis.

Hi Rakim, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
What started as a hobby, quickly became something that I would enjoy a lot and then some. As far as I can remember, my mom can tell you that as a kid, I would always mess around with all of the deposable cameras during the 90s, you know, the ones you get from your local walgreens with a same day turnaround. Back then, I just loved anything dealing with technology and just pressing buttons, though I had no idea that the photography aspect was going to come back to me in the grand scheme of things until 2017. Around that time, one of my hobbies included going to anime conventions around the Ohio area, and getting some hallshots of folks in their cosplays, all the while being impressed with the creativity that I would see. That got me thinking…I would like to actually learn the craft and see how far I can go. What turn into a casual hallshot hobby eventually turn into years of honing my craft through self taught articles, attending workshops, and going through the good and the bad with each photography gig I can get. And honestly, all of that to get to where I’m at now, I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It may appeared to be easy, but with anything, there are growing pains. There are lessons, some brutal ones, that you have to learn one way or another. Before photography, I started out wanting to be a Graphic Designer back in 08, and one of the things that going to college helped me prep for, was constructive criticism. Sometimes, the things you may not want to hear, are things that help you grow more into your skillset. For photography, there were definitely hard lessons. I had to make sure I communicated well, dealing with gear that would break or malfunction during a session, even having a sd card being corrupted during a important shoot. Anyone going through that would throw in the towel, thinking its not for them. For me, with it being hard, I reflect, recollect and ensure I don’t make the same mistake twice.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For me, I’m a photographer in the Columbus area, whom primarily specialize in portrait photography, though by now you can say I’m known for covering cosplay photography, professional headshots, and events. The thing I’m most proud of the most is my willingness to learn not just in articles, but by networking and appearing in workshops to better hone my own craft through the expertise of others. Personally, every photographer that I’ve known is truly talented in their own way and right. Each of them have a goal set in mind for what they want to accomplish. I won’t say what set me apart from others confidently, but for me, my aim is to help bring a story to life in anything that I do. Being heavily inspired by the movies I watch growing up, I intently look at the way a scene is shot, why its shot the way it is, what does it aid in the story of what it’s trying to tell, and why. I use that as a way to help bring that thought process to life in what I do through my photography.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
With my social media presence through my brand, its kinda hard to say, because I’m an open book to a degree. But if there’s anything that not many people may realize, aside from my logo being my name backwards, is probably the strange things I used to be afraid of as a kid. For example, as a kid I used to be afraid of the movie “Ghost” because of the scene when the bad shadows would appear with that awful sounding scream it makes. But now, I watch it and just be like “Why was I afraid of that as kid?” Lol silly things like that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikarphotographyanddesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikarphotodesign