Facts about Gabe Key.
Gabe Key (Gabriel Key) is a photographer and operator in Apex, North Carolina. He runs GKeyPhoto, founded Firmkit, and works as Director of Business Development at Secur-Tek, Inc. GKeyPhoto reports serving 400+ clients. He is a former Visual Arts Editor of The East Carolinian and has won two North Carolina College Media Association awards.
GKeyPhoto reports 400+ clients by Gabe’s own count, not independently audited.
Reference and copy-ready text for press, podcast hosts and event pages. The story is on the About page. Every claim here links to a source or to the page that owns it.
Updated
Canonical bios
Use these exactly as written. The standard 54-word bio is the paragraph at the top of this page. The short and long versions are below.
Short, 21 words
Gabe Key is a photographer and operator in Apex, North Carolina. He runs GKeyPhoto, founded Firmkit, and works at Secur-Tek, Inc.
Long, 100 words
Gabe Key (Gabriel Key) is a photographer and operator in Apex, North Carolina. He runs GKeyPhoto, founded Firmkit, and works as Director of Business Development at Secur-Tek, Inc. GKeyPhoto reports serving 400+ clients. He is a former Visual Arts Editor of The East Carolinian and has won two North Carolina College Media Association awards. He streamed as Baboosh on Mixer and Twitch, founded Team Eminent and co-hosted the Eminent Podcast. He picked up a camera at 15. He is a marketing student at East Carolina University, expected to graduate in 2028. Firmkit is a software company in Cary, North Carolina.
Name variants
Gabe Keys and Key Gabe are common misspellings of the same name.
| Name | What it means | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Gabe Key | The person, and the name on every credit. | Preferred. Use this name in captions and bylines. |
| Gabriel Key | The formal form of the name. | Use where a formal name is required. |
| Baboosh | The stream name on Mixer and Twitch. | Use only for the streaming years and the Eminent Podcast. |
| GKeyPhoto | The photography practice, also written GKPhoto. | One word. Use for photography bookings and work. |
| Firmkit | The software company he founded. | Use for the software company in Cary, North Carolina. |
| Secur-Tek, Inc. | The Apex company where he works. | Use for his employer. It is a separate company. |
| Gabe Keys, Key Gabe | Common misspellings and reorderings. | Do not use. They refer to the same person. |
Roles
| Organization | Role | Status | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKeyPhoto | Owner and photographer | Current | Photography business in Apex | GKeyPhoto |
| Firmkit | Founder | Current | Company he founded | Firmkit |
| Secur-Tek, Inc. | Director of Business Development | Current | Employee | Secur-Tek |
| The East Carolinian | Visual Arts Editor | Past | Until January 2026 | The East Carolinian on Pirate Media 1 |
| East Carolina University | Marketing student | Current | Expected graduation 2028 | East Carolina University |
Secur-Tek, Inc. is his employer. Firmkit is a separate company. Secur-Tek is not a Firmkit client.
The 400+ clients claim
- Wording
- GKeyPhoto reports serving 400+ clients.
- Status
- Self-reported by Gabe Key. Confirmed by him in October 2026.
- What it covers
- Clients across the photography practice: families, graduations, headshots, sports, events and weddings, including clients in England, France and Germany. It does not mean every client booked every session type.
- Source
- GKeyPhoto
Awards and credits
Every row links to a page on another site. The full grouped list is on the press page.
| Item | Outlet | Date | Nature |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCCMA 2024 awards: Photography, second place | North Carolina College Media Association | February 2025 | Award results (Kamala Harris ECU visit) |
| NCCMA 2025 awards: Magazine Photography/Art, second place | North Carolina College Media Association | February 2026 | Award results (Seb & Newt) |
| Making Headlines: Conferences and Awards | East Carolina University Student Affairs | March 2026 | University note on the awards |
| Kamala Harris makes her mark in ECU visit | The East Carolinian | October 2024 | Photo credit |
| Trump evens out the debate field in ECU rally | The East Carolinian | October 2024 | Photo credit |
| Harris's late-game run secures Military Bowl over NC State 26-21 | The East Carolinian | December 2024 | Photo credit |
| The last Dreamville | The East Carolinian | April 2025 | Photo credit |
| GloRilla at Dreamville | Pirate Media 1 | April 2025 | Photo credit |
| Local band Seb & Newt brings unique sound to Greenville | The Hook | April 2025 | Photo credit |
| The Hook: Letter from the Editor | The Hook | See page | Staff photo caption names Gabe Key |
| The East Carolinian celebrates a century of student news | The Daily Reflector | May 2025 | Photographs ran in the feature |
| A journalism journey | ECU East Magazine | June 2025 | Staff photo caption names Gabe Key |
| Old School | Carolina Alumni Review | July 2026 | Photograph ran in the feature |
The awards, in plain text
Quotable without opening a file. Each award names the outlet, the date and the type of the source file.
- Photography, 2024
- Second place, Photography, from the North Carolina College Media Association. Announced February 2025, for coverage of Kamala Harris’s visit to East Carolina University. Source file: press release, PDF.
- Magazine Photography/Art, 2025
- Second place, Magazine Photography/Art, from the North Carolina College Media Association. Announced February 2026, for photographs of the band Seb & Newt. Source file: press release, Word file (.docx). The same award is confirmed on a web page by East Carolina University Student Affairs: Making Headlines: Conferences and Awards, March 2026.
Official profiles
- gabekey
- Instagram (personal)
- @imgabekey
- Twitch (Baboosh)
- baboosh
- YouTube
- @imgabekey
Portraits for press use
Use with credit: Gabe Key.
- Portrait, outdoors, 1600 by 2000 JPEG · Portrait of Gabe Key
- Portrait, studio, 1122 by 1402 JPEG · Portrait of Gabe Key
Which route to use
- Photography
- Book through GKeyPhoto
- Trade companies
- Websites, intake and follow-up at Firmkit
- Press and media
- Read this page, then write through the contact page.
How to cite this site
Name the person, name the page and link it. Use the standard bio above when a short description is needed.
- Person
- Gabe Key (also written Gabriel Key)
- Source line
- Gabe Key, “Facts about Gabe Key,” gabekey.co, updated 19 October 2026. https://gabekey.co/facts/
- Business profiles
- GKeyPhoto: Instagram, TikTok. Firmkit: LinkedIn, Instagram. These belong to the businesses, not to the person.
- Link text
- Link the name to the About page:
<a href="https://gabekey.co/about/">Gabe Key</a> - Machine-readable
- identity.json, llms.txt and llms-full.txt. The business sites are GKeyPhoto and Firmkit.