Life & Work with Kamara McDaniel of Carson, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamara McDaniel.

Kamara, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hi my name is Kamara, pronounced Camera. I was named after the tennis player Arthur Ashe’s daughter. Her name is spelled like the actually Camera, so they changed mine up a bit. I would like to start with how I didn’t grow up being the most confident child, not at home or in school. I was very timid, yet I was never bullied or picked on by anyone. I remember math being a subject that I struggled with in school. History, English and Art were subjects that I naturally gravitated towards and genuinely enjoyed. I will never forget when I was in the second grade I had a teacher named Ms. Farrol. And one of our class assignments was to paint Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting, A Starry Night. That was my first time painting and consciously rembemering how fullfilling the experience was for me. After that day, I remember making the decision in my second grade mind that when I grew up, I was going to be an artist.

A little about my Father Kennis McDaniel, that man has always been a hustler. Before I was born he was a Dj, he had a car detailing business, and he was also a shoe salesman. His 9-5 job, that he did the longest, was a Phlebotomist, which is a trained healthcare professional that draws your blood. While doing his 9 to 5 job my Dad started a side hustle as aVideographer for weddings and other events. He started the videography business before I was born, which was in 1992. Eventually, my Dad shifted his videography business and began focusing more on photography. I can honestly say that as time went on he became a Master in capturing beautiful photographs. And I believe, what he really mastered, was being able to tell a story through his photographs. Keep in mind, my Father did not go to school for videography or photography, he is self taught and has been mentored by other photographers who helped him along the way.

Around the age of 18 or 19, I would start going with my Dad to his photography gigs and would assist him as a second shooter. Which means he was the main Photographer and I was the back up Photographer. My job, back then, was to simply shoot what I wanted and be creative. Many of the photography gigs were weddings. I quickly learned that I had a natural eye for photography. I also learned what it takes to photograph a wedding, as well as, other events like birthday parties, baby showers and corporate events. They all call for a lot of running around and some added stress in order to make sure you get those key moments you can’t redo. What I knew was, I didn’t enjoy being an event photographer, it didn’t light me up or fulfill me. Yet, I began going down a path where I started building a photography business of my own. Getting my own clients and following a similar path to the one my Dad carved out. But deep down, in my heart, I had a vision and I had no idea how to make it real. I wanted to create some type of blog where all things I enjoyed lived: fashion, music, photography, and talking to people.

I continued running my photography business I created in my early twenties until about 25 or 26. Around the age of 27, I made the decision that I didn’t want to photograph events anymore. It was a hard decision for me to make, because I didn’t want to let my Dad down. But, I knew I had to stay true to what was happening inside of me. I was changing and evolving. I was forging a new path for mysel, that only I could travel.

In 2018, I became the Videographer and Creative Director for Eargazmic Media. My family friend, Tyler Khimani’s media platform, where she interviewed up and coming creative talent. I recorded the interviews that we held in the park and then edited the episodes. I will never forget how I felt after we filmed our first episode. Something lit up inside of me that felt rewarding and fulfilling. I didn’t get paid for this new venture, but that didn’t matter to me. What mattered was that I was doing something that felt good in my spirit and in my soul. I did this for about a year until we got another Videographer. Tyler then would go on to ask if I wanted to be a co-host on the show.

The year was now 2019, I accepted, but I was extremely nervous about being a co-host in front of the camera. Still I stepped into it. Working alongside Tyler helped me begin growing a new muscle of interviewing people and becoming more comfortable in front of the camera. I co-hosted, Eargazmic Media, with Tyler for another year. Eventually, I felt it was time for me to step away and do my own thing. The truth is, I had no idea what that “thing” was yet. I just knew I needed to trust the feeling and figure out what it was. Simply move towards it.
Again, I was changing and evolving.

As time went on, during the year 2020, while we were all on lockdown. I began learning much more about myself. I had just gotten out of my first situationship, which left me heartbroken and extremely lost. During that time, I began doing a deep dive into studying my birth chart. Learning and studying my birth chart gave me a lot of insight into who God created me to be and what I am here to do. I would say your birth chart is like a compass. It is your personal road map that can help guide you throughout your life and it also highlights your strengths and weaknesses which I believe is good to be aware of.

In 2021, I started taking an acting class via zoom with my mentor/acting coach Elizabeth Gamza. Not only did acting open me up to be a more vulnerable person but, I also began working a new muscle, which was learning to trust myself. Although, I still didn’t have all the answers about exactly where life was leading me, I was beginning to understand something important. You have to be willing to take the next step toward the thing that keeps pulling you. This was the beginning of discovering who I was, what I was capable of and what I wanted to create in the world.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. This question made me chuckle a little because I have struggled greatly throughout my life. Even to this day, I still go through struggles in one way or another. I think that is simply a part of being human. One of the biggest struggles I have experienced in my life was the passing of my sister, Kineylle McDaniel in 2003. My sister was one year younger than me and passed away from a brain aneurysm that literally came out of nowhere. She was only 10 years old.

That loss shifted my family and me in many ways that were extremely hard. Losing someone you love, especially someone you grew up alongside, breaks you and changes you. After the passing of my sister Kineylle, I began to take on parts of her character and spirit. Even other people who knew her noticed it too. Kinyelle was an intelligent young girl, she loved learning and reading. She was confident and full of courage. Man, she was so brave! She was always the first one to step up and volunteer to do something that scared me. When we got baptized, she went first, when learning how to swim she was the first to jump off the diving board with no life jacket.

As my life goes on, I continued working the muscle to become a more confident and courageous person. Being in therapy for four years has helped with this. Then after I stopped therapy, acting became my new therapy. I also started getting in front of the camera more doing modeling which also helped build my confidence. Many of the qualities, I admired about my sister, God has allowed those qualities, to live on within me too. I always say when you lose someone close to you, you never “get over it.” As time goes on, it just gets a little easier, in terms of continuing to live your life, but it takes time. Building my brand, “Better Than Yesterday”, has not been easy and honestly I am still building it right now. There have been moments of uncertainty, moments where I questioned and doubted myself, and moments where I didn’t know exactly what direction I was going in.

But my struggles have taught me, that no matter what, I continue to moving forward. I continue to trust that God has a plan for my life and I have faith that He will guide me to where He wants me to go. And in the back of my mind, I always know, that I do all of this, for my angel, my sister, Kinyelle McDaniel.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in a few different things. But at the core of everything I do, is to always inspire others to become the best and highest version of themselves. I do this by sharing personal experiences that I have gone through. What I have learned from these experiences and then what I implemented in my own life to heal from certain situations. I want to spread wisdom and truth to free myself and to help free others. I also specialize in taking breathtaking portrait photographs of people. I truly believe that God blessed me with the gift to really see people. Especially, when they step in front of my camera, I am able to capture their true essence.

To be honest, it feels very spiritual and supernatural for me at times, because there are moments when, I don’t even know how the photographs come out the way they do. That is how I know God is real and how I know He has blessed me with the gift of taking pictures. Lastly, I specialize in talking to people and allowing them to feel safe. Safe enough, to let their guard down and simply be who they are. Authentic and real, exactly the person God created them to be. And I believe that can only happen when I am willing to show up that way myself. Authentic and real. I believe God blessed me with the ability to make people feel comfortable around me so that I can help them in some way. Whether that is simply showing kindness towards someone or it is me offering some sort of service, advice/guidance, or I am just lending an ear just to listen to somone. I want people to feel seen and heard and I try my best to do that with every person I meet and with the people in my life.

I believe I am known for being a kind creative person and for also speaking truth and wisdom into people’s lives. Creativity and communication are both such important parts of who I am. I believe they are both gifts I am meant to use.

Something I am most proud of at this point in my life is for going back to school in 2024 to study Photography. I originally signed up for a summer class just to relearn the basics of photography for myself. I didn’t have any real expectations other than wanting to learn. I definitely didn’t have a plan to continue in school and to receive a Fine Art Photography Certification. But somehow that is exactly where the path led me. I finsihed school at the end of 2025 and received my Fine Art Photography Certification in February 2026. I am so proud of myself for continuing and finishing school. After high school, I tried college, but I didn’t finish, so this was a huge accomplishment for me, investing into something, I was actually passioante about and genuinely enjoyed.

I learned so much about myself in school and what I am capable of producing creatively. I really enjoyed doing self portraits because it was both vulnerable yet, empowering to photograph myself and express what I am feeling inside or what I have experienced in my life through a photograph. OH! and of course, it was also stressful when I had no idea what the heck I was going to do for my next assignment! Yet I always figured something out. I leaned a lot on God while in school asking him for help with original ideas. He really came through for ‘ya girl’. But, through that experience I learned that portraiture is truly one of my strong suits in photography. Going forward, I absolutely see myself having my own exhibition featuring a photographic series that moves people, makes them think and has some sort of relatablity aspect to it.

What sets me apart from others is simple. I am Kamara Anntionette McDaniel. There is only one of me. And God created me to fulfill a specific purpose to inspire and lead others with truth, wisdom and creativity. We are all blessed with God given abilities and talents. But I believe what sets us apart is our story. Your story is what makes your experience different. Only your voice can tell it. There is something so powerful and empowering about sharing your story, sharing your testimony. You never know who it will inspire, who it will and help, or who might need to hear it at that exact moment. Ultimately, what I hope to continue doing through everything I create, is using my voice, my experiences, and God given gifts to make people feel seen, inspired and encouraged.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
For me, risk taking goes hand in hand with faith. What is faith? Faith is believing in something that is not yet seen. Believing that something will happen, even though, it has not yet materialized in front of you. In many ways that requires you to boldly move forward without knowing exactly what is going to happen next. And that can be scary.

I believe whenever you put yourself in a position where you don’t know what will happen next, it can activate feelings of fear, doubt, uncertainty, and even unworthiness. You begin asking yourself questions like, What if this doesn’t work? What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? What if people don’t like it? That is why my faith in God is so important to me. Through my relationship with God, I have learned how to lean on Him and surrender different areas in my life to Him as well as my emotions. That doesn’t mean I never feel fear. I most certainly do. But when those crippling emotions come up, I submit them to God. And I ask Him to fill me with boldness, confidence and a knowing that He will provide for me and take care of me. I can honestly say that God has always taken care of me. Even during seasons of my life that felt like hell on earth, He was still there. Looking back, I can see that some of those difficult moments were teaching me, molding me, and shaping me into a person who depends on Him and not merely on my own strength.

One bible verse that has really helped to fortify my faith is Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

For a lot of my life I’ve taken plenty of risks that have caused me to learn the hard way in different circumstances. Some decisions were made because I simply felt something was the right thing to do, without taking time to pray, seek God, or truly consider whether it was the right path for me. Today my outlook is much different on taking risks. Now, before I make a major decision, I pray first. Even if it’s a small decision that I’m not completely sure about I pray. I have learned that just because something feels right to me doesn’t necessarily mean it is what God has planned for me.

Sometimes we can become so confident in our own plans and what we want that we forget to ask for guidance. So, for me taking a risk means having the courage to move when God is calling me to move even when I cannot see a clear path ahead. Faith doesn’t mean knowing exactly where you are going. Sometimes it simply means trusting God enough to take the next step.

As I continue to grow, I am learning that the greatest risks I can take are often the ones that require me to trust God and to have faith that He will take care of the rest.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www,instagram.com/ayofoxxey
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aquaworlddd
• Other: https://linktr.ee/KamaraMcDaniel

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Pherran B. @visualsby_pb
Imani Corene @godsprodigyphotography
Domia Edwards: @domiaedwardsstudios
Kennis McDaniel @mcdanielkennis
Kamara McDaniel @angelkamstudios