Daily Inspiration: Meet Peidi Zhang

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peidi Zhang.

Hi Peidi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am an independent female photographer based in Los Angeles, mainly specializing in portraiture and fashion photography. When I was in the first year of high school, my father bought a very good-looking and compact Sony digital camera as my birthday present, and since then I have fallen in love with taking pictures out of control. I got my first DSLR and film camera as a freshman. Since then, photography has become my biggest hobby. I began to observe and record the world through the lens of the camera, interesting people, strange buildings, quiet lakes, smoky forests, I recorded my life and the beautiful and ugly things I encountered.

I didn’t study art in university, but I got undergraduate and master degrees in business. After graduation, I was working for a year. Slowly, I found that I was not happy. I want to do something meaningful to me, which was to pick up the camera again as a recorder and creator. I started taking pictures of friends around me, people with unique faces and interesting personalities. They trust me a lot and let me express my ideas to the fullest. I post my works on social media, and I have received more and more attention and encouragement from people, and gradually clients have started to ask me to take pictures. This is how I started my career as a photographer. I don’t want to waste a minute that resigned resolutely and devoted all my precious time to the things I love. I actually didn’t think about whether the road would be bumpy or whether I was ready. I believe in a word, if you decide to do one thing wholeheartedly, then the whole world will make way for you.

With more and more photography techniques and aesthetics, I also began to shoot some fashion brand lookbooks, some editorial photography, and my works were published and recognized in some mainstream fashion magazines. In my opinion, my advantage is my sensitivity to fashion, and I also have my own understanding of color matching. Movies and paintings are also one of my main sources of inspiration. In my spare time, I often watch some good movies and go to art exhibitions. As a good fashion photographer, not only must you have good equipment and photography skills, but you also need to improve your artistic aesthetics, observe life, and inspire more creative inspiration.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road as a full-time photographer will not be so smooth. In the very beginning, parents’ incomprehension and unstable income were the main obstacles. During that time, I was thinking about to do a part-time job to support my rent and other expenses, but I didn’t want to do the work that had no relevant to photography. I felt like it’s a waste of my time. So I found a part-time job as a photography assistant in a studio. I learned very useful and practical experiences and so many small details that are not taught in schools and books during that period, which can be regarded as a great harvest. As the number of my clients increased, I quit my job to devote myself to photographing my own clients. Through my hard work, I have slowly gained some achievements, and my parents understood that I am serious about pursuing my dreams. Perseverance will definitely make this road smoother. In addition, I often encounter some problems in the selection of color toning during photo retouching. Sometimes I’m not sure whether my toning is the best. At this time, I usually choose not to worry about it and wait until the next day. If you look at it again, you will find a different perspective and a new idea for retouching. Sometimes when we encounter difficulties, we don’t need to face them but look at them from another angle or even take a step back.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As I mentioned earlier, I mainly specialize in portraiture and fashion photography. As an Asian photographer, I feel that my photography combines Eastern and Western aesthetics and also my own understanding. This is different from many other photographers. I think my photography style is very distinct and expressive with strong emotions. For me, every photo is like a poem. The moment I pressed the shutter, I had already thought of a caption for this photo. I hope that when my work is exhibited, every viewer can feel the emotion behind the work.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think the most necessary quality to be an excellent creative or artist is the enthusiasm for continuous innovation and the desire to learn and improve. For me, I don’t satisfied with a fixed style and genre in photography. In the past few years, I have always wanted to try styles that I have never photographed before. Let yourself observe life more, keep thinking, and read a lot of books, watch movies and other forms of art to get more creative inspiration and improve your aesthetics. Love of life must be the premise of love of art, life is always over art, art is the concentration and sublimation of life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: peidizzphoto

Image Credits
Photo by Peidi Zhang