Meet Yekaterina Gyadu | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yekaterina Gyadu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yekaterina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It’s interesting because I never really imagined that I would ever own my own business, I always just thought I would be a photographer who worked for someone else or a company. After I graduated from college I started working in the wedding photography industry, doing mostly post-production work and assisting. I ended up staying in this industry for about 5 years but still doing my own photography on the side, photographing mostly portraits, events, and personal documentary work. Covid actually played a big role in my business endeavors. Right before the pandemic I was struggling with finances and decided I needed to take on a full time job and so I began working with a wedding photography studio full time. This full time job only lasted about 1-2 months before the world started shutting down and I lost my job. Being in lock down gave me a unique opportunity to really think about what I wanted to do and how I could do it. I began to organize all the work I’ve accumulated and working in the wedding industry actually taught me so much about how to run a photography business. With the work I had and the skills I gained I decided that I would attempt to tackle the freelance industry once the world was ready. With my portfolio updated I started to slowly put myself out there more and applying for jobs once they were available. I ended up finding a studio space looking for studio management help on a freelance level which gave me a space to work in, learn studio lighting, and honestly once I started promoting that I have a space to take portraits it caught people’s attention and I started getting booked. It was also important that as I was getting booked I was sharing my work constantly: updates on what I am doing, who I am working with, what I’d like to do next. Promotion always felt good because it not only helped my business but it also made others feel confident and appreciated. At this point I knew I had to keep the momentum going and that’s exactly what I did. Outside of creative portraits I also work with headshots, events and on personal projects which are mostly documentary. My goal for the next year is to begin working in the editorial and commercial world with different brands and publications.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think of my photography as a life-long photo album that I am continually building. Since I was a young girl with a camera I flowed with photography as a means of capturing memories and freezing time. When someone looks at my photos I want them to be able to step into that moment with me, whether it be a portrait or a documentary scene. Photography gives us this unique opportunity to capture something in our own perspectives and so each time I take an image I’m giving a piece of myself. Having studied Fine Art with a focus in Photography I bring my artistic values to my work while striving for images that are clean, natural, and in the moment. I love using light as a tool I incorporate, whether that be natural light or artificial. I am a hybrid photographer who uses both digital and film. Film has played a big role in my image making and has produced my favorite photos. With digital it’s very easy to press the shutter button as many times as you want, we are given multiple opportunities to capture a moment the way we would like. I cherish film for the fact that it makes me really take in my surroundings and think about the image I want to produce. When it comes to capturing a true in the moment image I believe that film does this plus more. Right now I am most proud of a series I’ve started developed currently called “Black-Russian”. It is a personal passion project documenting my story of being Russian and Ghanaian, while also seeking to share the stories of those with a similar background. Having felt isolated and misunderstood much of my life it became important for me to bring awareness to our existence, our history, to explore my identity, and most importantly to continue building on this community in order to find a sense of belonging. As a photographer with a love for both portraiture and documentary this project is special for allowing me to utilize both while also continuing to explore my identity and self.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Being in the NYC there is always so much to do and so much to see! I would definitely take my guest to the parks in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I love exploring both these boroughs and showing how much the city can offer in diversity, settings, and mood. A few places that come straight to mind are Soho, Central Park, Prospect Park, as many museums or galleries as possible, Chinatown, Battery Park/WTC, and Williamsburg. These are also some of my favorite areas to take photographs in. I would also take them to see anything live action such as a concert, a music show or a play. We would take the time to bike around Brooklyn, go to coffee shops, find speakeasies, and thrift store shop! I love to go out to eat so I would pick a handful of my favorite spots that can’t be missed, always keeping it budget friendly where possible. I wouldn’t mind also going up to Harlem to explore the areas that I don’t normally, would be a cool experience to explore new areas together.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is such a hard question because I honestly believe I would not be where I am today without the help and support of so many people in my life. When I was working in the wedding industry, Ira Lippke and his team really did push me and help me to gain so much necessary knowledge that I use in my photography business today. My friends who have consistently believed in me, especially on the days that I didn’t believe in myself. They saw my potential and my worth which pushed me to keep going. I owe so much credit to every person who has ever booked me, promoted me, spoken about me, or recommended me. A lot of work I gain is from word of mouth or from people who I have met throughout my life. Sometimes all it can take is one person to change your day, week, month, or even years.

Website: www.ygyadu.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yekaterrrina/

Image Credits
Image _DSC1805 – Model: Cristina Torres Image 010: Photographed in Ghana, Africa Image 0012: Models- Jalen Domonique, Sydney, & NYJA. Styling – Karryn Skinner Image 0012l: Models – founders of Nappy Head Club Rikki Richelle & Rachel Danielle Image 013: Photographed in Russia Image 0263: Model – Jalen Domonique, Styling – Karry Skinner Image 0277: Model – Khali, Make up – Rebecca Rose, Styling – Martina Barboni