Meet Ilu Ulinwa | Photographer & Retoucher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ilu Ulinwa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ilu, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I never really thought about starting my own business, it just kind of happened. My sister had bought me a camera as a gift since I would always make jokes about being an “iPhone photographer”. I had not touched this camera in a year because I was a bit overwhelmed with trying to figure out how to use it. I finally studied and built up to courage to begin shooting and found that I was not bad at it. I created an Instagram page to showcase the photos I had taken of my sister and friends. I continued to take photos of my friends and family for fun and not too long after people started to reach out to me to have their photos taken and built my own clientele through references. My hobby slowly grew into a business allowing me to become a photographer part-time. I truly enjoy and I am excited to continue growing and learning.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a photographer based out of Phoenix, AZ. I love doing portraits and pride myself in the use of bold, punchy colors. I am also detail-oriented so I do focus on retouching my images to give my photos a refined look. As a self-taught photographer, everything I know and do now I had to teach myself. In the beginning, I would spend hours on YouTube studying retouching methods for using Photoshop, color-grading, how to compose the best shots, and even how to use/troubleshoot my camera. None of this came easy, and still, I continue to educate myself in all things photography. One of the biggest lessons I learned in photography is to not give up and really create things that speak to me. Photography is a rather condensed field so I needed to learn techniques that would help me stand out amongst others. I am here to create images that speak to me but also make others feel confident in themselves when they shoot with me.


Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am not originally from Arizona so going out and exploring is all still new to me. I enjoy going on walks at Tempe town lake and going for hikes at Sedona. One of my favorite things out that way is the natural slip n slide at Sliding Rock. For fun activities locally, I would recommend indoor go-kart racing, glow-in-dark mini-golf, a visit to Lylo, a boat ride on Lake Pleasant, ATV riding, etc. There is way too much to do! As someone that likes to eat, I enjoy Monroe’s Hot Chicken, the drinks and vibe from Toca Madera, brunch at Eggstasy and Brunch n Sip (also really vibey and great drinks), my all-time favorite boba is from Boba Tree, Korean BBQ from Gogi, and tacos from Taco el Paisa and Tacos Huicho, There are too many notable places to list. I also go to First Fridays in phoenix to support some local businesses and I celebrate my African heritage by going to events like Afrobrunch,

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shout out my little sister for getting my first camera and for believing in my skillsets. She has volunteered to constantly model for me when I get new equipment. I would also like to shout out the rest of my family and friends that have continued to encourage me to keep shooting and refining my skills. There have been times when I wavered on getting new lenses or even a new camera, and they pushed me to commit to my choices in order to grow as a photographer . If not for my close friends and family, I strongly believe, I would not be at the level I am at now. I would also like to shout out to my clients that continue to book with me and have given me positive feedback and love. They always trust that I can execute their vision.

Website: iluportraits.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iluportraits/