Welcome back everyone, we are in the peak of summer right now and the weather has been beautiful. I hope you've all been enjoying the weather as much as I have. In this month's issue, I sat down with @cyrustabar to find out more about his work and how he keeps himself inspired. So let's get on to our second interview with the amazing photographer Cyrus Tabar.
Q1: Tell me a bit about yourself and how you start your creative process
A: "My process depends on whatever it is I’m making at the time. Sometimes it’s as simple as taking my camera out and about to capture things I see. Other times it involves crafting a creative direction for a project. For the latter, I come up with some concepts (I aim for 3-5), find reference images, make a creative deck to showcase each concept, shoot, and edit."
Q2: Who's your biggest inspiration and how do you incorporate them into your own work?
A: "I don’t know if I have one to choose from! However, growing up as a kid my biggest inspiration was my uncle who was a fashion photographer in Japan. I always loved seeing his work in magazines (like Vogue), positives, and tests he would take on instant film. Being a fashion photographer, I always admired the sense of composition and intention in his work. I think I’ve carried that with me my entire life, but just recently have come back to it more as I’ve become older (and hopefully more wise lol) as I’ve been shooting portraits."
Q3: What's a simple photography hack you can give to new photographers?
A: "First of course is to edit your work no matter what. Take it into Lightroom, CaptureOne, your phone’s photo app, VSCO, whatever! Play with your images and experiment. This is where you’ll find hidden gems in your creative process that you might not have thought of when shooting. I find that editing informs my shots in the moment as well."
Q4: What piece of work are you most proud of and why?
A: "I’m really happy with what I captured in Japan during my last trip. My family is there and I always find it refreshing and recharging to be there. Now that I have kids, I purposefully aimed to capture our everyday moments together in my own style, and what I saw was the beauty of everyday life in Japan."
Q5: Do you have any ambitions or aspirations in photography?
A: "I just want to make work and keep shooting! Specifically though, I’ve been loving portrait work, especially with musicians, so I want to focus on that."
Q6: What advice was given to you which you still follow today in your own work?
A: "Always carry a camera with you. Could be your phone, but I always try to have a dedicated camera with me— either film or digital."
Thank you to Cyrus for sharing his advice, tips and inspirations, I appreciate being able to look up to someone close to you and carry that into your own work, it's wonderful to see how culture and family can bring out the best in us through a camera and lens.
For the rest of this issue, here are photos taken by you this month using the hashtag:Â #trstreetmag.
I hope you enjoyed reading this month's issue and learned some valuable insights and if you were featured in this month's blog please do share it your stories, I am always on the look out for new photographers to take part in the blog and even get a chance to feature. I'd greatly appreciate if you could share with your family, friends and anyone who you think would be interested in getting involved.
Thank you to everyone who keeps using the hashtag in their posts. This space is built on your eyes, your voices, and your presence in the streets. Keep up the amazing work.
To get your chance to feature in this magazine every month just use the hashtag #trstreetmag in your VSCO & Instagram posts and for a chance to be interviewed about your work and creative process in my magazine.
Good Luck and Happy Shooting!