Black Business Spotlight: Whole Heart Images

Photographer leads with love to capture special moments

Heart is genuinely at the core of Whole Heart Images. For Edward Walker Jr., giving his whole heart is the baseline and not the selling point. Walker’s relationships with his customers and subjects are what make his business so unique.

While Walker, Jr. is first and foremost a photographer—and a good one at that—he defines his business on the connection he creates with his subjects. This means doing anything to reinforce the moment at hand.

Walker, Jr. takes all sorts of photos, while specializing in wedding photography. At a wedding, he’ll take on the responsibility of picking up trash to make the ceremony as beautiful as possible, while also calming the usual nerves of a groom on his wedding day. “I like to think of what I do as more than just a photographer,” Walker, Jr. explained. As he works to produce a great image, he aims to create a great memory. “I just want to add value,” he said.

Walker, Jr. launched his business in February of 2019. He grew up in the Minneapolis area and started attending North Hennepin Community College about four years ago. It’s here that he thought he would take a film photography course. This class, that would eventually change his life, was supposed to be an easy “A.”

Walker, Jr. had a full course load that was weighing him down and wanted some credits that he wouldn’t have to worry too much about. He soon found out that it would be more difficult than he had originally planned. As he puts it, “It actually was the hardest class that I had [taken].”

He shared how his time manually developing film in the darkroom and how the challenge pushed him in a way that excited him: “I wouldn’t say I excelled at it,” he said. “It was more of a struggle and a challenge and I think that’s what made me like it so much, and I put so much energy into it.”

This attrition that seems to motivate Walker, Jr. goes further than just his business, it seems to apply to his entire way of life. It comes down to his ability to help make the perfect wedding, as well as his new venture in providing couples counseling resources. “I just want to add value, he said. “I consider this to be more than photography … no job is too big or too small.”

While Walker, Jr. is at a shoot to capture the moment, he is not above curating the moment for the sake of reinforcing the relationship between not only himself and his subjects, but between his subjects themselves.

Walker, Jr. said that his parent’s separation has actually been an inspiration to him and that seems to motivate him to continue to work in every aspect to make sure that others have the ability to strengthen their bonds.  “I love love,” he explained. “Just capturing love and the raw emotion.”

Walker, Jr. has willed himself into this career and there doesn’t seem to be an obstacle that the power of the heart can’t overcome.

For more information about Edward Walker, Jr.’s work, visit www.WholeHeartImages.com or the company’s social media channels IG: @WholeHeartImages. FB: @WholeHeartImages.