Meet Khavory Lee | Portrait Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Khavory Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Khavory, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks in the catalyst in my career, starting from the first moment I used a DSLR camera. When I first had the chance to shoot portraits it was a complete “fake it till you make it” experience. I was sitting in a coffee shop in Dallas, Texas, where I overheard an Instagram meet up was starting nearby. I took opportunity as a chance to see what all the buzz was about, borrowed my friends camera that she had in her backpack, and followed the crowd of models and photographers to take portraits amongst the city. This theme of risks is what carried me all the way from Dallas to Los Angeles in 2020 where I took the chance to move here with my camera and the goal to uplift people and business’s voices through photography. Now I am blessed to see my photography career snowballing toward my dreams with every chance I get to showcase my talents with someone new.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My mission in all of my work is to showcase an individual in a light they have not yet themselves scene. I am fueled by the challenge of bringing a different look than what they are used to. it is a motivating to keep breaking the molds and paradigms we find ourselves trapped in from time to time. So this is always my first goal when starting a new project. I believe this theme is what tends to attracts people to my work, and creates a unique connections between models and I. However this tasks is not always the easiest. A lot of the time I find the lens I see creativity becoming foggy by the pressures of life. So I have learned the best thing to do is for me to tap back into the foundation of my creativity, my family and African American culture. I will spend time meditating on the nostalgia of my younger years. For example watching old sitcoms like Moesha and Martin, playing albums my brother and I would blaring the car, or looking up old Jet magazine features my mom use to stash in out living room.
I believe the foundation of my African American culture is a symbol I constantly try to keep in my work. There is always some ode to my culture in my work that I like to sneak in through styling or through the setting in which I am shooting in.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My go to brunch spot for my visitor would be Vee’s Cafe in West Adams. They have a stellar chorizo burrito that I can’t get enough of. Another must on the list for me is a day at The Getty museum. I just love aimlessly walking around in that serene space. It is always so inspirational. For out evening out I would start the night getting dinner at Alta Adams in West Adams, and then take a trip to Highland Park to have an evening drink at Gold Bar while we listen to the disk jockey play vinyls. I also love spending the day shopping in Atwater Village. There are endless shops that I love to get lost in, and ending it with lunch at Dune.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my team at The LA Look, Maureen and Nick Borsodi. This is the place in which I was finally given chance to showcase my creativity on a larger platform, while having the guidance on how to build a prospering business in the fashion industry. They are consistently motivating me to continue down the path of starting my own creative agency in the future.

Website: khavorylee.com

Instagram: @khavory.lee

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/khavory-lee-585266165

Facebook: Khavory Lee

Image Credits
Model 1: Malik Model 2: Chidiogo A. Model 3: Ginger Rodriguez Model 4: Kaleb Ohlemacher Model 5: Coen Clemente Model 6: Mckenzie Caldwell Pope Model 7: Axel Rosa Model 8: Katarina Jadlow