New Orleans locals benefitting from Essence Fest

By Nayita Wilson
Contributing Writer

Every niche has its place, and that’s especially true for local entrepreneurs that competed for visibility and opportunities in Essence Festival’s economy. Among those were:

New Orleans native Harlin Miller is uniquely gifted when it comes to professional photography. Specializing in portraiture and documentary photography, Miller’s artistry and eye shine through captivating images that benefit individuals, celebrities, models, nonprofits, small businesses, as well as education and corporate entities alike.

Harlin Miller

Miller, 31, previously worked as a model and host for various Essence Festival events in the past and was expected to work with Essence in a larger capacity from behind the camera this year. He sees opportunities to his utilize his photography services on the editorial side of the festival and via his documentary photography services.

“It’s a very intimate kind of thing,” he said of his work. “Often, when people come to get photos—and once they allow you to photograph them—you find the essence of who they are, and then you create the photography.”

Kemberley ‘Kem” Washington, author, educator and personal finance expert was tapped to participate in an Essence Money and Power Expo hosted by Prudential. Washington, a New Orleans native and author of Ten Commandments to a Financial Healing and 21 Days of Powerful Breakthroughs, will participate in a Q & A segment during the expo.

Catering From the Heart, owned by Burdette Johnson of Marrero, La., will make its Essence Fest debut as a concessions vendor in the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The 15-member team featured two soul food options: mustard greens with a turkey wing and cornbread; and baked chicken with jambalaya.

“It’s an opportunity, and you never know where you can go from there,” Johnson said. “I’m the new kid on the block.”

This article originally published in the July 4, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.