We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dominick Aznavour. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dominick below.
Hi Dominick, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?
I believe that corporate America under-values the importance of having original and quality photography for their businesses. Time and time again, I see people who are trying to get the best deal out there regardless of quality. We live in a world where photo/video are the main source in which people determine if they want to buy the product, work with the business, etc… So you do yourself a disservice when you don’t put your best foot forward by hiring a quality photographer to represent your business or your product. Stock photography also doesn’t solve any of those issues; it doesn’t give your audience any idea of who you are and what you represent.
Dominick, 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?
I grew up painting, drawing and watching movies ever since I could remember. I’ve always had a huge love for the arts. I started taking art classes which started with pastels and charcoal which eventually transitioned into oil painting. This is where I learned about color theory, composition and framing. Once I got into high school, I started becoming more interested in performing arts where I started acting. This was the beginning of me learning about directing and performing in front of the camera. Going into college I got my bachelors degree in Film Production where I learned everything about cinematography, directing and lighting which naturally led me into photography. Once I left college I was hired at an internet marketing firm where I moved up the ranks from designer to director of design and now Head of Photography.
In my current role as head of photography, I serve as an art director, creative director, photographer and photo editor. I’ll meet with clients and discuss their branding and what they’re looking to get out of their photo campaign. Once the logistics as well as the creatives are discussed, I’ll go ahead and hire a photographer and discuss everything with them and make sure we’re aligned on the clients vision. I may also do some location scouting for certain productions as well. Once all the photos are taken, I’ll personally cull through and edit them. I basically handle the product from concept to completion.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
For years, I was taking pictures as a hobby/passion while working for an internet marketing company as a web designer. One of our Project Managers at the time asked me to travel to one of our clients offices to take pictures for their website. Eventually one client turned to five clients turned to hundreds of clients over the years. Finally at a certain point I had mentioned to my superiors that we should turn this into an actual product we sell. No more than a year later I started the photography department where we’ve serviced hundreds of clients and employed dozens of freelance photographers. It wasn’t easy to have a full time job running a team while also traveling for these photoshoots but it was definitely worth it.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
I think they’re a fad and have been phasing out for a long time. If you can’t clearly and concisely tell people how and what they’re used for, people aren’t going to make the jump for the long term. It’s like the beanie babies of the internet and we all know how beanie babies turned out.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dominickaznavour.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/domaznavour
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominickaznavour/