October 22, 2016

Meet Mid City Photographer & Producer: Desi Bee Richardson

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Desi Bee Richardson.

Desi Bee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2010, I followed my intuition and moved from my home in Denver, Colorado, to Los Angeles, California. I was able to transfer my job to California but was laid off after only a few months. At the time I was just getting to a point that my photography was bringing in request to shoot weddings, parties, and events. So instead of deciding to search for another job, I decided to invest in myself as a photographer. I enrolled in YouTube University, buried myself in blogs, and online learning formats. It was pretty difficult for me to narrow down what kind of photography I wanted to hone in on.. so I decided to do it all, and my first company DesirablePhoto was born.

The unintentional genius thing about having a photography business that captured a little bit of everything was that it was an open playground to really learn about myself and my passions as an artist. I discovered that for me there is something very magical and liberating in capturing an image that displays sensuality, confidence, and soul without being overly compromising. That is what I strive for in my work. With the focus on ad campaigns, beauty, and fine art, DesiBeeRichardson.com is my way of concentrating on the work that I love, putting myself out there as an artist, and not hiding behind a brand while doing it.

Has it been a smooth road?
There was a point in time that I was only doing event photography. I was shooting for pre-award shows, wrap parties, gifting suites, and corporate events. While it was nice to have a constant flow of work, it was very demanding with the post production on hundreds of images, I didn’t have much time to shoot what I wanted to and that ultimately sent me into a creative block for a while. It was silencing me creatively because I wasn’t able to find a balance with my personal work. Now I make sure to find the time to shoot for myself because it’s easy to become consumed with shooting for everyone else.

Do you feel luck has played a role in your life?
I’m not necessarily a believer in luck but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. The good and the bad is all eventually for the good. It usually isn’t until hindsight that I’m able to see how a setback actually lined me up for something incredible.

Is there a quality or characteristic that has played an outsized role in your success?
Vision and confidence have been very important to my progression. For all of the pivotal decisions I’ve had to make, there were people that tried to talk me out of it. Sometimes those people were very close to me. Intentionally or unintentionally they projected their fears and concerns towards me. I believe that thoughts and words have power, so I stopped confiding in them for career advice. Staying in line with my truth and vision has always been a priority.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Los Angeles is full of opportunity and so many talented people that it makes you push yourself to be better in whatever it is that you do. I love that.

Least favorite thing, like most people – the traffic.

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