Meet Manoosh Nabavi of Manoosh Photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Manoosh Nabavi.

Manoosh, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up in an artistic family from cinematographer parents inspired me to get into photography and entertainment industry.

My parents were my biggest motivation. My dad is a professor of cinema and photography and my mom is a custom and stage designer of cinema and theater in Iran and from the day I remember, I’ve been always playing with my dad’s cameras or I was on sets of movies with parents and just observing,

It was so exciting for me as a 5 year old girl to learn putting a film into a camera. My dad’s equipment been always like a real asset to him. He always thought me that I should never put my fingers on the lens nor a print or I should always put on a lens cab to avoid scratches since I was a kid, and still after more than 12 years of shooting I am so cautious and a bit stressed when I’m holding my camera and I get so mad when I see people are sloppy while using their cameras!

It may sound stupid to some people but when you think about the value of a camera and all the money you’ve invested in, then you realized that you should take care of it like your baby! And now my camera is my life and everything is meaningless without it because I see the world thru that.

I started learning photography when I was 17 and then I graduated in photography and acting from cinema school in Tehran, Iran. At age 18, I started my own photography studio in Tehran and I started off with shooting head-shots for actors and actresses.

I’ve always been told at home that things are not provided easily and if you want to be successful you must have a goal, work hard, practice and NEVER GIVE UP!

I remember when first I started learning photography, I would take rolls and rolls of film, printed them in darkroom and showed my images to my dad, he said these are all trash, maybe one or two were just Ok, go and re-shoot! At first I would get so upset, after years working in the industry and confronting all the challenges I realized he was right and now I appreciate all his toughness on me because I wouldn’t be who I am today without him; all those hardships was a big motivation for me to follow my dream and learning that photography is not just a button that you press but you must really work hard and learn and put some real efforts!

I moved to US in 2010 and the first year of my immigration, I was selected as one of the top 25 most talented photographers in Los Angeles by Create Fixate in which one of the sponsors was MOPLA (Month of Photography Los Angeles) and many other great sponsors. That was a time I told myself, you can do it, dream big and go get it!

So after that I worked harder, set my goals higher, avoid all the negative energy and pursued my career dream. My work been displayed in different galleries around the world in places like Moscow, LA, NYC, Tokyo, Thailand, Iran and even Louvre Museum in Paris and I’ve received a numbers of photography awards internationally. After all these achievements I set my goal on having more galleries each year and work on different subjects that people can relate to. For example my last solo exhibition is Iran was called “Lost” in which I was showing editorial photos that would show how social media is making people isolated and how real love is fading. I also TA in photo classes at Santa Monica College department of photography and I love teaching students.

Artists work just out of their inner love to create a piece that can connects with people and most of the time people do not appreciate an artist value especially when it comes to money. I started making pages on Facebook just to support Artists in Los Angeles and the page is called “ArtistsLA”. I know there are so many amazing artists in our town that they all need to be seen and awarded, so I came up with this page a few years ago where they can make great connections and promote their work.

Awards and achievement such as louvre museum. Helping photo students at college and lead them thru solving their problems. Always wanted to support artists, I throw events so that artists can meet up and make connections. ArtistsLA and Photographer’s club.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There’s always struggles in any career and I think photography is one of the most challenging and sometimes stressful careers.

Of course when it comes to Art, some people do not know the value of your work. They think it’s just a camera and a better camera you have, the better photographer you are. But this is NOT true, it’s not about the camera but the photographer’s knowledge and experience who create an image that people enjoy looking at.

Also whenever it comes to payment, people think art has come from a whole another world and you’re not educated but you take Great photos! But artists have invested so much time and money at school to learn and not all of them are experimental or freelance artists. I believe people come from different backgrounds and it’s always good to get to know them first before judging them.

Some don’t know the amount of time and money you invest in equipment, shooting, traveling, assistant fee, insurance, post production and so on. So when it comes to payment again, they sometimes refuse to pay what you worth and they start comparing you to another photographer who just started the business and how much they charge. I think it’s just not fair.

The funniest is some people mistake you with a plastic surgeon and they want you to make them 3 size smaller and thinner, oh and of course they’re not gonna pay you for the work you do.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
“Manoosh Photo’s main studio is in Iran and the company runs in LA as well since the owner (Manoosh Nabavi) is living there now but there is no office for it yet and it is mainly through direct contact.

“Manoosh Photo” specializes in portraits especially editorial and environmental portraits and what sets the images apart are the dramatic lighting.

Company offers different type of photo services such as portraits, product, lifestyle, beauty and editorial as well as photo-retouching.

I am most proud of working with amazing professional makeup artists and assistants and working in a friendly environment.

What were you like growing up?
I’d love to always grow in terms of knowledge in my career and also try to achieve great communication skills while working with clients. I love to treat my clients in a friendly environment.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manooshphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manooshphoto/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/manoosh-photo-los-angeles

Image Credit:
Whitney Jayne
Eric Joseph
Mahshid Fardadi

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