Meet Isuan Oyakhire: Servant & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isuan Oyakhire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isuan, what inspires you?
I am inspired by simplicity. After being in the photography field for almost 3 years now one thing I appreciate is finally finding my own style. You know how it is when you start your first page for your business, you go on a following spree to try and find inspiration from other people. While I think this is a great start, at one point it began to get overwhelming because I didn’t feel like my work was anything like the others that I was constantly seeing on my feed. I got into the habit of comparison and it made me question whether or not I should even continue doing what I love simply because I didn’t think it was worthy enough. I learned that the amount of likes you get on a post doesn’t add to it’s value. Overtime, I realized that the work I was comparing myself to was good in theory, but not something I ever saw myself doing. It’s like admiring a cute outfit that’s not necessarily your style, you appreciate it on someone else but are still content with what you own. So when I started flipping through the old home photos I remembered why I loved photography so much. The pictures of my family and friends weren’t perfect in any way but the simplicity behind capturing the moment spoke volumes. I can feel what the atmosphere was like. I can remember the laughs and hear the joy. I don’t want my memories to be filtered or altered to look perfect, I want to keep them as they were. Simple.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am currently working on rebranding my business in a completey different way. Nothing has been finalized yet so I won’t share what’s in store but I am excited to give people an old school perspective of photography. It took some time to get to the point where I finally knew the type of services I want to offer. Initially I was saying yes to every job opportunity and while I was getting paid I wasn’t getting fulfilled. I don’t regret it though because it helped me narrow down and think about how I actually want to serve others through my work. Another thing that is constantly on my mind is how to maintain my faith in a field where it’s easy to compromise. God and good community have been helping me to navigate this particular issue and I want to shout out Jesus Christ for being an example in all areas of life! Like I stated before, everything is not done yet but just know when it is, my goal will be to bring back the simplicity to photography. This way people can be more comfortable with who they are in front of the lens without feeling the need to be perfect every time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live on the eastside of Atlanta which is awesome because you get to enjoy the best parts of ATL without all the traffic and noise sometimes. I would take my friends to different styles of food spots (from brunch to Nigerian to Malaysian). I am forever raving about a spot called Food Terminal. They have two locations and I intend on taking everyone I know to that place at least once. Aside from eating, hiking is also awesome because we have to burn off all that food somehow. Stone Mountain, different parks, and maybe places like Amicalola Falls (even though I would let them walk and I’ll drive…i love my life >_<). Other places I would take my friend would be the hidden gems around the area, like the villages, coffee shops, thrift stores, etc. I would save the touristy attractions for the end, the GA Aquarium is a must though, cause I mean… come on. I’m never afraid to hit up event sites either because you never know what else could be going on, I’m still discovering ATL myself <3. Oh, and I’ll end the trip with some WaHo because why not? Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shout out all my friends and family who continuously support me and seek my services. My friends especially because they support my business 100%. They don’t ask me to lower my prices for them because they see the value in my work and this has been a major boost to my confidence to grow and has helped me see the value in my work. I want to thank my family because they put up with all my impromptu photoshoots which helps me practice a lot. I also want to shoutout any person that I have reached out to via Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media platform that actually responded back to me and answered my questions. I can’t lie, I’ve been ignored before and that’s alright, but when people do respond and carry on a conversation it makes reaching out to people and networking all the more enjoyable.

Website: isuanayo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isuan.ayo/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isuanayo

Image Credits
Isuan Oyakhire