Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatyana Kiahra.
Hi Tatyana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in a creative family. My mother is a dancer, my father, an actor, and my three younger siblings participated in the arts in various ways. Growing up, I fell in love with dance and practiced endlessly until my parents started a non-profit performing arts school called Shammah Dance and Arts Academy. From there, my love of the arts grew. I met amazing artists, practiced various art forms, and strengthened my understanding of visually telling stories.
This opened my eyes to exploring all the ways to express myself, whether that be through dancing, singing, acting, poetry, modeling, music, filmmaking, or photography. Around 2015, I got my first camera. My mother is an entrepreneur and became my first client/subject. As she also grew up modeling, my mother was the perfect person to practice with. I learned directing, location scouting, and lighting, all in our living room and front yard. From there, I continued to take pictures of my family, friends who were getting into modeling, a small wedding, family functions, etc. I found that I loved the art of capturing the beauty of others, and truly grew an appreciation for the versatility of photography.
With all this experience, I knew I wanted to be a full-time artist in some way, shape, or form. It consumed me. I just didn’t know in what way. Over the years, I visited major cities like LA to explore the modeling route and submitted digitals to agencies like Wilhelmina Models. While there, I met with creatives, took dance classes, and even performed poetry while visiting to see if maybe I wanted to be a traveling poet. While in NYC, I auditioned for The Lion King and took more dance classes. Since I grew up loving musicals, it felt like my love of music, dance, and singing would lead me to a Broadway stage. I continued traveling and trying new things to see where I wanted the arts to take me.
By the end of this season of exploration, I leaned heavily into modeling by doing local runway shows, modeling for friends, and modeling for local photographers in the RDU. Around the end of 2019, dance brought me back to photography as I attended street dance cyphers and battles and captured my friends dancing and the community that surrounded us. Through this, photography felt like a way to merge all my interests into one. I could capture different kinds of artists, and even capture myself. It felt like the perfect way to keep me attached to all of my art interests/worlds while also giving it somewhere to go.
Additionally, with my journey in photography beginning again at the start of a tough year in the world, being able to find and capture the beauty in life kept me grounded, and I haven’t looked back since.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As I mentioned before, I decided to pick the camera back up at the beginning of the world becoming a very different place. Before 2020, I attended many classes and various meetups, travelled a ton, and found a way to be part of anything and everything. But once Covid hit, a lot of what I knew was no longer accessible. The communities I thrived in became inactive, and it felt like all the momentum I’d built came to a halt. Where some thrived, I found myself in a weird place of questioning who I was and feeling stuck.
To combat this feeling, I chose to become a student. I captured the people I kept close more intentionally, I started interning with local photographer J “Slim” Robertson at his studio in Cary, and practiced any chance I could. Eventually, that time is what made me stronger. I was shooting on a Canon Rebel with the kit lens and I was determined to make use of what I had and rented what gear I didn’t have. I started posting a bit more and explored how to show up in other ways. This set me on a path to becoming more and more passionate about photography despite facing some obstacles along the way.
After rebuilding this momentum, I quit my retail jobs and became a full-time creative. I felt like I finally did it. I could follow my dream of being fully supported by my art. This lasted about 6 months. Struggling through harsh seasons of burnout, financial stress, and dysregulated health, I found myself needing to go back to having a job and put photography to the side. I was embarrassed; I felt defeated; I felt as though I had failed. But again, I looked for ways to learn, grow, and choose my story. I got into therapy, I started learning how to manage burnout, I learned systems to make running a creative business run smoother, and I honed in on my training with my mentor. Through this, I learned that challenges and setbacks aren’t failures, community is always better than pushing through alone and all these experiences are lessons and opportunities to build the strength needed to try again and do it even better the next time.
I have learned through trial and error that although the road isn’t always smooth, I can choose how I walk it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am first, a creative. I find myself on the line of always wanting to explore and play in all the forms of art that exist because I believe they all intersect. BUT, at this time, I specialize in editorial, beauty, and portrait photography and, more recently, exploring filmmaking. I am from the DMV area, but I am currently based in Cary, North Carolina.
When I first started exploring the world of photography and modeling, I found that representation as a woman of color was not as present as I had hoped. I found that even how I was captured didn’t always reflect how I wanted to be perceived. Thankfully, that has since gotten better, but this realization at the time pushed me to lean into not only knowing how to use my camera but to start training how to light my subjects in a way that showcased their richest, vibrant, and authentic selves. So, I specialize in capturing the warmth of skin tones, vibrant colors, creating an authentic environment, and capturing people in their truest form. I always say that I am not here to change how you look but to show you how great you look.
With experience in dance, I believe that has given me the tools to understand body language as a subject. How to move in a way that feels natural and not stiff. Having your picture taken can feel very vulnerable, so with years of customer service under my belt, I understand the importance of creating a comfortable environment that helps bring out authentic smiles and character. I want others to feel seen, to feel like we’ve been friends for years and like they’ve been modeling for ages.
Additionally, with my modeling background, I empathize with anyone who is in front of my camera because I’ve been there too. So, on set, I will get in there with you and show you poses, give direction and encouragement, and make sure you look and feel like a celebrity.
I am truly proud of the years when I focused on my strengths and addressed my weaknesses because that time gave me the tools to not just snap a photo but create art, capture a memory, and showcase others as authentically as possible.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always looking to collaborate with fellow creatives and merge our skills to create something dope. Whether that be a dancers, models, stylists, other photographers, set designers, musicians, etc. Occasionally, I post when I am looking to collaborate but messaging me any time on social media, or via email, I am always down to chat and meet new artists!
I am currently doing an docu-series on Instagram where I chat with local creatives in the RDU! Any support of that means a ton as I start making my way into filmmaking and lean into my love of community and telling other people’s stories.
To work with me, feel free to email me, or DM me any time. And if you see me in public, don’t be afraid to say hello!
Pricing:
- Headshots: $150
- Full Portrait Session: $300
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tatyspointofview.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tatyspointofview/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsTatyanaK
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tatyanakiahra
