Flashback to not having cameras in phones to a time when disposable cameras were a go-to. Nowadays, they’re consider vintage and cool. A gifted photographer can capture the essence of living in every picture. Keeping inspired and working hard can help develop photography into a profession.
Name: Elif Turk
Role: Photographer
CollegeFashionstia: What inspired you to get into photography?
Elif Turk: I was never great with words so capturing photos became an outlet for my emotions. My mom saw this side of me. She encouraged and pushed me toward playing around with an SLR camera and to start a website, Elif Turk Photography in 2011. To me every picture has its own personal message that speaks differently to every person. Whether it’s a portrait or beautiful scenery, it doesn’t matter. Everyone has experiences that change their outlooks in life. I like to compare this to paintings because you don’t always see what the artist intended, but an emotion is provoked inside each individual relating to their past experiences or reminding them something from the past. In the end, that individuality drove me to explore photography.
CF: When did you decide that you wanted to make a career out of being a photographer?
ET: Starting out my photos straight up sucked. Some still do, but I have learned to love them and even become attached to some. It was through exploring and researching of other photographers, I gained the confidence that I could improve my skills set. Soon enough, I gravitated toward photography as an escape from the real world. That’s when I started to realize that photography was one of the only things that gave me that lovely feeling on the inside. I still take a lot of pictures on my own personal time that I am not happy with and, therefore, haven’t posted anywhere but even taking those for fun or for the experience is something that I look forward to. I am not saying that I will only be a photographer in the future; I still have other goals in my life. I want to be an orthodontist someday but I know that I will always do photography. You gotta make time for the things you love the most!
CF: How do you make sure to capture the essence of the model?
ET: Some of my favorite pictures have been accidents or candid ones as weird as that sounds. But I guess making your model feel comfortable around you during the photoshoot really makes it easier to capture their true emotions which is more than what is conveyed on their face in that particular moment.
CF: What would be the number one tip you’d give someone starting off exploring photography?
ET: keep your mind open to all sorts of different things and just have fun with it.
Learn More: Elif is an art major at Michigan State and freelances photoshoots in her free time. Stay in the loop by checking out her Flickr or website.
