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

Hi Antonio, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I realized early on that I had an eye for capturing the moment back in high school. I would ask my sister for her camera just so I could play with it and learn how to get the right angles and try to capture things in my own unique way. Over time, I started being able to brainstorm creative ideas for photoshoots in my head before even shooting. When I went off to college, I had developed a good eye to create, but I didn’t have a camera of my own. Sometime during freshman year, I decided to take a chance on a Nikon camera so that I could start creating. My passion for photography and creating grew as I started doing more shoots and realized how much I liked working with other creative people. After growing more in the hobby that I loved, I decided to create IMAGESBYBARNES which is a photography business that mainly focused on creative portraits for models in the beginning, but now has expanded to business headshots, model + stylist portfolio content, blogger + creator content, plus so much more!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There are a few things that I do in life. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Mississippi State University. Computer Engineering was a tough field to get through, but by the grace of God, I was able to excel and secure a job offer before graduating. I currently work as a software engineer for Lockheed Martin. Outside of my normal job, I have my own businesses that I focus on. I have IMAGESBYBARNES of course. I have Inspirit Properties which is a real estate business that focuses on rental properties. I hope to create a separate business in the future that will focus on flipping properties. I also have a new brand that I recently launched on 4.2.22 called FAITH REFINED which is a Christian brand that focuses on inspiring hope and freedom in Jesus Christ (thefaithrefined.com). I’ve learned that with God guiding me in all that I do, there’s no way that I can fail because He is faithful and true to His Word.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For breakfast or brunch, I would take them to Jonathon’s Diner in Oak Cliff which has some of the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had. If we get hungry hours before dinner, I would go to a few of my favorite spots: Blue Sushi Sake Grill in uptown, Wing World in Oak Cliff, Rocket Burger or Maple and Motor Burgers. For dinner, I would suggest a few of my favorite spots depending on the vibe: HayWire uptown, Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine Dallas, or Paradiso. I would take them to explore all the different areas of Dallas like Downtown, Deep Ellum, Uptown, and Lower Greenville. For fun, we could check out a Mavs, Cowboys, or Rangers game. We could also try try things like bowling and gaming, art museums, or some outdoor activities like hiking, biking, or water sports on a lake. To wrap up the trip, I would take them to my church, SOCIAL DALLAS (IG: @social_dallas)!

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 shoutout my fiancée, Kayla Young, who does creative directing and styling. She has her own brand, Aurorairis, which focuses on styling clients and styling and directing creative photoshoots. She’s helped me create and style some of my most recent creative shoots. Her website is www.aurorairis.com. Her business IG is @aurorairisstylingco. Her personal IG is @stylebyaurorairis. Would love to see her style the whole entire DFW!

Website: imagesbybarnes.com

Instagram: imagesbybarnes

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/antoniodbarnes/

Other: personal instagram: antoniodbarnes (this is my main page that shows everything) real estate instagram: inspiritproperties brand instagram: thefaithrefined brand website: thefaithrefined.com

Image Credits
@imagesbybarnes on instagram

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