Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Chen.
Hi Tiffany, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I spent the first ten years of my career working in the fashion industry – I was a women’s sweaters and knits designer in New York City. In pursuit of a creative outlet outside my demanding job, I decided to enroll in a day-long photography workshop back in 2016. I immediately fell in love the photography – it provided an amazing opportunity to connect with other fellow creatives, explore the city, and learn new skills. I booked my first shoot just 1 week later, and it’s just been a snowball effect ever since. While I started off mostly photographing content creators and fashion editorials, I decided to focus on product photography when I went full-time in 2021.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Although I first picked up the camera in 2016, it’s been a long road to get to this point. I briefly left the fashion industry in 2018 to pursue other creative endeavors along with photography, but I lacked a good business strategy and ended back in fashion just 10 months later. When the pandemic hit, I was more miserable than ever at my design job, but I was also so terrified to try pursing photography one more time due to my previous shortcomings. However, I managed to convince myself to take a leap of faith, and I gave my two weeks’ notice in 2021. Part of my new business plan this time was to really niche down in an area of photography and focus on a sector that would be pandemic-proof. I settled on commercial product photography, particularly in the skincare, beauty, and wellness areas. The only thing was…I had never done product photography in my life before! I immediately read as many articles as I could find, watched countless YouTube videos, and just practiced shooting as much as I could while sending my portfolio out to potential clients. And it somehow worked out in the end.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Right now, I primarily do commercial product photography for skincare, beauty, and wellness brands. So, this means that many of the images you see from brands on their website, social media channels, and ads are often created by me. It’s taken some time to develop my craft and create an aesthetic that both fits my style of work as well as any clients I may work with. I’ve often been told my work is feminine, dreamy, romantic, and dramatic.
I’m most proud of taking the chance to pursue this new career. While it has definitely come with its own set of challenges that I was not prepared for, I want to stay in this business for as long as I can.
A lot of product photography I was familiar with, prior to working in the field, was either very high-end looking and super re-touched, or it was UGC created. I offer a style of photography that’s a bit more imaginative, that bridges the gap between influencer content and high-end luxury studio photography.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think it can be hard to find a community within product photography since it can be a very insular job. It’s something that’s easy to do all by yourself, and you tend to work alone much of the time. What has worked is just trying to make new friends who have had similar experiences of leaving an unfulfilling 9-5 job and pursuing a passion career instead. The goal isn’t necessarily to make the connection in order to work with each other but to share stories and advice for navigating the many unknowns of this type of self-employment. I’ve also met quite a few people through social media who were in a similar position as I was 1-2 years ago, and we can relate to many of the same struggles and inspirations.
Contact Info:
- Website: tifftiffstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tifftiff_studio/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tifftiffstudio
