The “Photographer of the Week” series is dedicated to highlighting photographers within the SCAD community that demonstrate unique abilities behind the lens. This week, Yon Huang, a senior photography student, shares his recent project and personal insight.
- When did you start your photography journey and what does photography mean to you?
I have found myself interested in taking pictures since 2016 when I was studying in Seattle and love to capture the interesting moments of my life. I started photography in 2018 when I got my first DSLR camera, at the meantime, I’m also a big enthusiast of cars, I started photographing my car at beauty spots and taking pictures of other cars at all kinds of car meets and car shows. Photography is not only a way to record my life and build up connections with others, it’s also a progressive process that shows me how far I’ve come.
2. Where do you attain your inspiration for your work?
Some of my inspiration comes from the internet, scrolling posts on Instagram is definitely one of the easiest ways for me to get my inspiration, I love to save something that inspired me to my phone for pre-production inspiration. Sometimes my inspiration comes from the places I found, I can imagine how my composition and my object would look like when I found a place I’m really interested in.
3. What is your creative process like per shoot?
Most of my work was shot outdoors. I like to go check out the spot that I will be shooting at beforehand or at least look at it on google street view to give myself an overall idea of what the shooting environment would look like. And then I’ll check on the weather and the lighting from different times to make sure everything is what I expected.
4. What impact do you want to have on the industry?
For me, one of the biggest impacts I want to have on the industry is to bring the beauty of the automotive world and spread the different car culture through my photos to the public eye.
5. What project(s) are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a film photography project for my large format class and trying to enhance the diversity of my portfolio.
6. Is there any advice you’d like to leave to other aspiring photographers or SCAD students?
Participate in photography-related activities, including competitions. When participating in various photography activities, you will make friends with many different photographers, who will more or less affect you or can provide you with some experience and help. Don’t feel embarrassed to ask questions. Most photographers usually are willing to share and answer your questions, as long as it won’t take up too much of their time.
