Life & Work with Kiara Belton of Riverside, California

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiara Belton.

Kiara, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started in highschool! But I started off doing videography. I was in an Advanced Film class creating short films, commercials, social media reels, and competitions! Even got to the point of getting flown out to Florida to compete in a STN (Student Television Network) competition. I had needed some extra credits so I took a photography class because I thought it would be fun and easy. That’s how I fell in love with photography! Flashforward to now where I am currently in college majoring in photography and wanted to make it a career! All while still doing videography as a hobby!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The part that was slightly challenging for me was deciding on what I wanted to pursue in college. Between videography and photography. I had known videography longer and was good at it but I also loved photography more but was more new to it. I was nervous choosing photography to major in not knowing if I would be able to make it into a career but I decided to take a chance!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So far I am still relatively new to photography but willing to learn more about it! I do little personal photos around where I live or if I go on trips! I also volunteer at times at a Senior center for social media posts whenever they hold events! With being new I’m still eager to gain more experience. A photo I am currently the most proud of is an image of myself being cloned and interacting with myself! It had taken me a while to edit with layering all the images and making sure it flows together nicely! With having the shadows make sure they’re in the right place and making sure it blends together. I like to think that what sets me apart from others is when photographing I look at the small things, the little details that someone would glance over. Similar to a fly on the wall watching the small moments people usually miss and I try to capture that.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
A lesson I’ve learned would have to be that making mistakes can be very beneficial to you. While of course making the mistake in the first place sucks, it’s how you learn and grow. I myself have made plentyyy of mistakes in my photography, with the wrong lighting, camera settings, etc. But that exact mistake is how I get better at it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: ph0enix203