By Krystle J Bailey
Local photographer Bilal Grate knew he was meant to carve his own path when he found himself in deep discussion about LLCs, taxes, and business ownership with his professors as a college sophomore. He had discovered a love for photography a few years earlier while working on self-promotions for his former clothing line, ADO Lifestyle.
“We started that brand to show people that anything you want to do, you can achieve it,” explains Grate about ADO, which stands for Acting Dreams Out. “We were selling t-shirts out of cars and selling clothes in other states.”
Before the days of instant social media sales, Bilal and his business partner would send mass texts of pictures that showcased their new inventory each week. In an effort to level up the quality of photos, Bilal dusted off a camera he had won at a raffle.
“The creativity clicked,” explains Grate. “All of a sudden, I was out looking for scenery and pulling up in random locations for impromptu photoshoots.”
As the professionalism of his work on ADO improved, other brands began requesting his photography services. Meeting the demand, Bilal turned his basement into a photography studio where other clothing lines and models would come to work with him. Clients included brand work for a Canadian Football League Player who mailed merchandise to the United States for Bilal to shoot.
The demand for his skill set introduced him to maternity shoots, weddings, and sweet 16 parties, but his love for working intimately with brands and his love of fashion has remained his true passion. He has completed personal shoots for models at Philly Fashion Week, Atlantic City Fashion Week, and several college fashion shows.
Growing up in Atlantic City, the self-taught photographer and founder of Grate Vision had a full-circle moment when he was invited back to AC High School for career day.
“That was one of the first times I felt like I was on the right trajectory; like I was making it and I did something from the ground up,” shared Grate.
While he has moved forward in his career and ADO is in the past, he continues to live with the mindset that, with a little hard work, anything is possible. He has worked with brands including The Frank Gabriel Collection, Just Hoops, Mashhur La Vie, Alls Fair USA, Fidelite Couture, and several more.
The father of two now primarily focuses on continuing to build his brand portfolio while working alongside Luke Witherspoon at Eden Compound, producing unique South Jersey events and opportunities for creatives to collaborate.
Follow Bilal Grate on Instagram at @gratevision.
One Response
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