Keye B. and the Art of Imagining More
Before picking up a camera, Keye B. was already an artist in every sense of the word. With crayons in hand and a vivid mind, “I always wanted to create,” she shared. From doodles in the margins of school assignments to working with acrylic paint, her earliest instincts were visual and tactile, grounded in curiosity and joy.
Photography came with a desire to see her art come to life. “I could always draw a person, but I wanted to actually see them. I wanted to build the world I was imagining,” she shared. “Photography let me do that
Now, the Atlanta-based creative blends photography, set design, digital illustration, and fashion styling into experimental, character-driven visuals. Her style is vibrant, full of texture and collage-like layering. It’s not unusual to find gold-toned accents, surreal hand placements, or playful uses of props in her photos.
“I thrive in the pre-production part. I love developing a theme. As soon as a theme comes to my head, when I’m out and about, I’m like, ‘Okay, how can I do that? How can I show that differently?’”
Keye B. describes her art as a mix of realism and imagination. While her ideas are out-of-the-box, her portraits celebrate Black skin in its truest form. “I don’t do a lot of editing on faces. I want to capture natural, Black excellence and beauty,” she explained. “Lately I’ve been exploring more golds. Colors that make us glow.”
Photographed by Keye B.
When she isn’t shooting, she’s still creating. Crocheting, painting, making short films, whatever her hands can get into. This cross-medium approach is intentional. “When I need a break from one, I go to another. It resets my brain,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll be crocheting and get an idea for a shoot. It all connects.”
More than anything, Keye wants her art to open doors for others. She dreams of building a creative school or community center. “I didn’t have a lot of support growing up, aside from my mom and grandma. Everyone else told me, ‘You’re gonna be broke. You won’t make money.’ But art is a real path,” she said.
Photographed by Keye B.
Her goal is to create a space where young people can learn the ropes: photography, videography, even behind-the-scenes production. “People don’t know the options. If I had learned earlier, I could’ve had a jump on it.”
Her advice for other creatives? “Stay true to yourself. We’re in a time where it feels like everyone’s posting, everyone’s creating. But don’t let people talk you out of your ideas. You never know what will pop. Keep going. Keep following your ideas.”
Follow Keye B.’s journey on Instagram @keyeshoots and visit her portfolio to see more of her work.
Photographed by Keye B.
