Don’t Iron the Shirt

I know, controversial, right? But seriously, don’t over think it. What’s your day to day outfit of choice? Do you spend 30 mins (+) organizing your outfit, or do you roll out of bed and step into your casual uniform of jeans, t-shirt and comfortable shoes? Obsessed with Fashion, or vaguely aware of it on your commute to work?

If you’re looking to rebrand yourself and appeal to a different market, by all means, up your game. Buy fitted shirts, beautifully pressed with collar of choice. I’m a straight point collar guy myself. Classic and elegant. But if you’re a techie guru focused on user experience, maybe you stick with who you are and roll with the blazer and Vote for Pedro tee? Portraiture is about capturing the essence of who you are. Your style enhance you and your image, but isn’t the focus in your portrait, you are. One of a kind, a stylized to match.

There are different tools for different jobs. Know which tool to use to convey your message. Keep it simple stupid, don’t run to a Rowenta if you don’t know how an iron works. Just do you and communicate the real with Karjaka.

Aleksandr Karjaka
Aleksandr Karjakahttp://karjaka.com
Aleksandr Karjaka came to New York for the music, but stayed for the visuals. As a classically trained musician, he’s had the honor of performing with some of the greatest musicians, and artistic houses, in the world. Often quoted as "Listening through his eyes." he's photographed the lives and stories of thousands of artists of all fields over the years. Here are their KARJAKA portraits.

Check This Out

Make a Scene.

He sat there grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Was it because he was wearing canary yellow pants? Possibly. A wave of happiness washed over him. He was living Art in real-time. An artist of disruption.  Bathed in a sea of black winter coats on the Manhattan bound W train, even his tan 3/4 London Fog rain coat stood out. He was beside himself, giddy, and all he wanted was to shout and share it with everyone. Having not enough time to procure coffee, saner minds still prevailed as he found an alternative rush of adrenaline brought on by the moment, and the groove of Marvin Gaye.

Something to Smile About

If you haven't figured it out, I'm genuinely interested in people. Portrait photographers by nature are makeshift anthropologists, psychologist, sociologist and various other "-gists" all wrapped into one. Me? I'm more interested in who someone is on a global level. That's part of the secret of what shows up in my photographs.

Don’t Mistake this Moment for Mastery

I made a student cry the other day and I thought of my Father. His voice echoing in my head, "Are you going to keep playing wrong notes all night? ...or, "Maybe you find the grass to be more interesting in this photograph than the flowers?" A small observation that cut to the core of my student this week, said directly without frill or malice like my mentors before me, was challenged by this new photography prodigy of 3 weeks. The Zoom lesson ended shortly thereafter.

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