We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Afsana Begum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Afsana below.

Afsana , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Ever since I was a little girl I always had been drawn towards the creative path.. I would pick up my LG handphone and take a bunch of photos with it. Originally I was raised within the city of New York and whenever I would look at photographers taking photos professionally I was amazed by the sight and also curious. During that time I saved up my money to buy those digital cameras back in the day. Whenever I had the opportunity to take photos of other’s making their vision happen through creativity something about their excited expressions just made it all worth it. Later on during high school I was given a point and shoot camera to continue my passion. I would ask my friends, acquaintances to be my model and market all kinds of shoots. From portraits, to taking photos at events. As I got older of course I went through various directions thinking I should get an occupation in the medical or teaching field. But a part of me found myself always drawn to looking at a photographer’s work admiring every detail. During this time I was asked to take a client’s senior portraits and so I did! Once I saw the excitement on her face when showing her photos. That’s when I realized I wanted to pursue photography professionally. One of the things I truly love about photography is building a connection with your clients. You get to encounter all kinds of colorful personalities, each connection is unique in their own way and once you see the excitement during the photoshoot and after it’s so worth it. As creatives, we are a creator and what creator’s do is to inspire, send a message, create a vision. And so I am passionate about creating meaningful work of enduring value- work that can make an unforgettable contribution to people’s lives whether it is big or small.

Afsana , 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?

One of the things I encounter whenever I work with a client or a collaboration is the process of planning a photoshoot. First thing we decide is what kind of concept we are looking for. Based on that we try to figure out the wardrobe and location! One of my main goals as a photographer is to make this an awesome unforgettable experience. There are three aspects that I always follow whenever I plan a shoot. The three aspects are safe space, fully guided posing, and styling. It is my goal to have my client be in a safe space they feel like they can thrive in. To feel comfortable, confident, and safe during our photoshoot session. During our session not only am I your photographer, but I’ll be your hype person, your third or even forth wheel. During our session I provide fully guided posing. I’ll be there helping you bring out your inner vogue within minutes. I’ll be there every step of the way. By the end of the shoot you’ll feel absolutely stunning. And styling! It is my goal to have you feel like you are the star of the show! (Which of course you are!) I’ll be there guiding you to help complete your vision! Helping you pick out an outfit, hairstyle, make up concept and so on! What I want my followers to know about my brand, my work is that I strive to make your vision happen. I’m a passionate visual storyteller that strives to have your vision turn into reality. 13 years later I want you to be able to look back at those photo’s and reminisce about the moments and feelings that are a part of it. To my clients, my fans, and people who I collaborate with as a photographer I also want to be a role model. One of my goals is to educate, and excel and use those skills to help other creatives within the industry.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

One of the things I’ve learned about building your audience on social media is being patient and not focusing on the amount of likes and followers you gain from your work. When I first started out I felt like I was more focused on the amount of attention I was getting rather than focusing on how I wanted to present my work in my own quirky way. And so I took the time to sit down and understand the algorithm on social media. Look at other people’s work to have an idea of how to really present your work in your own way to represent your brand. I then started to change my mindset and started thinking quantity over quality. The amount of likes, and followers doesn’t represent your work. The amount of posts you have on social media shouldn’t be the judgment of your progress in your art journey completely. We are our own worst critic and we tend to compare our work to others. We tend to forget to appreciate our journey and the growth that we are experiencing, and so patience is key and rather than looking at other’s work as a way of your own downfall, look at them as an inspiration, value their work and value your own.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Most lessons could be perceived as good or bad. And I think one of the things I had to truly unlearn was ‘being your own worst critic.’ There’s a saying that every artist is their own critique which I agree with, but it’s up to us to actually change that. Rather than looking at your own work in a negative way, think to yourself that the progress that has been made is going so far, but what can you do to have it match your vision. At a young age I would often look at my work and be disappointed that it did not reach its potential. I would go back to stage one to delete my photos and this would often happen even during my first year of college. Until well one day I stepped into a photography class and my professor at the time had said the first 800 photos won’t be the greatest work but don’t let it reflect your journey. At that moment I realized that every photograph that we take helps us excel, figure out what type of editing style we would like to towards, what type of photography we find ourselves gravitating towards. So what I did, what every artist should do, is keep creating. The more you create, the more you excel. And so look at your work as growth, not as a downfall.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jenab.photography/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenabphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077919926238

Image Credits
1st Photo: 𝙼𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚒 & Aaron 2nd Photo: Z & Kofi 3rd Photo: Alysha & Hari 4th Photo: Paloma 5th Photo: Koua Lee 6th Photo: Aniah Rose 7th Photo: Olivia Post 8th Photo: Sylvia Suttle