ZARE Meets Yossy Akinsanya.
Folayosade Akinsanya, better known as Yossy, is a 22-year-old digital PR intern, photographer and business owner from Hertfordshire. ZARE met Yossy to chat about navigating business as a young black woman, her career intentions, future goals regarding photography, and the importance of showing support to other creatives.
What got you interested in photography and how many years have you been shooting for?
Rewind to about four years ago, my sister would force me to take her blog photos, and in all honesty, I hated it. But once I left for university and found out that psychology wasn’t what I had envisioned, I needed a creative release that wasn't my blog. Photography happened to be that release.
How did you convince your parents that the creative path was one you wanted to take after graduating with a Psychology degree?
It took a lot - there was a point where my parents told me to leave my camera at home as they were worried that it would distract me from higher education. But once they saw the opportunities it was bringing me, the pay and happiness, they started to understand and ask me more about it.
How is it navigating photography as a young black woman and how do you represent these experiences and values in the work you produce?
It's hard. There's so much competition, and growing up I had already felt that I needed to work ten times harder to prove myself as a young black woman. But I'm so grateful for black-owned publications like gal-dem, who are actively doing more to give people like me opportunities. I can't tell you how much I love those women, they were my first well-paid gig and I will forever be grateful for the love they consistently show me. I also feel a duty to have my work reflect my culture, and it's amazing when my concepts align with clients. For example, the shoot I did for gal-dem recently, which was a part of the launching of their new hair column. This one felt very close to home.
I guess why I can be slow to shoot and get things done is because I want things to be perfect. When you see photos of mine, I want you, as the consumer, to recognise what I was trying to achieve from the get-go. From mood-boarding, to finding the perfect face, to the editing - it's all part of the photographic journey. I like to edit in my room, as it's my sanctuary and where I feel most comfortable. I can be quick with editing if I know the story I'm trying to tell, however, my pickiness can also delay me a lot. Regarding my concept shoots, I aim for my editing style to try and evoke some kind of emotion. For instance, with the gal-dem hair column photos, the aim was to have black girls and women look at those photos and be transported back in time to similar memories and recollections.
In regards to your portraiture work, you tend to capture a range of diverse individuals - could you speak on the importance of building a relationship with those behind your lens?
I can't stress how important picking the right
people to shoot with is. One thing I've learned as a photographer is that not every client is a good one. I’ve learned not to take every job just because of the money. If you don't get a good vibe, do not go ahead with the shoot. I've taken to scouting out my own models for my concept shoots. I like to check people's socials and also sit with my models after to genuinely get to know them on a personal level. I've met the most amazing people who have turned into such good and supportive friends. It's crazy knowing how in-sync your lives can be - young, struggling and trying to make it in London. I like finding unique faces, people of different ethnicities, sexualities, and religions. It's more refreshing.
people to shoot with is. One thing I've learned as a photographer is that not every client is a good one. I’ve learned not to take every job just because of the money. If you don't get a good vibe, do not go ahead with the shoot. I've taken to scouting out my own models for my concept shoots. I like to check people's socials and also sit with my models after to genuinely get to know them on a personal level. I've met the most amazing people who have turned into such good and supportive friends. It's crazy knowing how in-sync your lives can be - young, struggling and trying to make it in London. I like finding unique faces, people of different ethnicities, sexualities, and religions. It's more refreshing.
I always see your work gaining a lot of traction via social media, particularly Twitter - what is one piece of advice you'd give emerging creatives looking to stand out?
Give out the energy you want back. I pride myself on being supportive and showing love to people, regardless of whether I get it back. I'm just lucky I have such a supportive network of friends, family, and even online friends. I’d also say not to be afraid to promote your work and to post often. The Refinery29 office in New York found me via social media, and that’s how I ended up getting paid to shoot at London Fashion Week for them. All because my photos ended up getting retweeted onto their timeline.
Your portfolio feels like a catalogue of reminiscence – but, fast forward to five years from now… where do you see yourself? What are your goals?
Oh boy, five years? I don't want to be a digital PR intern. I want to be paid to bring my concepts to life. I want to be paid to bring MY visions to life. I mean, shooting for Vogue would be great and I would love to do that, but being paid by a brand or company and being told "you're in charge, do whatever you want”, that would be the dream. I have ideas, I just don't have the money to bring all of them into fruition, but by God's grace that won't always be the case. I want to own a creative company where I can give other minority creatives paid opportunities. I want to hold events, maybe even start a magazine and pay people to write, to interview, to do press shots, who knows.
Am I right in thinking you also own a jewellery line? Could you talk a little bit about that?
Yes, I do. I am very money-oriented, it's something that can bite me in the arse sometimes. I don't know how to rest. This is like my third business - I started in secondary school and had huge success via Depop, then decided to rebrand and come back as FOAKI (a mixture of my first and last name). I want to do more with this brand, I just don't know what yet, but it's my other little baby. I'm super proud of it, and I've received orders from all over the world - from Europe to The United States, to New Zealand, it blows my mind.
What’s it like running a black-owned business? Could you speak on the importance of supporting the queens behind them?
It's fun sometimes, as I'm still very small and I run it by myself, every order brings me joy. I would love to have the funds to hire help, but it's still in the early stages. Every order feels like someone saying "I believe in you and what you're doing", so it means a lot to me. I'm trying to be more supportive of black-owned businesses myself, I can't tell you how many pieces I've bought from KAI in the last few months. There's a lot of competition, and selling the same things as other companies can be discouraging at times, but when people decide to consciously make the decision to shop from you instead, you gain that enthusiasm back.
Where else can you find Yossy online?
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