We were lucky to catch up with Jana Akkari recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jana, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My resilience and adaptability stems from growing up in war-torn Lebanon, where I became accustomed to overcoming challenges and adversity. I learned to be proactive, conscientious and self-reliant.
I learned a lot from the challenges I faced and the obstacles I had to overcome to succeed. I also acquired practical knowledge and hands-on experience from working in stressful situations and environments while maintaining focus and composure. I became adept at managing stress, people and multitasking. which allowed me to succeed and thrive when I came to the United States.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I stumbled into photography from doing a favor for a college friend who needed promotional shots for his music. At the time, I borrowed my parents’ old camera for the shoot, and despite its limitations, I was pretty proud of the results.
As I continued taking pictures for friends, I gradually became more involved in the Detroit music and art scene. I discovered my passion for photography as I enjoyed both the process and the outcome. Eventually, my passion for photography led me to Los Angeles, where I’ve been focusing on shooting musicians, artists, and models. Over time, I’ve worked on refining my photography, turning it into more of an art form. It’s been a journey from a casual favor to a dedicated pursuit of capturing the essence of creative individuals.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Communication, empathy, and connecting with people has helped bring the photos that I see in my head come to life. Another impactful skill has been paying attention to detail not only when it comes to composition and capturing the shoot, but as well as in post and editing the images.
My advice would be to take inspiration from other artists and build on it to turn it into your own. You don’t always have to try so hard to be incredibly original and only focus on standing out, that happens naturally, with time, practice and dedication.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking to collaborate with other creatives, artists and models. I can be reached via email or instagram for any type of collaboration. I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned as well as being inspired by and learning from others to continue to grow.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/jana_akkari
Image Credits
Lokii Reis da Silva, Jana Akkari
