Brooklynne Hand: Creator and Visionary
Brooklynne Hand (Class of ‘26) is the epitome of confident, creative, and beautifully black. An intersection that has a proven recipe of success! Brooklynne originates from PG County, Maryland and is a proud Maryland girl. Just like her parents and older brother, she chose an HBCU for her college experience. A Clark Atlanta student majoring in computer science, it’s not computers that she’s come to find as her niche. Just ask her about her bath and bodyworks storefront, Brookiegirl. Brooklynne explains, “I sell products out of it, so thats where I really started getting into business. I have always known I was going to have my own business.” This was the blast off that piqued her interest in creative design and direction.
Brooklynne was finally presented the opportunity to delve into creative direction her second semester of freshman year. “My friend Sean asked me to be in the shoot. I asked if I could direct it and be behind the scenes, I was telling people how to pose, and he said ‘you’re really good at this.’” As much as she enjoyed being in front of the camera, she found a new gratification figuring out how to tell someone’s personal story and beauty through a lens, beginning at around eighteen years old.
When asked what creative direction looks like to her, Brooklynne shares, “I feel like it’s gonna be different for everybody, but if I have a vision in my head, it’s me going out and putting the pieces together. So I’m finding a studio, getting my photographer, and finding models. I have a layout for how the shoot is going to look and different people coming to the shoots to do videos.” It’s important to her that people know she is not a photographer, she simpy directs the vision. She wants people to see the little pieces that make up the bigger picture. However, its not all roses. A challenge she faces is managing people: no-shows, getting people to the location, and assistants. Though she has an incredible team, it’s her name that’s on line so she takes great care in each step, which can be exhausting.
The most captivating part of what she does is watching all the photos come together and seeing the vision be brought to life. Brooklynne revels in the behind the scenes of shoot day, interacting with the models, the planning, and the environment as a whole. Her favorite project was her clone shoot, where she portrays the concept of others imitating her work. Although she took off two months from directing out of frustration, her father gave her a wake-up call, “My dad asked me “Are you done with directing because you’re hurt? Or are you scared that their work is better than yours?” This experiences fuels the creativity and passion that people search for in her present work.
XXL Freshman Cover - Brooklynne Hand
Brooklynne has learned to truly trust her intuition, vision, and self. Over time, she has become more comfortable with her voice and taking up the space she deserves. She stays true to her course and makes sure her work is always coming from the right place. This mindset flows into the advice she wishes to share with people getting their start in this world. “Start. I’ve had people come to me saying ‘I don’t know.’ I was like ‘I don’t know either! I'm learning just like yall. But just start!’” But as soon as you put out one piece of work, it just keeps coming. Creativity is born inside of you. You don’t study for hours and hours. If you wake up with an idea, do it! Whatever you put your mind to, you can do it!” She stresses the importance of a support system and to simply try.
As a Black woman in the industry, she brings black people and their stories to media, cementing the importance of representation. Brooklynne continues to remain bold, loud, and passionate about her work. And with many more projects on the way, she’s just getting started.
Brookiegirl Promotional Shoot - Brooklynne Hand
If you want to check out some of Brooklynne’s projects, shoots, or even open cast calls, check out her insta: @artofelisee.