Tonal's Corner

06/05/2025

As a full-time freelancer sometimes I have to take the most random jobs. For the past four months I’ve been substituting as an ML Teacher supporting 1st, 2nd and 4th grade students part-time out west.

It’s been nice to get out the house and away from my computer editing all day, but it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to these kids.

While they pushed my buttons at times, tbh who doesn’t, it has been amazing to watch them grow as individuals and work through hard moments. They don’t always get it right, but I appreciate when they try challenging things.

Who knows maybe next year I’ll be a photography or yearbook club w the kiddos. But for my graduation gift to them as they enter middle school was professional photos of them at their sneaker ball.

Safe to say they loved it! 📸

✨

05/09/2025

08/07/2024

just a round up of some of my favorite close-up installation shots of piecemeal curated by at

I loved shooting this installation of works from these fabulous artists! This show was reaching a lot of ppl and I’m glad to witness and photograph it for the archives of the future.

I’m looking to do more work w artists to photograph their shows and installation works. Got a show coming up? Know a large show in need of documentation? I’m your photographer!

Also, side note, if you want to see and experience all that it takes to make a photo come to my workshop, Art Making as World Building at . This is a group activity where together we will work to create and capture an image.

Come for the art activity, stay for the community 💜

05/06/2023

To do this work I must acknowledge the inherent danger of being visible, of being out.

It costs many their jobs or being able to secure a job that doesn’t decide not to hire them because of their gender or sexuality, lifelong relationships with family and friends, and many other things.

Each time we share our stories of q***rness they are not always received with compassion or care.

With all these things in cnsiderstion, as a photographer and writer, I have come up with the following to address some of this:

-families reserve the right to use an alias /nickname/removing last name or a variation
-families will have final say in whether your IG handle is tagged or noted in any capacity
-questions around gender and q***rness will only be directed towards adults 18+ and comments around gender and sexuality mentioned by youth will not be included unless otherwise asked by family
-families can review the photo and quote options prior to any publishing

Let me know below if something else should be added or if you have a specific request. Sign up in bio! A few more slots available! Sign-up will close when five families are selected. ✨ ***rfamily

01/27/2023

more often than I care to admit, I wonder what type of artist am I, and usually that comes at the cost of comparing myself to someone else’s lived experiences wondering why I’m not “that” type of artist. why my art doesn’t hit or make waves like that.

and as I think about it more I’ve constantly been comparing myself trying to be a certain type of person that I thought would get me the attention, the accolades, but tbh (bc even those havent been enough) the deep desire to feel loved, respected, and cared for.

and so I’d disassociate from my life desiring to live someone else’s but w rose tinted glasses bc who’s to say their life was any better than mine. who’s to say they too aren’t suffering in silence fighting to feel valued based on their work. fighting to be seen. to be cared for, respected.

the truth is I’ve always had to know what I was doing. from growing up in abusive household to dealing w an abusive world. my Black q***r non-binary body has always just been seen as a disposable body. and so even I dreamed of disposing it for another. hell even I still dream on days my chronic pain hurts so much to even stand or move.

and so now as someone who spent their life, three decades perfecting the art of holding my feelings it, it makes perfect sense that my art is moody. it was the one of many things I wasn’t allowed to be. ✨ ✨

01/26/2023

the truth about life is very seldomly is our art, our work, our tools, or literally anything is the first of its kind. it is more likely that what we create is a representation of who and what we’ve come in contact with. or what we learned. even true/exact copies of “original” pieces like duplicates art are rare.

so when we create something based on what or who we’ve gained inspiration or knowledge from that should be noted. even when we can’t remember who exactly it was. it doesn’t take away from your work in fact it allows people to see that art is not created in a vacuum. that we create and grow based in community.

this inspo was from someone’s IG who I cannot find and it’s a common pose on .

so often enough I don’t recreate images because it seems too difficult or I don’t know where to start. so I thought why not try some new stuff when I’m around some new faces bc Black women, femmes, and enbys support one another like no other. ✨

01/26/2023

it’s so interesting how you can have so many artist’s in the same room w the same models and end up w vastly different images….not just from poses, but from lighting, tone and editing.

this was one of my first photo networking events of the year and it didn’t not disappoint.

here is modeling w her camera .studio

Feb bookings opening soon! got some special projects I want to create or be part of this year ✨

✨

12/30/2022

event photography is probably one of the types of photography I struggle with w bc it has the most variation. I often am unsure how photos are going to come out or if clients are going to like them. often doubting myself when ppl turn their back and others turn towards the camera. add in being on my feet for hours is hard when I have chronic pain. so, I don’t take these gigs often and I have come up with some boundaries to help me stay aligned w producing the best photos possible:

1. the event has to be accessible and have limited stairs. w my pain going up and down the stairs take time. often I’m moving way slower than others. so going up and down the stairs cannot be part of my job too.

2. The event shoot time has to be 4 hrs or less. being on my feet for long periods of time make me even more tired. and depending on the severity of my pain that day also make it difficult to walk.

3. I try not to do events where it’s just a Photo Booth or where it’s a super active/large event. with my pain I need to move around a little bit, but having to go far across a room can mean that maybe I’ll miss some important shots.

4. I need a shot list if I’m shooting events. no if, an’s or but’s about it. If my clients don’t have one I’ll gladly help create one, but still I have had ppl ask for shots not on the shot list. please try not to do this to photographers and if you do need to add something say it at the beginning, not when the shot is happening.

5. I try to only shoot events that fill my cup. Since it is difficult and hard on my body these have to be things that I’ll enjoy to a certain extent.

it’s been difficult this year in general w my chronic pain and limited mobility, but I was still able to capture a lot of ***rjoy through and here in Chicago….and that meant everything to me 💜 ✨ ***rjoy

12/26/2022

we go together REAL bad!
will always ask for a pic and I’ll always oblige. I blame it on the Leo in our charts lol but in all seriousness I didn’t know I’d meet such a sweet soul. it’s no wonder her voice is like butter. honored to hear unreleased and released music sung to me, quite literally. check out her work on all streaming platforms!

is always moving and shaking. down to connect to finish a project or just to hang out. playing in the shadows yet knowing when to step into the light. evading the camera and yet always being impacting.

and my dear , a warm light. ready to affirm, to hold a friend’s hand, or simply to laugh. a person who will show up and show out. we met in three different spaces before we were like we should hang out and be friends lol

happy to have met y’all, to call you all friends, and to bring to life to every third Thursday together! 💜 ✨

12/16/2022

this past fall, and if I’m being honest year or lifetime lol, I have taken on projects that didn’t feel the best bc I was just trying to have work to show. to show that look I’m a photographer too. and that was exhausting.

but then there were projects that just fed my soul and was one of them.

I had the honor of being the team’s archival photographer for in-person events around Chicago for the last half of 2022.

this set of photos was For the Singers x

if you’re not familiar w it’s truly a space of comfort and ease for performers. and it gave me my soft launch for performing poetry ✨

10/19/2022

imagine you’re making your way to the dungeon for your solo exhibition…the guests are waiting and you are R E A D Y!

this heaven and hell set is for you to explore your kink side. even the ones that you have hidden. the ones that have been called hellish or that got heavenly praise for. these photos are for you!

grand a friend or a boo AND a ticket for this Sunday evening event. link in bio!

07/10/2022

one of my favorite gifts from was Jordan sending a song to me after i took these photos of them…i just stood there in awe.

prolly one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.

also check out that 🍰

this gift made me start to ask other artist friend and collaborators to give me gifts in exchange for my services

i can’t wait to see what else im gifted!!! ✨