We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aliyah Terry a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aliyah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
“CapturedByART”
In 2020 during the Covid 19 Pandemic, I was out with my siblings in Mount Dora and I decided to bring my camera to shoot pictures of them. As we walked around the town I realized I enjoyed capturing more than just photos and candids of them, I was taking pictures of the water, boats, birds, train tracks, buildings, beautiful signs and captivating art. At the time I didn’t have a photography brand or business established. When I was looking back through my photos later that evening, something told me to start a photography page named CapturedByART to just share my eye with the world, I didn’t think to make money off it I just wanted others to see my point of view.
Captured by ART is a brand that represents my vision and how I view the world. How I see beauty in the little things that others may not see with their own eye. I aim for my photos to help people to view life in a different way, for them to appreciate that everything in life that is created is ART and when something is beautiful we have to stop and stare. We usually pull out our phones take a picture so we can have it forever. It is also a play on words for my name ‘Aliyah Renee Terry’. I wanted my brand to have my name in it in some way and the fact that my initials are A.R.T. I thought it was perfect. I named my brand Captured By ART because I don’t want people to forget who saw the beauty in them through a lens. Who was behind the camera and wanted to share it with them to let them know they are a piece of ART.
As I started to take more pictures throughout college, CapturedbyART started to feel like a basic photography name and I also didn’t want my name in the brand because I wanted it to be bigger than me. I wanted my brand to represent people and their moments and give them something to look back on forever. So I thought of the name ReminiscentViews : A Photography and Videography Brand to help capture life’s most memorable moments with the people you love.
I believe having a brand name that fits a mission is what helps me create and makes me more comfortable to share my art. Having a purpose behind your work makes your art more meaningful.. After I started CapturedByART in 2020, I changed it to MomentsByAliyah a few months later because I thought the name was basic and I wanted to be different. I realized a a lot of photographers use “CapturedBy(Insertsname)”so I wanted to set myself apart. So then I thought of Reminiscent Views a year later in December 2021 and released the name in January 2022 thinking this name would be the one.
I was off and on posting my work because I didn’t feel like my work was deserving enough to be seen. I would continue to bring my camera to events and family/friend functions because I am a documentarian and a memory hoarder. I would send the photos out to family and friends but never post on social media. I have a huge gap in my instagram posts and haven’t posted since 2022. I created a website for Reminiscent Views and that’s where I was comfortable sharing my work.
Throughout the years I would always think of how far I could have been right now if I would have just been consistent sharing my work instead of having imposter syndrome. In 2023 I moved to Atlanta and I joined the film industry as a production assistant and didn’t have as much time to shoot my own stuff. I would think about restarting it back almost every day for the past 3 years and just kept holding it off. But one day I realized my purpose in this life and my brand is bigger than me. I am meant to capture the beauty of life and share it with the world. The world needs my eye and how I see it. I am a deep thinker and can be sensitive about my ART, so that is what held me back in the past. I know I’m not the only artist who feels this way so I want to help others know that what they create or see as Art is a beautiful way to see the world and they should share how they view it.
It is now 2024 and I am revamping my brand back to CapturedByART. I realize the way this name spoke to me after I viewed my photos back in 2020 is the way I view and capture life now. This brand is bigger than me and I want others to see the beauty within themselves and know that I see them and their beauty if they don’t even in the most candid moments. Aside from capturing humans, I also want to continue capturing nature, architecture, food, etc. Whatever stops me in my tracks and catches my eye.
Although I am working in the film industry, I figured I must continue to hone in on my skills outside of production and develop and share my own work. Looking back at all of my photos from 2020-2023 I see that I always had a gift of viewing the beauty of life and I shouldn’t have beat myself up for my photos not looking like a Vogue or National Geographic photographers’. I want to be the one to let people know Your Art is beautiful no matter how it looks because if it’s beautiful to you that’s really all that matters. Every artists creates and expresses themselves differently so comparing is going to hold you back. Even if you don’t share your work on social media, as long as you keep answering that call and take your camera out, you’ll look back at your portfolio one day and realize people need to see the way you see.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Greetings , my name is Aliyah Terry. I am a 23 year old creative from Tampa, Florida. Growing up I always had a love for the way movies would make me feel happy and empowered after I left a theatre. I developed a love storytelling because I wanted to make others feel the way I felt. I loved writing, making YouTube Videos,songs and acting. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and create tv shows and movies. I also wanted to be an actress and director. I found a love for capturing moments and creating whatever formed in my imagination when my parents bought me my first blue digital handheld video camera where I would make YouTube videos with my brother. I continued to write my own stories and make videos with my iPhone as I grew up. I always enjoyed making people feel and laugh. I loved to see smiles on other peoples faces and know I was apart of making them happy.
I graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in 2022 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. The School of Journalism and Graphic Communication helped me develop my writing, production, and both in front of and behind the camera skills. I was apart of many different outlets to enhance my journalism skills, The Director of Photography for Journey Magazine, the Entertainment and Weather Anchor for FAMU TV 20, a camera operator for a friends show named BeyondTheSky Entertainment and the floor director my senior year for FAMU News 20. I created my first documentary with a classmate my senior year about the decline in Black Marriage rates and was able to showcase my cinematography skills and show that film at the Award Winning J-school Journals. An annual event where 2-4 documentaries are chosen out of the Specialized Reporting class. Creating that documentary as the Camera/ Editor made me feel alive and in my element and I knew this is what I wanted to pursue.
After graduating, I got accepted into the Streetlights Production Assistant Training Program. Streetlights is a Job Training, Job Placement and Career Advancement nonprofit founded in L.A. they aim to help advance careers for minorities behind the scenes. They had their first ATL cohort in the Fall of 2022 a month or so after I graduated which brought me to Atlanta, GA, where I always dreamed to be. I am currently a production assistant for TV/ Film in Atlanta, GA and I have worked on numerous commercials,TV shows, and films as well as had the opportunity to act as an extra in a movie, stage play and use my journalism skills interviewing musicians at the 2023 BET Hip hop awards.
During my first year in the industry I did more than I could imagine even with the Writer’s and Actor’s strike. Although I was fortunate enough to take on multiple projects despite the state of the industry, I know work comes and goes. I was called to start back doing photography and videography on the side. I realized I missed creating my own work and wanted to utilize the down time I have while not working on larger productions.
I am revamping my brand back to CapturedByART. I held myself back from posting my own work for a few years due to imposter syndrome but I realize I am supposed to be used to show others the beauty within themselves and the little things in life.
Captured By Art provides services for event photography/ videography as well as services for bringing scripts and stories to life. I provide solutions for people who want to capture the small and beautiful moments at large and small events. What sets me apart is I really feel like my purpose is to capture other peoples happiness, in the candid moments, to see themselves in a different light.
I am most proud of living out my dreams, making it into the film industry and getting out go my comfort zone acting on some projects, I am also proud of myself for not letting go of the vision that was placed in me in 2020 and that I am bringing my brand back to life in a new city. I want my clients and followers to know that my brand strives to let you know that you have a purpose in this world and when you find it you must share it with others. Especially if it keeps calling you and you think about it everyday.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is the only reason I am starting back at this calling to do my own photography/videography. I feel like God wants to use me for a purpose bigger than working for large tv & movie productions right now. I am meant to create my own ART that touches others and makes them feel. I am new to the film industry so it may take some time for me to get to reach audiences that large so I know I have to start somewhere and establishing “CapturedByART” is what I am supposed to be doing at this time to get me to where I will be in the future.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding part about being a creative for me is knowing the world needs your gifts and talents. Artists are called to create because they bring out emotions in other people. It is very rewarding to know that my talents are impacting the hearts and minds of others through visual and auditory mediums. After showcasing the “Together: A Story about Black Love” documentary at J-School Journals their were audience members crying from how the documentary made them feel. It touched my heart to know that I was apart of something bigger than myself and I could reach the emotions of others through storytelling. I want to continue to do that as I advance in my film career in hopes of creating timeless and inspiring stories for others to watch whenever they need to lighten their mood. If you look deep enough knowing that everything in life is or can be a piece of art and being a creative/artist/ storyteller who is able to share that through the screen to others is a beautiful feeling.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.reminiscentviews.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reminiscentviews/, @thealiyahterry
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliyah-terry-081a21176/
- Other: Together Documentary : https://sjgcmedia.com/docs/together-a-story-about-black-love/
Image Credits
Aliyah Terry