We recently had the chance to connect with Samid Mirza and have shared our conversation below.
Samid, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What battle are you avoiding?
I’d say a battle that I’ve been avoiding is s really not overthinking as much. I think it’s easy to play the comparison game with you and other photographers, especially within such a niche space like concert photography.
But I think it’s important to always avoid those negative thoughts and replace it with more self compassionate ones such as “I’m doing the best I can” or “I’m grateful for all the amazing progress I have made”
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Thank you very much again for the opportunity to be interviewed by Voyage Austin. My name is Samid and I run a concert-based photography page called Mirzatography. It honestly started with just a random thought I had at 3:00 AM in the morning, which then led to me going to Best Buy the day afterwards and purchasing a camera on sale. From then I went from doing nighttime candids to then finding my niche within the concert photography realm. I also have the honor of collaborating with Captured Noise, a new and up in coming online blog + publication.
What makes my sort of brand unique is that I try my best to be as authentic as I possibly can with my photos. I think sometimes we get too caught up in finding the most perfect shots or pictures when it comes to concerts. But really, I think it’s a lot more aesthetic to capture someone in the moment and have their personality shine through these shots. I also add the whole black and white feel to it as well, just to kind of give another vibe to the photos. I think this is now especially going to be case with me integrating more “Behind the Scenes” content with professional shots done by Prime Contrast.
I also try my best to collaborate on Instagram posts with local Austin-based artists, as I am a firm believer in working together within the local creative space and uplifting one another.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
Honestly I feel this is the best opportunity to give special shoutouts to those who have helped and supported me the most throughout my journey; outside of the majority of my close friends who have always shown great emotional support.
All @s are from Instagram.
Hakeem from @Expressive Spaces: For giving me great advice on angles, editing techniques, lenses, and just general camera specs when I first started.
Abbie from @Abbie.Takes.Photos: For always answering my questions regarding concert photography (e.g. What is a “photo pit”) and for giving me the lil push I needed to focus on this niche.
Austin from @Boom Bucket: For giving me good pointers on local Austin shows and for giving me great advice on how to uplift my social media views and impressiosn on Instagram
Hunter from @Captured Noise: For giving me the amazing opportunity to be part of a publication and for always going above and beyond for me and all the photographers who also collaborate with them.
Kia from @Prime Contrast: For giving me the opportunity to take behind the scenes shots during professional photo sessions and for giving me great tips and teachings when working at a photo studio.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Oh yeah, 100%. There have definitely been a few concerts where I didn’t have the best experiences, and funny enough, these weren’t even the first shows I did.Bear in mind, it was never anything personal against the artist. It was just the overall setting or atmosphere which just made me feel uncomfortable and the sense of imposter syndrome seeing other photographers with way better gear than mine.
I also found out something kind of heart wrenching about me being rejected from photographing this one band and that just put me in a spiral of wanting to give up on Mirzatography. But after talking about with a few close friends and getting compliments from friends and other acquitances on my photos; I started to feel that fire in me reignite.
I guess the overall lesson is if ever you feel like you wanna give up on a passion or something that you started, please always talk to someone about it and never struggle alone or suffer in silence.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What do you believe is true but cannot prove?
I strongly think, at least in my experience, that if you want to try something new, you just gotta go out and do it. You can go through hours of different teachings or tutorial videos with me but we me, I just bought a camera, took some photos, experimented a lot and just found what I enjoyed just from experience.
Granted, yes, you can spend time going through online lessons or teachings, but I think that the best way you can learn is to just make mistakes and just keep moving forward. You’re not gonna have everything figured out at the beginning, but I think once you get off the ground and just say “whatever happens, happens”; I think that’s a mindset that will allow you to start truly appreciating the process.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That this is someone who just had the randomest idea late at night and took action upon it; and that action lead to a journey filled with amazing connections and great memories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.capturednoise.com/samid-mirza
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirzatography/
- Other: Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/202166414@N04/albums
Image Credits
All photos were taken by me, Mirzatography
