Today we’d like to introduce you to Taya Frank.
Hi Taya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi, I was born and raised in Moldova, a small beautiful country in Europe. I’ve known my calling was in photography since a very young age. My grandmother was a successful photographer, she took pictures with a film camera. She often took me to photo shoots and after that, we developed the shots together in the dark. I did my first photo session for my cousin when I was six years old. I remember she really liked the result. She was the same age. Lol.
Unfortunately, studying at school took up a lot of my time, and there was no time left for photography. After graduating from school, I entered the university at the Faculty of Economics and in 2012 I graduated as a certified accountant. The working days were boring and monotonous and I started looking for some kind of hobby for myself. I came across an ad for photography courses and I suddenly realized that it was exactly what I needed… Unfortunately, I didn’t have a professional camera and I wasn’t accepted to the course, but the dream of getting there remained.
I got back into photography in the fall of 2017 when my husband gave me a Nikon semi-pro camera for a photography course I had dreamed of for so long. It didn’t take long for me to fully embrace photography, and this passion ignited a fire within me that seems to be growing by the minute.
I started doing photo shoots for my friends on weekends. Then new clients began to arrive. I photographed everyone for free because it was my hobby. Seven months later, I started doing paid photo shoots and went on additional photography training, started attending master classes. So I got more clients, I started editing their photos right during my working day at the office, because of this, problems started at my main job and I decided to quit my boring job and devote myself to photography. My hobby has become my job. Soon I got myself a new professional mirrorless camera Canon R. A new life has began…
In 2019 my family and I won the Green Card Lottery and moved to Los Angeles, California, where no one knew me as a photographer. I started my professional path again. It took me about a year of hard work to get my photos recognized. All this time, my husband and my five years old daughter helped me move forward and achieve today’s success. I am very grateful to them. Now my photos are published in American and European magazines: MARIKA, Artells, GMARO, Photohouse, VIGOUR and I have a lot of happy clients.
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?
Success path is never a smooth road. There are always struggles along the way, but it’s important not to let them weigh you down for too long. Instead, let them motivate you to learn, grow and be better than before.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a lifestyle, documentary and portrait photographer who loves to capture different moments of people’s lives: their feelings, emotions, views, touch, smiles and tears.
Photography is so much more to me than taking a quick snapshot. Photography is my life. People don’t pose in my photos, they live in them.
I have always been fascinated by human connection. The fact that we each have our own unique story, history, and personality. I love that I am able to stop time for a moment with my camera and capture a small part of my client’s story that will one day transport them back in time when they look back on the photos we captured together.
I’m all about making photo sessions as easy as possible – I always guide my clients through lots of movement prompts for candid or fun moments.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I never give up! And also an inexhaustible thirst for knowledge saves me from creative burnout and makes me move forward. I can also add such important qualities as punctuality and responsibility.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tayafrank.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: @taya_frank
- Other: https://taya-frank.kavyar.site/
