We were lucky to catch up with Peeradon Ariyanukooltorn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Peeradon, thanks for joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Being a photographer and cinematographer is cool. And it seems easy to do just entering the scene carrying a camera and shooting it. This perception occurs to both sides of clients and some of the artists themselves. Hence, it sets the lower price as an industry standard without considering many costs behind the route to that career.

Two major things we need in this career are equipment and experience. The first one is easy to calculate the cost, how much we spend on cameras, lenses, lighting gears, and many accessories. However, the cost of acquiring experience usually needs to be addressed. Especially for those who can do better practically means they have more working hours. So that is the cost they need to pay.

Since many photographers and cinematographers try to lower the price to favor the client, setting the proper price by considering those two factors for the industry is essential. This is the biggest challenge to profitability in the industry. Art appreciation does not come only from the client’s side but from ours. We need to love our work by not looking down on them.

Peeradon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Peeradon Ariyanukooltorn. You can call me Zan. I worked as a photographer and a director of photography, specifically for real estate and architecture in Thailand. My clients were leading real estate and developer companies and well-known architecture studios in Thailand. During that time, I was invited as a guest speaker and instructor for many events and educational institutes to share my knowledge with the new generation of students interested in photography. I also collaborated with Nikon Sales Thailand on many marketing campaigns.

After six years in my career, I imagined myself on the other side of the world. So I left my Thailand career behind and moved to the US to start another chapter of my life.

I started by completing the Certificate of Cinematography at UCLA Extension in the first year. Then my friends and I started a video production company in the US. Rocket Tofu is our brand. We want to make it easy to digest and have some Asian feeling to the brand. Our company focuses on creating video production in a cinematic style. The process covers from pre-production to post-production. Our company believes that the storytelling method can significantly improve the video product. So we work tirelessly on story crafting and development. Our members have profound work experiences in Thailand. So this is a good beginning of the new chapter I am looking for on this side of the world.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Three significant things have changed my entire life. First, it was my enthusiasm. I have never felt settled in myself. I always seek something bigger and more challenging, and I needed more than photography to be my skill in the future. The world is changing, and so does the media. The era of videos is replacing still images day by day. That’s the time I started learning cinematography.

Next, in this recent years, I have seen so my problems occurring in Thailand. It is not only the political situation but also the low art appreciation from the Thai people. So, I pushed myself out of the country to find a new place to grow.

Last, and I believe it was a major cause for many people worldwide, COVID-19. The pandemic forced me to find alternative plans for my future. And I admitted that it was very challenging at that time.

These three causes brought me here to start a new chapter. I change myself from a freelance photographer to a co-founder of a company in the US. And I still need to keep moving.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

We met each other when we were in Thailand so many years ago. I have seen so much of their work on social media, especially their hiking and traveling stories. My partners supported and helped the idea of moving to the US, so we moved here together.

Starting in the US got more manageable because of them. They are like my older brother and sister here. We have known each other more since we moved here. And we see the potential to start a company together. We are not competitors; our skills can help others fulfill the missing pieces in the company.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zanyama.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zanyama_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yamakunz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peeradon-ariyanukooltorn-b8702a106/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/zanyama_