An Exclusive Interview with Wedding Photographer Keith Cephus
Keith Cephus, the international wedding and celebrity photographer based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia has given Crème de la Bride an exclusive peak into his sensational work specialising in Indian and cultural weddings. Keith has excelled in uniquely delivering glamour, finesse and passion to the world through his indelible talents behind the camera.
A notorious and sought after photographer, his amazing talent speaks for itself. With the focus on go-getting, hard-working philosophies that he lives and works by, there is no stopping his imagination! He conveys the authentic, knowing that your day is one of the most meaningful days of your life, and therefore, he is adamant about paying special attention to the finest of details. With a loyal and humble mindset when it comes to his craft and every shot that he executes, Keith by far exceeds the expectations of each and every one of his requests made by his incredible clientele.
Crème de la Bride are showcasing an insight into the world of Keith Cephus which will transport you to his vision of glamour and luxury and present you with the perfect reason to choose the best photographer for your very special day.
Thank you Keith for speaking to Crème de la Bride. Tell us how it all began for you in this industry?
Basically, it all began, when my sister was a hairstylist in Atlanta, Georgia by way of New York and I was a young man in the Navy. I was so compelled with the glitz and glamour of the hair industry, the makeup applications; I became a photographer by default, because of my sister. She would be at the Bronner Bros. show in Atlanta and she would be competing. So, I just brought a little camera and just started taking pictures of her hairstyles. One thing led to another, and then I started shooting for all these different hair publications: Black hair Sophisticate, Shop Talk, commercial shoots for John Paul Mitchell. I linked up with my mentor and friend to this day, Barry Fletcher, from Avant Garde Hair Gallery. Before you know it, I took this passion and started shooting celebrities (Donnie Simpson, Sherry Carter) and that’s how it all began.
How long have you been in the industry?
I’ve been doing it for about 25 years, the hair and fashion thing back in 1990 and keep in mind, I’m in the Navy while I’m doing this; I’m kinda double dipping. I’m a sailor by day, a photographer by night, type of situation. As I’m trying to feed my photographic soul, I’m also serving my country.
Has your studio always been located in Virginia Beach?
Yes. I opened my first studio, Photography by Keith, back in 1992 then I started seeing the need for wedding photography to be a little bit more classy, sexy, a little bit more fashion forward. So I took my editorial and fashion background and infused it into the wedding industry.
What places have you traveled so far and where has your work taken you?
My wedding work has taken me as far as Kenya, Africa, Hawaii, Anguilla, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic a half a dozen times. Freeport, Nassau, Eleuthera, Bahamas. It’s basically been so remarkable to take advantage of so many backdrops. It really ignites my creativity; it’s really a thing of beauty.
I’m sure you’re willing to come to the UK, if need be, right?
Tomorrow! I’ll pack my bag! I’m speaking in December at the Munaluchi Coterie Retreat at the Hilton Barbados. I’m putting together a team of artists, Yemi Osunkoya, a fashion stylist and designer in the UK. He’s going to be styling in the shoot and bringing his fashionable wedding attire to Barbados. I’m really excited about working with Yemi.
So you have a team that works along with you?
Yes, well, I have my own team, but the beauty about me is that I’m the confident team player; so I can play on multiple teams, I could play on your team! With my personality, I can just kind of fit in and just get along with everybody.
One of the pinnacles of my career was shooting the cover of Munaluchi Bride Magazine at the Oheka Castle in New York and it was filmed on Blood, Sweat and Heels on Bravo T.V.; and it got me so many Instagram followers. I was on T.V. shooting the cover of Munaluchi, the 2015 spring cover; celebrity author and writer Demetria Lucas was the bride and cover model. I’m shooting her with Bravo TV cameras all over the place, and a million people all over the world saw me in action. It was fascinating! I just want to take the time to thank Jacqueline Nwobu and Chike, editor and publisher of Munaluchi Bride Magazine, for giving me that experience.
What is your favourite area in the world to shoot; do you have a favourite?
There is one that really comes to mind that is really near and dear to my heart: Old San Juan Puerto Rico, El Morro. It’s basically nothing but castles, old architecture; it’s simply amazing; If you sat there and looked at it, it would take your breath away! It’s the most amazing backdrop that you can lay eyes on. I did a photo shoot there a year and a half ago with a bride; it actually rained on us and God was so good, it stopped raining, continued our shoot, and it was one of the most amazing shoots I’d ever done!
How would you describe your vision and success that sets you apart from others in the industry?
What separates me from everybody else is my mind set. I’m a studier, I’m a master of lighting; I’m going to take risk. I’m going to take chances; sometimes those risks and chances pay off, sometimes they don’t. But as long as I’m taking risk, that’s what sets me apart from my competition. I’ll get a bride and groom to dive in the water. I’ll tell a groom. “Hey, do me a favor, take your hand, grab her dress, pull it up so I can see her thigh.” I can verbalise things that most people would be hesitant to do. Therefore, I’m getting shots that most people are not because I know how to articulate what I want. I take people out of their comfort zone, and bring them into my world. There’s a certain level of trust, and once you have that trust, you’re going to do anything I want you to do (within reason). So once I develop that trust with my clients, game on, it’s over! And that’s what separates me from most photographers; because my clients have this amazing amount of trust for me, they’ll do pretty much what I tell them to do, because they’ve seen what I’ve done in the past for other clients and they want that and it’s a thing of beauty! Trust, taking risk and pushing the envelope as far as I can!
Would you like to tell me about your credentials, the awards you have one?
The January 2013 7th Annual Presidential Leadership Award, from the Thomas Nelson Community College. They issue those awards out to the mayor, civic leaders, so it’s unprecedented for a photographer to win it.
Lifetime Achievement Award for Exceptional Leadership, Outstanding Creativity, diligence and relentless pursuit of excellence for my work in the photography industry.
Virginia Fashion Award Special Achievement Award for Photographer of the year.
Golden Scissors Heritage Photographer of the year.
Would you please share your client list with us?
I shot the book cover (Raising the Bar), for two time Olympic Gold medalist Gabby Douglas.
-Pharrell Williams/Singer, entertainer -Derek Hough/Dancing with the stars -Shemar Moore/Actor -Michael Vick/Athlete -Michael Jordan/Athlete -Darryl Tapp/Athlete
You specialize in Indian and cultural weddings; what drew you to that type of photography?
A gentleman called me one day in 2005, and he said “Hey look, I’m a resident doctor, I don’t have much money, everybody has turned me down, I need a photographer just for five hours; it’s not really a wedding, it’s an engagement party. But their engagement parties are like full blown weddings.” So I asked him, What is your budget? He said, “I have $1,000.” Then I said, just by you coming clean with me, I will do it. Then he said “If you do this, I will open doors that you never thought were possible.” I said look man, I’m from New York; you don’t have to give me a bunch of B.S. Then he went on to say, no this is for real, I will bless you. So I did his engagement party; it was beautiful, it was colorful. When I tell you, the flood gates poured after that, I must have done at least 25 to 30 Indian weddings. Mainly off of him and them seeing that I could do it. I did Raj and Namrata’s wedding in 2008 and they were so connected in Virginia, and that also perpetuated into an onslaught of Indian weddings.
The thing about Indian weddings is that if you can’t show that you can do it, they will never take a chance on you, you can forget it. They don’t care how pretty your work is; first of all, you have to have unprecedented stamina. The ceremony itself, we start at 6 am, we finish at 3 pm. We might have a break from 3 to 5 pm. Then we will go from 6 pm to 2 am. That’s an 18 hour day! It will break you down! It’s a 3 day ceremony; by the time you get through the last day, you got nothing left!
Your military background obviously prepared you for this work?
Absolutely, you couldn’t have said it better! And get this, you need a team. I have 3 photographers. So I’ve got to train these guys to not only have the skill set, but have the mindset and stamina, determination and grit to survive these 3 days! It’s like going into battle! Battle? I would rather go to war! That would be easy!
Would you like to share with the magazine and our audience any exciting endeavours that are coming your way?
Right now, I’m working on a couple of projects one has to do with a camp for inner city kids. To teach these kids the ropes about photography and how to be successful as opposed to trying to be the next Lebron James or P Diddy. There are other things you can do beside sports and entertainment, like writing, photography, the arts, dancing. I just want to really elevate the awareness of the power of photography. I’m always giving back, mentoring photographers, actively coaching the community, to the kids, trying to make them champions. I speak at middle schools and high schools. I’m giving back!
Keith, would you like to add anything else?
I’m blessed to have my wife of 20 years who is my office manager who runs the business and my daughter Brittany, my sons Brandon and Christian, 17 and 14 years of age, who assist me with projects. It’s just a thing of beauty…
Thank you very much Keith, for taking the time to speak exclusively to Crème de la Bride. We just can’t wait to see what you will create next and very much looking forward to seeing you again!
I am a 48-year-old former hairstylist who loves life. While I thrived in the hairdressing world for 30 years, I was blessed to have accomplished many skills and talents. I am now at the intermediate level of learning the Romanian language, and in the process of translating certain documents from English to Romanian. In 2013, I wrote and published a novel, “It’s Not Your Hair,” which is available on Amazon.com. It is a great blessing and privilege to have the opportunity to write for the Crème de la Bride magazine. My belief has always been this: All things are possible when you believe!
Originally published at www.cremedelabride.com on September 20, 2015.
