Interview With Teejay Karamese
Interview: Monica Magtoto
ABC: Tell us a little bit about what you do.
TK: I’m a Photographer who is very open minded about different styles of shooting. My styles of photography range from fashion, portraiture, documentary, landscape photography and conceptual work. I don’t stick to just one main subject or direction. I like a taste of it all. I still have so much that I can learn, so I would hate to limit myself to only one type of photography.
ABC: What was the worst critique/review/feedback you were ever given and how did it make you feel?
TK: I rarely come across people who don’t like my work. But of course it does happen… I would have to say the hardest time I had defining myself and my photography would have to be while I was living in the Midwest. I was constantly surrounded by people who did not understand my work and style. Anything I did with my work was just a waste of time in their eyes. I constantly felt hopeless and misinterpreted. Also, photography is a business, and if I wasn’t making money from it, then why keep doing it?
ABC: How did that experience change or not change the way you feel/felt about your art?
TK: At first I completely gave up. I was not in my right element to start off with. I think that in a sense made it easier for me to want to throw it all away. I needed to throw my focus into other areas of my life at that time. It was a lot to handle, but not being able to express myself with my photography made me feel like someone had stuffed me into a trunk to die.
The feelings eventually lead me to a deep depression. My time in Michigan was not one of my best periods of life. My mother was dying and I had given up completely on my dreams. I found hope in one of the last places I thought I would, in my mother’s hospital room.
She told me she wanted to clear the air, and then proceeded to talk to me about my photography and how great I was at it. She told me it was my art, and to never let it go. No matter who stood in the way, I needed to make this my life.
She died three days later.
This was the one and only time my mother has ever even showed an interest in my work.
This newfound understanding from my mother made my passion for photography even fiercer.
ABC: What did you do about it?
TK: I moved on. Literally, I left the state a year after my mother passed away and came back home to California. I do not let anyone come between me and my art. I have more confidence than ever before with my work. I like to think that if someone has something bad to say maybe they just don’t see what I’m trying to convey in the first place.
Now a days I’m my hardest critic. I do not look to others for validation; I do not dwell on what people “don’t get”. I’m doing what I love, and I know where I want to take it.
ABC: What inspires your photography?
TK: Beauty inspires me in general. You might see something ugly, but I will defiantly find the beauty in it. Everything in and around me in this world inspires my photography. From art, to colors, flowers, streets, certain time periods, music, certain people, and things all inspire me. I really do see everything as a photo; you can say I am constantly looking through the world with rose colored lenses.
I see the world a lot differently than a normal person would. I think a lot of photographers are like this, as well as most artists in general. I like to think outside the box and see what others cannot, or do not want to see.
ABC: Your portraits seem to show more subversive things about the subjects. How do you decide what things to expose about the models?
TK: I have a ton of ideas that I want to express on film. A lot if it depends on the model, and what we are trying to achieve together as a team. Once I get shooting, the background just fades away. I get really into the moment, and I get to a point where I’m not really thinking about what I’m exposing or underexposing. It’s just what I see. When I’m in a shoot there is no pause between my brain and my lens. I just shoot away. Hence the name Shoot Away Photography.
ABC: Your color and texture choices are very interesting. What informs those choices in your work?
TK: I love color! I strive to work with people who aren’t afraid of trying new things. I like to work with designers and makeup artists who have the same flare for creativity as I do. It all depends on what I’m trying to showcase at that very moment. There are shoots that take months to plan, whereas other times I get an impulsive spark one day and just have the model wear jeans and a tee with eye makeup that really stands out. Then other times I may be trying to focus more on the clothes. I may also focus on what is in the background to make the model appear softer so she doesn’t drown out the clothes.
ABC: What kinds of things do you do when you’re not taking pictures?
TK: I just love to unwind once I get all my editing done. After a shoot is done, that doesn’t mean it’s really over, at least not for me. I do a good amount of post-process alteration, which can take anywhere from a few days up to a couple of months depending on the shoot. I’m always editing. But when I do get have free time I love seeing my friends, and just relaxing. I try not to think about photography, but sometimes it is hard to shut off that part of my brain.
ABC: What would like to say to the other underdogs out there?
TK: Follow your instincts. Don’t think that you have to commercialize your art in order to achieve your dreams. If you’re not afraid to be yourself, then no matter where your life takes you, you will be happy that you stayed true to your style.
To see more of Teejay’s work, go to:
