Tuesday, February 14, 2012

BEHIND THE LENS: With Hena Tayeb, Belleville, New Jersey


We are super excited to introduce Hena Tayeb from the great state of New Jersey.  We typically showcase professional portrait photographers on our site so we are happy to introduce something new with the brilliant and bold work from Hena.   Hena and her family love to travel the world.  Her photographs are in limited editions.  They capture the amazing view from her lens where she captures unusual abstracts and angles allowing the ordinary to appear extraordinary.  It is with great pleasure that we introduce Hena!

Your Name: Hena Tayeb      
Your studio/business name: Hena Tayeb Photography
Location: Belleville, New Jersey
 

Your Style

In 50 words or less, how would your clients describe your photography?
Architectural, abstract, unique, bold and beautiful. My clients get a look into my heart, my soul and the way I see the world. I zoom in and bring to light the details of things I see around me.

Are you self-taught or classroom trained?
Classroom trained I suppose. It was my minor in college.

How many years have you been a professional photographer?
4 years. I started right out of college.

Where do you want to take your photography business in 5 years?
5 years.. I would like to have exhibited my work in more than five different galleries by then.  But mostly I’d just like to have my work in more homes, on more walls and bring the beauty I see around me into others lives.

Is there a photographer who inspires your style?  Who would that be?
There are so many brilliant photographers out there each with a different perspective, a unique take on the world. It is difficult to pick just one.

Favorite location to take photos?
I have been fortunate to have been able to travel and I find each fascinating and beautiful in its own unique way. I have yet to think of one as a favorite. I have a deep love of architecture and old buildings, churches and cathedrals are always a favorite of mine.

Favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere I haven’t been before, where I have my husband, my baby boy and camera with me is perfect in my opinion. 


Your Business

What was the pivotal moment when you decided to become a photographer?
I was always an artist at heart, as a child I drew and painted, as a teen I wrote and when I went to collage I chose photography as a minor. It was my way of expressing myself. I just never had the encouragement to turn it into a profession. The pivotal moment came after I graduated college and I started to upload my photographs onto RedBubble. The amount of praise I received there gave me the courage I needed to put myself out there. It was after that I could say to those who asked that I was a photographer.

What’s the best marketing tip that has worked for you?
Blogging, I would say has worked the best for me.  But it was only after I started to become more active, posting regularly, sharing more about me and my family instead of it always being about work. Featuring other artists and most importantly reading other peoples blogs and building relationships.

What’s the most surprising thing a customer has asked you?
I have yet to be surprised by a customer.

Favorite print lab?
American Frames.. I love their quality, professionalism and their packing.



Your Gear

Are you Canon or Nikon: Canon

If you could only have one lens on a photo shoot, what would it be?
My Canon Ultrasonic 90mm – 300mm

What brand bag do you carry your camera in?
I rather not say, not proud of my choice.

What gear would we find in your camera bag?
Camera (obviously), two lenses, an extra memory card, charger.

Are you a natural light fan or strobe fan?
Natural Light

Are you PC or Mac?
PC



Your Tips and Tricks

What post processing tools do you use?
Lightroom and Photoshop

Do you shoot in Raw or Jpeg?
Both.

Best advice you would give a new photographer?
Don’t worry so much about pleasing your teachers; the problem is not you it’s them. (And I know that is not a great message but I had some not so nice teachers. Photography especially and she made me feel horrible every day until I stopped caring about her, kept my head down and did my best.)

What site do you use for your photography and why?
http://www.henatayebphotography.com I think it represents me well.



What Else Should We Know?

What was your worst photography experience?
I just had the worst two in the last 6 months.  The first was when we were in Canada. I couldn’t find my converter for my charger. We looked around for one in our area but everyone kept trying to sell us the pricey universal converter packages which we did not need. We needed just one little $2 converter. We thought we’ll get one on the way or when we get there. Two days later and we still haven’t found one and my battery is running low and I can’t take the pictures I want to take and we had seven more vacation days left. The tension was mounting. Not fun. We eventually found one but it is not an experience I want to repeat. The second experience was worse. We were in Aruba and I am mid taking pictures when my memory card is all full and I was in a hurry to take it out to put in another. And when I turn the camera on afterwards it gives me and error signaling that the camera is broken. Had to buy a new one when I got back. L

What would surprise people most about you, whether it is photography related or not?
I’m not sure. I’m a very tiny person, less than five feet with a great big voice. I don’t think many people expect that.



And just because we want to know you, fill in the blanks

Three things I can’t live without….
My family. My Camera and my hard drive.   I wish I had more….. time and sleep

The best thing about being a photographer is…
being able to capture moments and memories. Being able to focus on the smaller components that escape the eye.

The most important lesson I ever learned was…
relax, everything does not have to be in it place, things don’t always go according to plan.

My favorite time of day is…
It used to be the mornings..before my mornings began to start at 5am. Now I enjoy any and all quiet moments. Usually the time my husband comes home and my son manages to stay awake and see the excitement on his face.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your kind words. We appreciate and read each and every one.