We recently connected with Nivi Shaham and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nivi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is titled “Misconceptions.” It touches on the subjects of food insecurity and some of the realities (good and bad) of being low income, and the misconceptions we hold when viewing food choices from an outside lens. My initial ideation of this project came about when I thought back to my time in college and the free food pantry that was available to college students and the greater community. I was interested in understanding the realities of how people surviving with food insecurity lived, and in creating art that spoke to this subject.

I really wanted to create visually stunning works of art that spoke to a grander issue at play in the world today. Food insecurity was meaningful to me as someone working in the food space, who sees food waste more than most, and who contributes to it by being a food photographer. I think it’s important to acknowledge the things we do right and the things we do wrong, and food waste shines a light on its opposition, food insecurity. The dichotomy of too much and too little, existing at the same time, is fascinating and complex, and influences many of my personal projects, including Misconceptions.

For this project I created 6 unique stop motions that each speak to different facets of living with food insecurity: Indulgence, Efficiency, Joy, Nourishment, Scarcity, Survival.

Nivi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I often get asked how I got where I am right now and the answer is I practiced, and then practiced more, and I continue to practice. I always believe that you can accomplish anything with enough hard work. I had been a hobbyist photographer from the age of 12, and for many years it brought me joy to go outside with my camera and capture the world around me. When I got older and reevaluated what really mattered to me in life, I came to realize that when I was pursuing anything creative, I was engaging my most authentic self.

When I fell in love with cooking and baking, I merged it with my other love, photography. Since then, I’ve worked incredibly hard to learn anything and everything about commercial photography, lighting, storytelling, and crafting a style that’s true to me. I expanded to food, product, and still life as well as directing video out of a love for all of those genres. I am constantly conceptalizing new ideas, pursuing personal work, and collaborating with incredibly creative stylists. In my free time, I am learning new techniques, meeting new creatives, or pursuing my next crazy idea.

I aim to create imagery that showcases a brand’s story in each photo. Consumers connect to stories, not just great products. By combining your brand’s unique story with your products, we create beautiful images that entice, convert, and resonate. I especially focus on the connection between your product and the person it’s made for. My end goal is to deliver intentional images that strike at the heart of how you communicate and connect with your customers.

My favorite part about what I do is coming up with new, captivating ideas for my photos and stop motions. I focus a lot of my time and energy on conceptualizing something truly original, compelling, and beautiful for each and every project I work on. Often the photographer’s job is to simply direct and light, but my strengths lie in my ability to direct not only the crew and lighting, but the overall concept, feeling, and story.

If I’m not the art/creative director, clients know that I have their concepts at the heart of every decision I make as the photographer. I am meticulously detailed and intentional with my images, but I also know when to step back and allow others to do their magic in their specialties.

Possibly even more important, I treat everyone I meet, work with, and spend time with, with respect, appreciation, and kindness. Every person on a crew is equally important and essential and needs to be treated that way. I have so much love for the people that make what I do possible, and I make sure to show that in any and every way I can.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

One word, NETWORKING. Networking truly is, everything. This industry is run by people, of course. So people is who you need to connect with; not brands, not products, but people. The more people you know, that know you, like you, engage with you, the more opportunities to work with those people in the future. Reach out to artists whose work you love on social media, connect on linkedin, go to in person networking events, attend portfolio reviews, connect with as many people in this industry as you can!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Managing the finances of your business can be really daunting for many people. I personally really love the business/financial side of this creative industry, but good systems are incredibly important to make that happen. The book “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz Is a fantastic place to start for understanding how to make your business financially viable and how to categorize your money to make everything as seamless as possible. There are many different articles and books on variations of the profit first method, so find what works for you! I didn’t follow everything in the book exactly to a T, but I made it work for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nivishaham.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/nivishaham
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/nivi-shaham
• Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nivishahamphotography/