Hey!! My name is Renae, but I go by IIRONIC. I was born in California, but my family is from Cleveland, Ohio. My road to photography is a very roundabout journey. I originally wanted to go to college for it, but I talked myself out of it at the time due to fear. Instead, I majored in Advertising and Design and worked full-time as a #Designer and #ArtDirector for several years. However, the regret of not pursuing photography nagged at me for so many years, so I bought a camera and decided to go for it; no excuses. I could never intern or work as a photo assistant because I worked full-time, so I had to go hard on my own and shoot as much as possible. The more I shot and the more consistent I was, the more my name got around, and the more opportunities came in. In 2016 I took a leap of faith and quit my job to pursue photography full-time. Once I did that, many doors opened; I went on tour a couple of times, worked with some dope artists and brands, and it just kept building and expanding from there.
I'm passionate about what I do because I'm so deeply intrigued by people and their minds; the way they think, who they are, why they are who they are, why they think the way they think, etc. I love the depth, layers, stories, and complexities in people and life, so photography helps me dive deeper into that and connect with people. I love to learn, and I love to understand. On the other side, I'm very much a visual person, and I love communicating visually. I love to make people feel.
I've been a storyteller for most of my life because I've always been an artist, and I believe artists naturally are storytellers. Growing up, I drew a lot and wrote poetry. Then, professionally, I was a Designer, art Director, and now Photographer. So I don't think I was ever not telling stories.
My favorite part about doing what I do is that I get to express myself freely and creatively and move people and make people F E E L.
I've worked with Daniel Kaluuya, toured with Ella Mai, and worked with Billboard. I'd love to work with Erykah Badu, Pharrell, Tyler The Creator, pgLang, and Vogue.