An exclusive interview with this rising talent
There comes a time in every true creatives lives where they must make the decision between a conventional 9-5 life, and the true pursuit of passion. The pressure of using one's gift to survive can scare some off, sentencing them to a life behind a desk, or another unfulfilling occupation. When Karyn West was faced with this decision though, she chose her passion, she chose photography and she chose New York City. The 19 year old photographer boast a versatile portfolio of portraits which radiate with color and personality. Since making her return to NYC, she's collaborated with Coca Cola along with some of the city's brightest rising stars like Phresher and one of our faves, Juanialys. She also has shown promise as a creative director, with shoots like "The Three" catching our eye for its innovative aesthetic. West was dope enough to link with us and provide insight on her process, her story and her bright future. Enjoy.
1. What was your introduction into photography? How did you fall in love with the craft?
My introduction to photography is actually a conglomerate of different art mediums. In high school I'd taken theater, film and art class. Each of the mediums contributed to my photography. The first step moving me closer towards photography was an acting book called "The Art of Acting" by Stella Adler. At the time I'd been studying acting for a couple of years, I was about 14 years old when I discovered the book in a Barnes and Nobles in New York City. This book honestly shifted my entire perspective on life. It taught me how to truly observe the world and how to infuse imagination into my art. After reading the book, I didn't really look at the world the same. Suddenly I was seeing more than the average person, I would truly become lost in the beauty of the world around me. Not only could I observe better, but my imagination was heightened. Fusing those two together allowed me to create a more colorful reality.
"I debated with myself about it for a long time and I was truly terrified of the risk I was about to make, but deep down I knew it was the choice I needed to take to level up."
I put that fantasy world into my art pieces, it's still a form of reality, but I heighten everything in frame. From my art class in high school I learned the "technological" aspect of art. There I was exposed to basics of art ranging from compositions, textures, shades, patterns, hues, etc. The first camera I ever touched was actually in film class, it wasn't photography at the time. I was making short films and doing other film related projects in the class. At the time film was where I wanted to be, both behind and in front of the camera. One day I was asking my film teacher a question about improving my skills. In response she told me to start doing photography. I'd had a bit of photography experience using my cell phone and an app called pics art to edit photos but I never took it further than that until that day. My aunt had bought me a camera a couple of months before for Christmas because I'd be using it for film, but I hadn't really used it just yet. Once the teacher told me to do photography, I started using it. Everything that I was seeing, I started to capture through images using my creative skills, my art knowledge, and my observational nature. From then I just fell in love and continued to do photography.
2. It seems like everyone's been either going to or coming from the ATL these days. What were some of the factors that weighed into your move and how has it been in NYC for you creatively?
Definitely! I am actually originally from Brooklyn, New York City. I've moved back and forth between the two about four times. It's truly a love/hate relationship with both states and I believe that somewhere down the road I will have a home in each place lol. But I decided to make the move again after I dropped out of college. The school year was finally over and it was summertime, I actually decided that I wouldn't be returning to the University a couple of months before school was out. A lot of people were giving me hell about it and I felt horrible. I debated with myself about it for a long time and I was truly terrified of the risk I was about to make, but deep down I knew it was the choice I needed to take to level up. I finally made the decision. I knew I'd be needing a job if I wasn't going to be schooling but I also knew I didn't want to start working at the McDonald's around the corner making $7.50/hr. I started strategically preparing myself for success in the areas I wanted to pursue which were photography and film-making. I researched high and low looking through GA Production/Film source books. I emailed over 50 companies. I made phone calls. Applied for jobs online. I even decorated my entire room with posters of cameras, actors, and art pieces to keep me inspired. Nothing was working, I faced countless rejections for the next two months until I finally landed an interview with a photography company. They were about an hour drive away. I was speaking to my mom about it and she was worried for my safety. She didn't want me to make that drive each time I had work and there was only one car. We debated about it for a few days, until I realized that I probably wouldn't be taking the job (and that was if I even got past the interview).
I remember feeling so defeated, I hustled day and night just to remain broke, without a job, and without college education. I felt myself losing my hunger as the days passed, I cried myself to sleep a lot of nights. I brought up the conversation with my mom one more time the day before the interview and she decided that she wouldn't allow me to make that drive for the job. And the words just flew out of my mouth without even thinking about it "If I can't do photography here, then I have to move to New York." My mom supported my decision, typically she supports most of my decisions. I created a plan for when I touched down in New York City just like I did in GA. My family and I visited New York every summer. But this time, on the drive back home, I wouldn't be returning to GA with my family. I packed my bags and my mom and I made that 13 hour drive to NYC and I moved in with my grandma. Honestly I couldn't have made a better decision, NYC has been absolutely amazing for me creatively. I've had the pleasure of working for Coca Cola, Beyonce's Record Label, Safaree, Yandy and many others. I've probably made 5 times the amount of money I've made here in NYC than I did in Atlanta, so it's truly been a blessing.
3.One of the dope things I picked up from your style is the versatility. Some shots like The Throne are based in greys and whites, while others like Jai's shoot has some nice color popping. How you decide the direction you wanna take a particular shoot?
Thank you for the compliment! It honestly depends on the message I am trying to communicate and the emotion I want to convey in the series. Recently, I've preferred developing my concepts but sometimes I just go with the flow. Jai was one of those shoots where I was just going off the energy of the model and the locations which was very bright, colorful and energetic. The Throne was a developed concept where I was going off of premeditated themes and ideas while also going off the energy of the model and the locations.
"I've had the pleasure of working for Coca Cola, Beyonce's Record Label, Safaree, Yandy and many others."
4. Our personal favorite shoot of yours is the three. Can you speak on what you described as an emotion spiritual and physical effect this shoot had on you?
Three was probably one of the most emotional and spiritual photo shoots I've ever done. It started out with the models honestly. I was super excited to be working with them. I wanted this to be some of my best work because I knew that having 3 models like them would be extremely hard to come by again. I sat down to start developing a concept and I looked at a very obvious aspect of the shoot. There's three of them. So I did some research on the number three and I was blown away by what the number represented. Once I realized that this number represented God's wonders, I wanted to dedicate the shoot to God. I could literally feel God working through me for that art series. There was a very distinct feeling I would get when connecting to the shoot. Physically I could feel a warm explosive feeling in my chest, which for me is the feeling of passion. However, for this project the feeling was unusually stronger than previous times. Funny because I'm currently furthering my spirituality so for that concept to pop up when I was restarting my spiritual journey was a great way for me to connect with God in a deeper sense.God really guided me most of the way by sending me muses and inspirations.It was a beautiful adventure and I wouldn't trade that shoot, or the experience I had creating it, for the world.
5. What's a dream career for you? What lane do you see yourself in photography wise in the future?
My dreams may seem quite big for a 19 year old lol, but my dream career would be one where my photography is HIGHLY in demand. I want celebrities' management teams and companies fighting to get slots for my services. I'd like to have a good 75% of creative control over my shoots, where people come to me to get a shoot in which the concept was designed just for them. I'd like to travel doing those types of shoots. Ideally my schedule wouldn't be super packed with shoots. Maybe 4-5 creative shoots per month so that I wouldn't be super stressed and so I would have an ample amount of time to plan each one. Also I'd like to be making around 10k per month. In the future I see myself in the lane of editorial photography where I'd be shooting models.
