We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aaliyah Rivers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aaliyah below.
Aaliyah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
As a young adult in New York City, it can be many risks you’ll face in adapting, growing, and/or overcome. To be quite honest most of my success in HoneyViisiion Photography came with numerous risks and changes within myself as a person and learning the industry. I am more of a person who loves to observe and learn and be a part of things that I can carry on with me to be better at doing so. One of many examples was New York Fashion Week 2020. One cold day leaving work at 4 pm from Times Square to go to lower Manhattan to a fashion show which started around 6 pm. Usually, I would be super hungry after work so in order to keep me going I purchase a dollar pizza to get to the show on time. I took the train to Fulton street and walked to the destination. At this point, all I knew was there will be a fashion show and I was not invited due to knowing the last minute from another photographer. I stood outside in the cold and watched till all the models and registered media pass photographers got in as soon as everyone got in I literally begged the doorman for a media pass and was able to get in. I was super excited to be at one of the biggest events. I was able to get a nice front spot on the floor and was able to capture many images. This event taught me to never think otherwise about expectations. If you want something you have to go ten times harder, even if it cost waiting in line for hours and hours. Sacrifices can lead you to success.
Aaliyah, 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?
Aaliyah Mariah Rivers (born April 1st, 1997) and raised in Brooklyn, New York. My family background is from Río Abajo, Panama, Central America. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, as the youngest of three siblings. I enjoy listening to Hip/hop, Jazz, Reggae, and more. I got into photography slowly in my teenage years, taking photos for my family reunions and recording myself for short film auditions. I officially took photography seriously in early 2019 after realizing one of my partners, Sean, told me I had a sony camera in my closet that was not being used, and it is a powerful camera that can take you places.
I questioned him to understand what he meant by that, and he stated, “this camera is not meant to be kept in the closet” I told him that I only use it to take pictures of family and whenever I travel. Sean began to state this camera is for the industry to take photos of professional models and their vision. After that conversation, I promised myself to learn the ins and out of a Sony A6000 and grow from there, and that’s how HoneyVisiion LLC began. The services that I offer currently
are outdoor/indoor photo shoots (pricing varies). Problems I solved for clients are mostly making sure that they love the photograph and edits after. If it’s an individual whose first time doing a professional photo shoot, I usually sit and talk with them first and let them know, “it is okay to be nervous, but it’s not right if you don’t feel like yourself and my job here today is to make sure that you are as happy and comfortable as possible, feel the power and vision in you and I will make it into reality” after that it becomes a beautiful photoshoot where the model is not only happy of the service but with the outcome of the photos.
What sets me apart from others is that I model myself, and I can understand how another person feels having photos taken of them and how they are feeling throughout the photoshoot. I feel like my love for art is what really sets me apart from others because it’s not about the service. Most of the time, it is the connection between you and the model. I believe you need to be in their shoots to really understand what they’re looking for within their looks and the story behind the photo. I am proud of making people I work with leave a memory with me and HoneyViisiion Photography worthwhile. As long as you’re happy with the outcome and your vision/reality come true, that’s the winning prize. I want potential clients/followers to know that my work is all realistic and has a story behind every capture. Also, how I started photography keeps me driven and humble. Before doing photoshoots for clients, I was networking all over the streets of Soho Manhattan and Coney Island to get my name out with landscape photographs on my Instagram.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met my business partner in Misean Kirton (Inspiredvisuals), literally working out at planet fitness. He told me that he’s a fashion photographer, and I was looking for one to do a photo shoot, so I followed him on Instagram. Months later, we met up at Nevins street in downtown Brooklyn and took the train to Prince street located in Soho Manhattan, and I watched him and his friend Angus take a long exposure to the city traffic next to Chelsea piers. It was one cold day, but it sure changed my life because I learned the magic of art. Art is created in different ways, and it can be from anything you put your mind to.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a photographer is allowing to capture people’s vision into reality. Also, I love the outcome and response from my work and the team’s effort. Knowing how much you’ve worked hard for people to notice your work and would love to work with you is very rewarding.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Maryam French Aaliyah Rivers (Captured By Misean Kirton, Inspired Visuals) Gianna Sferlazza and Matt Ruiz Misean Kirton Oijbe Jose Ortiz