Magical Visions: Black Beauty and Bright Futures

Regis and Kahran Bethencourt

Regis and Kahran Bethencourt are a husband-and-wife duo and the imaginative forces behind CreativeSoul Photography. With more than ten years of working with hundreds of children, families and brands, they specialize in child and lifestyle photography while incorporating authentic visual storytelling. As artists, CreativeSoul Photography is committed to helping kids and brands create fascinating imagery by operating as a one-stop shop offering expert creative direction, vision, planning, strategy, and execution.
"We wanted to get into the kid’s fashion industry knowing our creative side could be unleashed, we wanted to do more than just take a few photos of them in a field, we wanted to do something that incorporated hair and fashion making us drawn to photography for the kid’s fashion industry. We realized that the kid’s fashion industry lacked diversity and children who have natural afro hair had it straightened as their parents believed this was the only way for their child to make it into such an industry. We had an aha moment at that point, realizing that the industry had a huge void and we wanted to make that smaller by showcasing children with natural hair more specifically natural afro hair." -Creative Soul
- Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
  Ice Queen, 2021
  Archival Pigment Print
  24 x 16 inches
- Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
  Jeweled Tranquility, 2021
  Archival Pigment Print
  24 x 16 inches
“A lot of the kids that had natural afro hair would come in to get their headshots and their parents would have their hair straightened because they believed that’s what they had to be accepted into this industry,” remembered Kahran. “We really just started showcasing kids looking fashionable with their natural hair. -Creative Soul
Among those who have influenced Kahran and Regis is the legendary Gordon Parks who became the first African American staff photographer and writer for Life Magazine, it was while at that incredibly influential publication he would document poverty, racism and rally support for the Civil Rights Movement through his lens. It’s perhaps, this combination of looking backwards and forwards that has helped CreativeSoul forge their highly distinctive and original style. “Our inspiration comes from many places, from African culture, jewelry, hairstyles, ancestral tribal rituals, fashion and more.”
- Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
  Roots in Harmony, 2021
  Archival Pigment Print
  24 x 16 inches
- Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
  Yennenga's Triumph, 2022
  Archival Pigment Print
  24 x 16 inches
When we first started out in photography we were shooting a little bit of everything. As our photography journey continued, we started to get rid of some of the things that did not make us happy and focus on those that did. We love the innocence of children and coming up with unique concepts and photo stories for them. Although it’s often harder to execute a concept with a child it is much more rewarding for us when we see the final product.
- Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
  Spring's Blossom, 2020
  Archival Pigment Print
  24 x 16 inches
- Regis and Kahran Bethencourt
  Pride Unveiled, 2022
  Archival Pigment Print
  24 x 16 inches