Meet Nyasia White | Aspiring Photographer/Military

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nyasia White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nyasia, why did you pursue a creative career?
All my life, I have always been in love with art and creativity. I dipped my toe in the different types of art like painting, digital art, fashion design, but what stuck out to me the most was photography. There was always something about capturing moments in time that stuck out to me. Taking the best picture to look back on and have my mind flourish with memories. At first it just a hobby for me, but other people other people started taking a liking to my photographs. People started wanting me to take their pictures for them and they really liked them. It meant a lot to me because not a lot of people like the pictures that other people take of them. So I began to take it seriously.
I would say what inspired me the most, the one thing that really gave me the push I needed, was my trip to Colorado. The beautiful scenery gave me ample opportunity to take amazing pictures. I was there with a really good friend of mine and he kept telling me how much he loved the pictures I took. He told me he thought I was too good to not try and be a professional. His encouragement meant a lot to me and motivated me to take courses to better my skills.
It meant so much because I thought that I didn’t have much to offer as a photographer, but all I needed was a change of scenery and new amazing subjects to capture. I didn’t travel much growing up, so there wasn’t a lot to photograph. After that trip, I have been filled with nothing but inspiration.
I grew to love how people became so infatuated with my pictures and thought to myself, why not go professional? I’m doing my own thing now while going to school to clean up my skills, but I plan to someday own my own studio. Pictures capture memories that last a lifetime and I want the opportunity to work to make sure people get the best picture to capture them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being a self taught photographer wasn’t easy. I came across many challenges like learning all of the controls of a professional camera. Luckily, my high school had a photography program to help students work to build a future career in the field. I’ll admit, there was a time where I became very discouraged. I wanted to be a portrait photographer, but we talked about how not every client will like their photos. I grew so worried because I thought what if my pictures aren’t good enough? I was more of a nature photographer, so I feared that learning to photograph people would be a hard adaptation. That was a job I really wanted, but I let the pressure get to me. Then I quit. All my pictures began to look bad to me. After some years, I grew to realize that I’m not perfect and every picture won’t be perfect. I remembered a quote my photography teacher had on her wall that always stuck in the back of my mind, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” By Henri Cartier-Bresson. I looked over all of my pictures at an older age and thought to myself, “I actually really like these.” And I hated that I let my fear cloud my judgment. If these are my worst pictures, and they look this good, imagine what my future holds for me. I learned to believe in myself and to see the beauty in every picture I take. It drove me to look at every picture, not matter how good, and wonder what I could do better to make my next picture even more eye catching. I don’t see “failure” anymore, only the opportunity to grow.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The only city I’ve visited in Colorado so far was Aspen. I loved it so much. I would take my friend to the best hiking spots. Maroon Bells, Grizzly Creek Trail, and Crystal Mill. My favorite was Maroon Bells. It was the first day of fall, and the trees were the most beautiful colors and the views were breathtaking. I can’t really remember the places we ate, but they were delicious.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to My parents Anitra and Jermaine White. They bought me almost every camera I’ve ever had since elementary school and encouraged me. I also want to give a shoutout to my very good friend, Tyez Conley. We planned our trip to Colorado together and he saw the spark in me after I had told him I gave up on photography after high school. His words of encouragement and our love of traveling made me get back into it. I want to thank all of them for helping me to recognize my talent and passion for photography.

Instagram: images.by.ny

Other: Email: nyasiawhite.photography@gmail.com

Image Credits
Personal Photo By: instagram: jack_cannon_photography