Meet Nadia Tyson of Nadia Tyson Photographer in Venice Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Tyson.

Nadia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a freelance documentary, fine art and headshot photographer. I am Syrian American, born in 1981 in Los Angeles and grew up in a number of places including New York and Sweden. I started photographing with a Canon Rebel film camera in 2000 on a summer trip to India while attending college at the University of California Santa Barbara. My fascination and creativity of shooting initiated from that trip and I subsequently began working as photo editor for my school paper as well as freelancing for UNICEF while studying abroad in Costa Rica.

Since then, I have spent a total of two years globetrotting to over fifty countries and freelancing for several publications. My passion is exploring, documenting and depicting a variety of people with different cultures, customs, and backgrounds across the globe, combined with intense colors and fine art editing. I have had several exhibitions in Los Angeles and my photos and stories have been seen or published among others in Buzzfeed.com, Nylon Magazine, Departures Magazine. The Art of Skid Row book and Channel 5 News. From that, I have been able to expand and create my own headshot business in Los Angeles as well.

I have Masters in Education and currently teaches photography to middle school students in Palos Verdes

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely been and still is a bumpy road – My greatest challenge as a headshot and documentary photographer has been to constantly get my name out there in a town where there are thousands of photographers to choose from.

It seems like nowadays everyone wants to become or is a photographer. All one needs is a smartphone with a good camera and an Instagram account. Whereas before, my website was enough to bring clients to me; now I always need to make sure to promote myself more.

Please tell us about Nadia Tyson Photographer.
The central focus of my work is documentary, fine arts, and headshot photography.

My headshot clients range from actors to professionals, to artists, to bloggers, to writers, to people who want photos for a particular dating site to people who have never had a headshot before and don’t even ‘need’ one, but have always wanted that one great photo of themselves that they feel truly captures them.

My photography business is unique in that I use 4 large kino lights in my studio loft to brighten my subjects face. I believe my success with my client’s portrait photos comes from a combination of using my soft lighting with a white background, knowing how to achieve the perfect image and making sure that there is a connection with the subject.

My most effective strategy with keeping my customers happy and satisfied is by eliminating the anxiety that comes from being photographed one on one. I think what really makes a good headshot comes from the photographer’s side of having experience, a good eye and most importantly, making sure the person in front of the camera feels at ease. I am always 100% confident that by the end of a photo session, my clients will have at least a handful of headshots to choose from that they will really like and that represents them well for a very reasonable price.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My most cherished childhood memory is with my mom. Every night after I finished dinner and homework, she would “reward” me with walking down to a college track in Pasadena where she would time me racing around it. I felt so happy to have her watch; it was perfect and I loved it.

Pricing:

• Headshot session including 3 retouched images- 3 looks is $199; 5 looks is $299 (indoor & outdoor)
• Call/email for inquiries about day rates personal/company photo session – [email protected]
• Please call/email for inquires for fine art prints – [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Address: 1140 Venice Blvd #212; Venice, CA 90291
• Website: www.nadiatyson.com
• Phone: 6267551976
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @nadiatysonphotographer
• Facebook: Nadia Tyson – nadiatyson.com
• Twitter: @nadiatyson
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nadia-tyson-photographer-venice-2
• Other: https://www.thumbtack.com/ca/venice/headshots/photographer
• Image Credit: Nadia Tyson