MalikTells

05/23/2026

I've been doing studio work at the start of my photography journey.

I used to think on location shoots were difficult because you had to make sure the weather is good, it's hot, and if it's partly cloudy you have to change your settings all the time.

With studio work I set everything the way I want in the comfort of AC. I set the settings once and then just focus on the posing and mood.

Recently I find myself missing the simplicity of working with natural light and the complications that come with it.

So when this shoot came up, I wanted to see how close I could get to that natural light feel using just a touch of strobe.

graciously let me use his light. I dialed it down to just a kiss of light and worked to make it invisible.

I brought the power so low I even had to ask Bryan to back up so it's not so strong 🤣

What do you think? Does it look like it was shot with natural light or can you tell there's a strobe?

Model:

05/21/2026

I have stood in front of rooms full of photographers and creatives more times than I ever expected to.

At a local camera shop. At SA Creatives meetups. At a conference called Creative Futures. Rooms that ranged from 5 to 15 people.

I've taught from lighting to portraiture to branding to storytelling.

Every single time I stood up there I felt the same thing. Grateful and a little lucky.

It's amazing I was able to teach what I wish someone had taught me. The things that would have made starting and making easier.

It took me years to figure out what I helped others in a couple of hours and that was a huge honor for me to help build everyone else's towers around me instead of knocking them down.

If you've ever thought about sharing what you know do it. You don't have to have everything figured out. You just have to be a few steps ahead to where you used to be.

05/19/2026

Working on my second book 🫪

Second memoir out soon! Check out my first teaching memoir, link in bio. 🤓

05/15/2026

While hanging out with and I crashed their shot with and then I said....

I'll be back 😎

I ran home mid-shoot to grab the C200.

It was my first time shooting Light Raw and CLog3, and I'm not mad at it lol

35 seconds. Last minute. Model portrait reel (idk if that's a thing 🤣)

Canon C200 | Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8
Music:

05/13/2026

First generation. Bachelor of Arts. Graphic Design and Media Arts. Graduated with honors 🥹.

I wrote yesterday about building slowly and on purpose. About paying dues. About how 13 years in photography taught me things no classroom could.

This is the other side of that story. The part where you also finish what you started and walk across that stage anyway. (Or virtual stage in my case.)

To anyone building something quietly, while no one is watching, doing it because nobody in your family did it before you this one's for you too.

Thanks to for taking this for me while he was visiting. You're the best 🥹

05/12/2026

I had to step away, do my "side quests", to discover the type of photographer, cinematographer, and director I am now.

Sometimes it's like an arrow, I had to pull back to launch the arrow as far as it can go.

The old photographer is gone. The new brand photographer/cinematographer is here.

Back with a vengeance lol.

05/08/2026

It's been about 2 and a half years since I left photography.

In that time I grew into design, storytelling, and cinematography.

Building something I didn't have a name for yet.

Coming back felt like exactly what it was supposed to feel like.

Thanks to for coming down to EP and making this happen, and to for showing up and helping us with our vision.

It really was like riding a bike.

05/02/2026

This is what that session actually looked like.

Rented studio. A beauty dish from I had been wanting to get my hands on for a while. And a subject who already knew how to own a frame before I ever raised the camera.

This is what I mean when I say commercial work does not have to be complicated. Classic butterfly lighting, Canon 5D Mark III, and a 70-200 lens. Kept it simple. Make a real portrait and let the product live inside it.

The laptop on the stand is tethered so I can see each photo as I take them. That's the process. Quiet and focused and a little obsessive in the best way.

If you want to see how it turned out, check the post before this one.

03/17/2025

Every now and then I’ll put out a school project I’m actually happy with…

This is one of them 🥹

I had to make a social media advertising design with the given colors, type, copy and images.

Not to shabby if I don’t say so myself lol 😝

06/12/2023

Check out my podcast for the latest discussion on photography, business and life.

This is where I’ll be talking about my insides behind the scenes and industry topics most people don’t address for some reason and I’ll be doing interviews with intent to help future your career whether your a photographer or model.