Behind The Lens: Shutter

We’ve got the inside scoop on yet another local hidden gem Khaaliq Thomas. Also known as Shutter, KT is a traveling photographer and videographer from Detroit. Journeying from New York to California Shutter has grown from an amateur photog into a traveling photographer with regular clientele, turning his passion into a career.

Shutter was first introduced to photography through his father. He started out in front of the camera before deciding to step behind the lens. Looking back he believes a big challenge was overcoming his fear of not being good enough at photography or putting out high quality work. Focusing on portraits and editorial photography was a challenging transition. After becoming accustomed to capturing moments that artists create themselves on stage he moved to studio shooting and portrait photography. As a creative, setting and shooting a scene and directing models was much different than capturing moments that needed no direction.

Shutter started off in Detroit and passed through both New York and Los Angeles before returning to his roots. He believes traveling creates new life experiences that influence your worldview and impact your artistry, and that you can be successful anywhere. One of his biggest challenges through his career was limiting self-beliefs and fears. He found that he sometimes worried if he was good enough or had the skill to execute his vision. Overtime through shooting and gaining new experiences he was able to trust mor in himself and his abilities. Which he used to overcome his second challenging feat of eloquently executing portrait photography.

Overtime Shutter began to seek new and intriguing opportunities and began to fall in love with videography. Through videography he found an even deeper love for storytelling. Shutter finds joy in creating experiences and bringing stories to life. Shutter currently explores videography alongside his team “The Viewers Club” where he operates as a Producer and Creative Director. In the future he plans to get his own studio and hopes to create a trade school for photographers. In the meantime he hopes to continue to build upon his knowledge and skills in photography and cinema.

Did You Know?

The very first Shutter shoot was actually a prom photoshoot! Although he had a strong desire to do portrait photos, they weren’t as requested back then. Shutter has a close relationship with his father and in 2021 took over his fathers business and clientele through Khaaliq Thomas Photography (KTP).