It is safe to assume that when growing up, the influences around you can play a huge role in whom you become later on in life.
This is especially true of people who are well established in creative fields. Brent Beckles, affectionately known as Bex, is no exception. He’s the founder and owner of BexPhotoPro. While the Corinth Secondary alumnus is known as a renowned photographer. Brent’s skills span a range of disciplines, including music, singing and drawing. In our interview with him he told us more about his work and his occupational journey so far, and even shared a few gems he has picked up along the way. Here’s what he had to say…
Who is Brent and how did he get into photography?
Brent: I’d consider myself a creative, I always have been. I was actually into graphics first, then I transitioned into photos. It was an opportunity that I took while working at Sandals. I did art at school so I was always into painting and drawing. My dad would teach me how to do those things when I was younger. I always liked them more than academics. I had to do the maths and so on to survive but (lol) it wasn’t my go-to thing.
I worked normal jobs at some point while trying to figure out what I wanted to do because I didn’t have a clear career path, but honestly, with the whole arts thing, I didn’t want to become an architect… which is what you’d usually hear when you can draw well. Still, I went to Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) and started the whole process, but I didn’t finish because I was just slacking around (lol). During those days we had lots of parties and I was the one doing the flyers for the parties.
Were you thinking of graphic design as a business at that time?
Brent: I thought about that after I left school, so here and there I made a little money from graphic design, but I didn’t know how to take it seriously as a business. Fast forward to now, all the things I learned I can still do for myself. I designed my own logo, for example. I spent some time working on a cruise ship but I didn’t find much fulfilment. Certain places I’d work, it’d just be like filling the void to make a salary, but my mind wouldn’t let me settle on that.
What kind of influence did your dad have on your creative side growing up?
Brent: He dabbled in the arts. As time went on he’d move away from it, but even in doing his thing — cabling, technician work — I could see his artistic touch added to it.
Where do you pull inspiration from now? 
Brent: I would give it to The Memory Lane, Jesse Evans and Wavemaker Photography. Wavemaker is a good influence, especially on the business side. When I was just transitioning to working for myself, Belle Portwe really helped me, and now we help each other. We have this little clique of photographers that help and elevate each other. I always say, without competition there is no growth (lol). When you see somebody doing something, that’s when you realise that you too can step up your game. It’s not really about competing though, it’s just about making each other better.
Another thing for me is, I really don’t have a comfort zone. I like to dabble in a lot of things that I’m not good at, even if I’m not posting any of it. As of this year I started doing videos. I’ve been wanting to attempt the whole YouTube channel thing, with vlogs and so on. It’ll take a lot of time and effort to get it done well.
What was your process for learning the business side of things?
Brent: It was a lot of trial and error, especially when it comes to dealing with clients. Standard business practices like contracts, for example… someone calls you for a shoot today, you won’t ask them to bring a deposit and sign a contract because they’re coming with the money for the shoot today. And then that person might not show up. You can always say it’s good to have contracts but different situations require different approaches. So you learn as you go, roll with the punches. I find that people respect you more when you’re more professional. If you act like you’re doing a side hustle then they’ll treat you like you’re doing a side hustle.
How has your perspective on photography changed 14 years after you started this journey?
Brent: When I started, I was very interested in learning. The enthusiasm was there to just figure the camera out. Now that I know how to use it, I’m always looking for new ways to use it. I always tell people, when you hold the camera, the only way you can be creative is if you know everything about it. If you spend more time fiddling with the settings and buttons, then you can’t really focus on being creative. The next step is to then learn different ways to use it.
I find that doing things differently happens so often in photography. It’s like this unspoken trend that, if you like something one way now, in a couple months you notice that you just don’t want to do it like that anymore… and if you’re looking at other people’s work, you subconsciously try to emulate those techniques to grow and get better. There’s never a plateau once you have that growth mindset. As for my work, I think it remains the same but it always changes (lol).
Where do you see photography and other creative art forms shifting with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence?
Brent: I see things moving in a positive direction because AI makes things happen a lot quicker for us. People think that AI will take away our jobs but the software that we use has been using AI for well over a year now, with cropping, background adjustments and so on. It makes things easier. I see that it’s moving in that direction more and more so I see it as a positive thing. You know how people say phones are so good now we don’t need photographers, but really they don’t have the expertise to make the most of it. we in the industry take time to learn our craft and develop our skills, while other people don’t have the time for that (lol).
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Brent: Get better lenses! It would’ve hurt my pockets but it would’ve also helped my growth a lot more and helped me see what proper lighting looks like, and everything else. Not doing that caused me to struggle a lot to find my style with really cheap lenses (lol). I wouldn’t say break the bank to get the high-end G Master lenses, but just get proper lenses. All the other things just took time to learn… and I wouldn’t have tried to pass that advice onto myself back then because I just wouldn’t listen (lol).
For people following in my footsteps, I’d say stick to it. You can do photography as a side hustle, but you still need to treat it like a business. You have to take it to another level. If you’re just treating it like a side thing, you won’t get enough from it to encourage you to keep going. After a while, you’ll make a bit of money here and be creative there, but whatever you give priority to will just take over from that. My advice is to be true to it and stick to it. Countless people ask me this, but truthfully you have to fight for it. I can’t hold your hand and tell you what to do.
Another thing is, photographers coming along after us don’t have to worry about things we had to worry about because we’ve answered a lot of those questions. When the Association of Photographers started we did so much. There was Kareem Stanley who did the retouch course. Wavemaker showed us how to have a different kind of business in photography. There was Belle Portwe who showed that the destination wedding scene in St. Lucia is still very much alive. A lot of photographers came from shooting on film and then transitioned into digital, while still using the same methods. When we came up, we added to it because the whole editing aspect of photography wasn’t really there. Now it’s better than a lot of what’s in the Caribbean. Now the next generation coming up, Shavz Photo, Yolo, The Right Angle, they’re bringing up the standard once again.
Brent has certainly come a long way on his journey and has offered some solid advice to up-and-coming photographers. We have no doubt he will achieve even more success in his future endeavours, and in whichever field he decides to extend his creativity!
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FUN FACTS
Favourite social media app?
Instagram.
Dream photoshoot client?
Any celebrity… a high-fashion model, on a street with proper lighting and stuff.
Most memorable bit of advice?
Always reinvest in the business… and always be kind and show love.
