When the proficient and ingenious photographer Derek Blanks isn’t photographing Usher, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj or Regina Hall, he’s the creative director for Missy Elliott. I first worked with him on photoshoots for luxury magazines in Atlanta photographing the who’s who of the city’s socialites. His work was impeccable and… ooh lord, this man has style. He is always dressed like a champ whenever I see him and being in tip-top shape is obviously so important to him. Just look at how he wears a suit! (Although he does enjoy the All-Star Special at Waffle House as much as a night out indulging at Two Urban Licks).
He has a steady, Southern drawl and a calmness about him. For years, Derek was fantastic on set with all kinds of people. I always wondered if it was because of his Southern charm. So I thought I’d sit him down and ask.
Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Derek first picked up a camera in third grade but always thought he’d be more of an illustrator and painter than a photographer. He attended The Academic and Performing Arts Complex (aka APAC), which is a magnet school for strong academic achievers and those with an aptitude for the arts in Jackson. He got a scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1996 and graduated with honors in 2000. Same year as me. “I always knew I wanted to be an artist and I thought that’s what I’d always be doing,” he says.
Growing up painting and listening to musicians in his garage in the ’90s, he never though he’d be photographing and shooting those same artists someday. “It’s surreal,” he says.
Here, he shares a little about his life, his famous clients, how soakin’ is a southern thing and why the south is misunderstood.
What do you do for a living?
I have had the pleasure of photographing and working with so much of Black Hollywood from Cynthia Erivo to Angela Bassett, as well as rappers like T.I. and everyone in Atlanta, L.A. and New York. For the last five to seven years, I’ve been directing music videos. I did Dripdemeanor for Missy Elliot and became her creative director. My job is to make sure her image is right and represents her well. I’ve also focused on my illustration work by doing the packaging and graphics for her albums.
Tell me about being from Jackson and Mississippi in general.
I grew up in the capitol. When I look at it now, we didn’t have the amenities that Atlanta does, but we still had the mall. To me, it was a city. It wasn’t busy, but compared to Hattiesburg or Clinton, we lived comfortably. Now in Atlanta, it doesn’t compare. I was so nervous driving on highways when we moved to Atlanta.
I was speaking to Brandy Norwood’s dad on set one time. (Derek shot and did the visuals for Brandy’s latest project, btw. #NBD.) It turns out my uncle and Brandy’s dad were best friends. That’s Mississippi. She is from McComb. She’d tell me about how they would go to family reunions there and have a good time. When you meet someone from Mississippi, you’re not strangers. Dedrick Hideoki of Hideoki Bespoke, I met him through you Steph! He’s from Mississippi too. Rick Ross and people like Oprah have excelled from Mississippi as well.
My dad’s still in Jackson. My wife is from Hattiesburg and we visit four to five times a year. We’re itchin’ to get back there. When we go to Hattiesburg, I love to get snowballs at the snowball stand. And we always have to eat at Crescent City Grill. I love that gumbo. The shrimp ‘n’ grits are the bomb and the crawfish etouffee is so good.
Do you have to use your Southern charm at work?
I feel like it’s embedded in me. It’s about being a gentleman. That’s why I have repeat clients and I’m about treating others as I would like to be treated. You know southern people, we’ll talk to anyone. I’m not about being pretentious, so I think people are at ease working with me.
Also being from the deep South versus Atlanta, we’re not pressed to be something we’re not. That’s all fine and dandy, but those of us from the deep south? We can stay at home and don’t always have to be at this or that event or networking.
Favorite memory of growing up in the South?
My mom was from Clinton/Bolton area of Mississippi and we’d go to church every Sunday about 30 minutes away in the country. After church, we’d go change our clothes at her house, eat Sunday dinner and play baseball and fellowship with our cousins. We’d feed chickens, go in the pasture and collect bottle caps and make slingshots.
My dad’s family was in Meridian and we’d do the same thing there, but more like once a month. We were city kids and it was like we would go and visit the country cousins.
Where do you live now?
We recently moved to South DeKalb area for my son to go to DeKalb School of the Arts (another magnet school). I love it here. My son is following in my footsteps as an artist. Before that, we were in College Park. I still have my studio in Buckhead. Most people know me from Real Housewives of Atlanta and my studio off Faulkner Road. I love being in Buckhead for work and being able to escape home and get out of the city.
What makes you Two-Sided Southern?
I can dress, but I love my flip flops. Or bare feet! I’m into cut off jogging pants or a really comfortable tank top. What makes me most southern though is food. Especially breakfast with grits, sausage and eggs, but I can flip it with lobster or a seabass brunch. I love southern cuisine: Fried chicken and mac n’ cheese. The mac n’ cheese with milk and the egg. Not the creamy kind, I like the runny kind. Or I can flip and go to lobster mac n’ cheese.
I also love relaxing in the tub. In the south, we take baths. I like to run the water and lay my head in the tub and relax for a while. Soakin’ is a southern thing.
Are there any Southern photographers, designers, artists you long admire?
Honestly, I feel like the South is misunderstood. There are very creative and talented individuals that are taking over industries. J. Bolin, he’s from Jackson too. He’s a designer and has an eclectic sense of style. It’s urban, chic and different. He’s taking over Atlanta, L.A. and he’s based in Texas. He developed his own clothing line. But think about Julia Roberts, who comes from Smyrna. These people excel from the south and become larger and move on… but it’s still evident they’re very Southern. People underestimate the south all the time.
I’m about to ask you about food. But is there any Southern spot you love?
I had just had a shoot for Missy [Elliott] last night and it finished late. Afterward, we ate at Waffle House. I always get the All-Star Special with grits and sausage. I also get the toast and make a jelly and egg sandwich. Then, I get the plain or pecan waffle with butter. I’m a Southerner for sure. I eat all that.
Favorite high-end, hoity toity dish: Seabass
Favorite southern low-brow dish: Shrimp and grits
Favorite high-end, hoity toity dessert/sweet: Crème brulee
Favorite low-brow dessert/sweet: Old-fashioned egg custard pie
Favorite high-brow restaurant: I love the ambience at Two Urban Licks. I had a short rib there once.. So good.
Favorite low-brow restaurant: Cracker Barrel. Love them breakfast pancakes.
Favorite high-end fashion store: Hideoki Bespoke. Dedrick is representing Mississippi for sure.
Favorite low-brow fashion store: Fashion Nova, they have good cheap jeans. Zara does too.
Southern dish you always serve at dinner parties: Deviled eggs
Hoity-toity dish you always serve at dinner parties: Lamb chops with mint jelly or blackened salmon Creole
Do you believe in thank you notes as a rule?
I do not personally write them. I appreciate them though. My wife Quiona will write a thank you note with her initials on the front. It’s very Southern. Her aunt does the same thing. If we give her aunt something, she will mail a thank you note right away. It has to be specific on what the gift was and all of that (laughs).
Favorite sports teams: New Orleans Saints because of my wife
Favorite drink at a tailgate: I don’t really drink. But I like Kahlua.
Favorite high-brow entertainment: Going to the theater and watching plays and the opera. I loved the culture.
Favorite low-brow entertainment: County fairs or when I was a kid and go fishing for cat fish.
Most eccentric southern person you know?
I think of Leslie Jordan. He’s so funny. But Mr. James Patterson, the late photographer, embodied the south for me.
I met him in third grade and he introduced me to photography. He had a gallery in Jackson named 119. When I graduated, he had a show for me where I sold my pieces. He always showed me love. I had the most respect for him. I always asked him for advice. He passed two to three years ago. That was the last time I went back to Jackson, to attend his memorial service at the gallery. He was very influential in my career. Mr. Patterson always went against the grain and was different. He had an art community and looked out for artists. Black, white, it didn’t matter.
What’s a southern saying that makes you smile?
Well, I gave a makeup artist a compliment the other day. I said, “You got beat for the cheap seats.” She was like, “Huh?” It’s a saying from the theaterI think. I meant, people all the way in the back would see her makeup.
