I kept this medium as my artistic way of self-expressing for years untill I finally found a way to connect my love for photography and food together and make a career out of it.
An inspiration for many creatives, food photographer Haniyeh Nikoo is our guest today and she speaks about her craft and shares a few insights for those starting out in the business. Discover her stunning work on her website and Instagram account.
Hi Haniyeh, thank you for accepting this interview! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi, I was born and raised in Iran. I have studied Graphic Design as my Bachelor of Arts and worked as a graphic designer for a few years before I left to do my masters in Visual arts at the University of Strasbourg in France.
I learned photography while at school and fell in love with it instantly back then.
I kept this medium as my artistic way of self-expressing for years untill I finally found a way to connect my love for photography and food together and make a career out of it.
We all grow by learning and we tend to look back at our previous work with some discomfort. Don’t be too perfectionist about it.
© Haniyeh Nikoo
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on creating some online video courses for those who are interested to learn from me and can’t participate in my current online one-to-one classes.
I’ve noticed that you are focusing on video material these days. What are the main differences between video and photography?
There are a lot more similarities in my opinion between videos and photos than differences but to answer your question I would say the story needs to go beyond the styling, lighting and composition and it gets a new dimension with the choices that you need to make: what frames to include or to skip, how long each scene should last and in what order to show them. That is a whole different level that separates the two apart.
Then will be the movement, how to zoom in or out or slow it down or reverse it. Deciding on what movements to bring to each sequence has a huge impact on the final result. Next comes the sound that I know many would simply ignore, or replace completely with a music but to me it's another powerful aspect that can add something to the story.
To be clear I am not against using music in videos, actually I know many that carefully choose their music to go with the rhythm of their videos and is great! I simply say the sound is an important element, being the music or the natural sounds, and should not be overlooked.
You were shortlisted in the Pink Lady photography competition in 2020. Congrats! Please descibe the feeling for us.
It was my first year applying and I did it at the very last minute so getting shortlisted with 3 images was a sweet surprise.
© Haniyeh Nikoo
It gave me the confidence I needed then to feel more encouraged about what I was doing passionately. I felt I could do even better and felt more motivated with that boost of confidence.
One could describe your style as a bold, colorful one with an emphasis on shades and powerful composition. The subject stands out and we have this feeling of home dining at dawn. Do you agree with this personal perception? What draws you to these low key moods?
I seek quiet and low key moments whenever I get a chance and photography is my medium to create that mood for myself.
© Haniyeh Nikoo
I am a homey person to put it in simple words.
But “my home” goes beyond a place I rest and live in.
I have lived in many countries in the past 10 years and precisely have lived in 12 different houses, in 4 different countries and 7 different cities!
All these changes made me seek more for a place of comfort and my home, wherever that is, can offer me that.
My lifestyle at the moment is dramatic enough with loads of ups and downs so naturally I seek quiet and low key moments whenever I get a chance and photography is my medium to create that mood for myself.
Some of our readers are starting out as food photographers, could you share a few tips that helped you when you started out?
Work on your technique and knowledge and invest in learning.
Focus on creating high quality images and start to treat your Instagram page as your online portfolio. Do not focus on followers, not at the beginning at least!
Only put your best work at the moment.
We all grow learning and will look back at our previous work with some discomfort usually so don't be perfectionist but simply don't post for the sake of posting. Give it your current best for each post.
As soon as you can, start expanding your presence on other platforms and make a website for your portfolio and business.
The more professional and self-presenting your portfolio looks the better the chances are of getting hired for projects.
And finally, what’s your favorite french dish and would it make a great subject for a shooting?
I love French pastries! The cheese and baguettes are to die for and I also love dishes like bouillabaisse, onion soup, ratatouille, moules-frites, tarte flambée.
Sounds delicious! Thank you for your time!