Meet Aniya Monaé | Fashion Photographer & Film Director

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

Hi Aniya, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risks are vital to people in the world of work. Nobody gets anywhere by playing it safe; they become stagnant. In artists’ careers, and specifically my career, I feel like risks are what give us our individuality. I wasn’t able to really establish who I was or my brand as an artist until I took a large leap at what I wanted my photos to look like. Especially doing fashion photography and concepts, I had to be willing to go outside of my own box, and then outside of the world’s box.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My photos are different in the way where they don’t just come from my experiences. I try to tie in other people’s experiences within my art in order to get people to resonate with my photos. I don’t just want people to feel “something” or “me” when they look at my photos; I want them to feel a piece of themselves. I want each photo they look at to help them understand a bit more about themselves. I started out with photography in eighth grade when I was going through a very hard time. I was in a very dark place at only thirteen years old and painting and taking photos were the only activities that actually made me understand my feelings. Putting together colors or clothes that made sense together based on how I felt and putting it into picture form was something that was like therapy for me. All my feelings put into this one photo or painting makes it timeless. Feelings come and go, but photos are timeless. So I want my art to be therapy for other people; I want them to be inspired to learn more about themselves and to know that their feelings are what make them beautiful.

Now as for how I got where I am in my professional career. It was difficult at first starting out. I started taking photography seriously in high school, so I was nervous about reaching out to models and other photographers about working together. It wasn’t until I had my first shoot at Cam Kirk Studios a few years back, that I actually started networking and talking to people. I remember having a conversation with one of the staff members there about how they were able to get so successful. She said that I had to be willing to not take myself so seriously. It caught me by surprise because I felt like in the professional world, I had to be serious or no one would take me seriously. What she meant was that I needed to be more willing to be personable, more charismatic, more open, and that I can’t be so reserved or work-oriented all the time: I needed to be able to mix it up. Be chill, be excited, but still work. After that conversation, I changed the way I’ve approached networking ever since.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some places I would go around Atlanta, if I was giving my best friend a tour, are Joey D’s, The Battery, The Carlos Museum at Emory, Ponce City Market, Bambinelli’s, and Pollo Campero. Joey D’s is a great restaurant that has mostly seafood, but they also have things like burgers, pasta, and chicken. My favorite things to eat there are the salmon, the calamari, and their lemon croissants. It’s a good place to go for a lunch outing and it gives you an excuse to dress up nicely. The Battery and Ponce City Market are both places where you can just wander around and explore different restaurants and shopping places. I like going at night because you have more of a chance of riding on the electric scooters and feeling like you’re in a movie. The Carlos Museum is just beautiful, I went a few months ago in the Spring, and I absolutely loved it. This is the top place I would take my bestfriend if she was visiting. It has all types of art and artifacts from Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Near East, African, and Ancient American culture. Each exhibit was so beautiful, and I would have to say my favorites were the Egyptian and Ancient American exhibits. Bambinelli’s is this elegant, nice Italian restaurant. It’s my favorite restaurant of all time. From the appetizers to the entrees, I would literally eat everything on their menu. Lastly, Pollo Campero is a place that I hold dear to my heart, because it was shown to me by a new friend of mine. She was very excited to show me this restaurant and I was not disappointed by it. It’s a small, Latin fast food type of restaurant. The experience is more enjoyable if you go in and sit down with friends. Their empanadas are very tasty, and I would love to share them with my best friend.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Of course I’m thankful to my family and friends for their everlasting support, but I would actually like to take the time to thank other photographers and artists for their support and love while I’ve been growing in the industry. While I didn’t have a mentor, I have met a few people that I’ve worked with who have been nothing but encouraging and motivated while on set. So I’d like to take some time to thank @Joshuafiles @Justatypicaldre @Bellaacrawley and @Elier.pics . All of you have positive vibes whenever I’ve come into contact with you all, so thank you. The atmosphere while working on set is so vital to the outcome of the shoot, so I’m glad to have been surrounded by, or in contact with, others who are just as passionate and genuine as I am about art. I think it’s important in this industry that artists lift each other up, because as it’s been said, “Competition is at the bottom, Collaboration is at the top.”

Instagram: https://instagram.com/shotzbyam_?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lifeasaniyamonae

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shotzbyam_?_t=8eP7aDuQbCY&_r=1

Image Credits
Elier Vazquez