Meet Deon Cullum | Portrait, Event, And Street Photographer

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

Hi Deon, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I couldn’t quite tell you the origin of my aspirations, but from a very young age I’ve always been very expressive when it comes to anything visual. I used to draw a lot as a child, and admittedly they weren’t the most beautiful or even coherent most days, but there was always the urge to want to take any kind of idea that stirred in my brain, and put it to paper. Poetry and storytelling had always been a part of my life, and I also played a lot of video games, which helped to shape my aesthetic. I guess you could say that it just always felt natural to me to want to be a creative, and I never wanted to do anything else, because any other occupation was just completely unfulfilling.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I honestly feel that I’m still growing as an artist, so I’ve not reached the pinnacle of all of what I would like to accomplish. I feel that what truly sets me apart from others is my desire to not only take great photographs but to tell the story behind the image. I know that sounds like kind of a pretentious answer, but that’s just my honest approach. Whenever I’ve taken street photos, I’m not necessarily set on the prettiest composition, best lighting, or if every element is in focus, but whether or not you as a viewer would be captivated by what I was able to capture.

I want the world to know about me because I’m just simply wanting to grow as an artist, and I’m not afraid to take certain risks that fall in line with what I am wanting to build. Over the years, I’ve learned to cast off anxiety about art and to embrace challenges. If given the right amount of time, tools, and opportunities, I’m confident that I can produce work that not only is aesthetically powerful, but something that ultimately glorifies God.

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned in the past few years of pursuing the craft of photography is to never allow your photographs to define who you are as a person. If you fail to produce great work at one point or another, you shouldn’t allow your world to come crashing down on you. Rather, simply seek opportunities to learn and grow from what you were able to accomplish at that moment, and what you were not able to accomplish. Though there may be artists of greater visibility than others, I know that all of us in the creative world have had times of great success, and times of heartache. The important part is to lay the foundation at the beginning, and not allow anything that is fleeting or temporal to define you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m admittedly a homebody for the most part, but if I had to pick a place, you can’t go wrong with the Fort Worth Stockyards! I used to work in that area for a brief time as a member of The Cowboy Channel, and I never ceased to be amazed at the depths of cowboy culture, fashion, livestock, and especially food!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many that I can’t count because they didn’t just shape me as an artist, but really as a person and a Christian in the creative world. If I could boil it down to a few, it would surely be my mom, who never ceases to be my biggest cheerleader, and has always supported me even when I had not been the most consistent in life.

Next would be my high school film teacher Randy West, who exemplified not only dedication to his craft, but also had amazing, upright character and integrity.

My cinematography professor, Douglas Miller, pushed me to not only think through many of the technical aspects of filmmaking but to explore how various forms of art can shape my mind and heart as I grow as an artist.

Lastly, I want to give a special shoutout to my church family, who have never ceased to pray for me and have supported me in nearly every season of my life, good or bad.

Website: deonigel.art

Instagram: @deonigel

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deon-cullum-2a2733b6/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deonigel

Image Credits
Male Model: Ken Minier Female Model: Oksana