Meet Carlean McWright of KapShaun

In August of 2017, I founded KapShaun /caption/ with my business partner, Jasmine McWright. It is a videography, photography, and editing company, that captures the true essence of its subject through the lens. The company name derived from a family name, “Shaun”. The first half was for creative purposes. I became inspired to start KapShaun after I struggled to get hired locally. At the time, I was a recent graduate from college. I was eager to apply my learnings to the “real” world. Unfortunately, the “world” was not ready for me. Therefore, I found myself unemployed and struggling to make a living.

One day, while I was applying to yet another job. My mother came to me and she asked, “Why not start your own business? You have the skillset to do so”. I pondered for a moment. Honestly, I was very reluctant. However, I knew she was right. I took her advice and we started looking through names. Then it came to life, “KapShaun”.

The journey of starting KapShaun was fairly easy. The bumps arose when my desire to maintain in business seemed to deteriorate. I am KapShaun’s lead photographer and videographer, therefore most visuals are coming from my eye site. As an artist, I work from my heart. My heart tells me when I am done and when a project is incomplete.

Upon opening our business, my partner and I wanted to increase our clientele. We received various project ideas from a variety of clients. Executed all of them to the best of our abilities. While, most clients were extremely satisfied, there were those that were dissatisfied. Feeling as if I failed to meet their expectations, my heart broke. As the lead producer, I felt I was failing KapShaun. I began to rethink my skillset. So, I would work overtime in postproduction. I wanted to be certain I did not have to experience that again. Just for the same thing to happen once more. Then, I had a realization. I was not working from the heart any more, but solely from negative criticism. This defining moment led me to understand, “Not everyone is going to love your work”. Secondly, I am forgetting about the 85% that enjoy our work. Furthermore, I did not start a business to please people, but to share impactful stories. I want to make certain that my clients (especially those of color) are seen in their best light.

Personally, I feel that the negative criticism came from those that expected us to follow a trend. As well as, some simply wanted to challenge our artistry. Regardless, we learned from both. However, I am not a fan of trends. I believe that if we attempt to follow the trend, we will get lost in a world of uncertainty. Whereas, if my heart lead us, then our work will have a lasting impact on those we touch.

KapShaun is a mobile company comprised of videography, photography, and editing. We work diligently with our clients to bring their visuals to fruition. It is ran by myself, Carlean McWright and my partner, Jasmine McWright. Where I am the lead photographer and videographer, Jasmine is the business partner that assist on set. Also, she manages the finances of the company. Although, we are both under 30, we take pride in growing KapShaun together. Since 2017, we have produced a variety of content. The photos consist of graduations, birthdays, families, couples to name a few. On the other hand, the videography portfolio includes weddings, workouts, commercials, memorials, documentaries, etc.

Our latest projects have been focusing on sharing the experience of women of color. As black women, we want to provide a voice for our local sisters. Our latest projects are majority of documentaries. In March 2020 we produced, “Dancing to the Beat of Kalena”, it is a documentary that shares the experience of a black, female hiphop dancer in Atlanta, GA. Kalena Sharay shares her challenges of being noticed in an environment continuously changing its expectations. We still have projects in the works. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 production was halted. Therefore, we had to push the release dates back on several projects. However, once they are complete they will be shared via social media.

We are most proud of the efforts placed in each project. I think our work ethic sets us apart from many. We do not produce content to follow the trend. Instead, we carefully get to know our clients / subjects off-camera in order to bring to life who they are on camera. Authenticity is in each package deal we offer. Everything is coming straight from the heart. If it is not, we call “cut” or “break”. As we know, heartfelt work has to be genuine.

Success is defined by the inner being. A person can lust after success their entire life. Suddenly, they wake up and find they went searching for something that is within.

My criteria for success would be:

1.Change your mindset. Become aligned with the spiritual world before tackling the physical.
2. Dream wild and big! It may seem unattainable at the moment, but small goals will move you closer than none.
3. Have the faith of a mustard seed. If you lack faith, you lack dreams, which mean you need to go back to #1.
4. Be patient. You may ask for it today, but God has more arriving next week.
5. Give back. Once success comes your way be certain to share. All that is given can be taken.

These may seem simple but requires a lot of a person. Specifically, rule number one. You cannot devote yourself to the remaining rules if you have not mastered the first one. Why? It requires putting God first.