Expressing creativity through photography
Through this guide, you will learn more about Simone Chnarakis, a photographer that has grown up in Vancouver B.C with a successful Instagram photography page. She shoots creative and fun images that capture the early 2000s. She discusses how she got started as a photographer, the difficulties she encountered by being a Black photographer, and advice for aspiring photographers.
IG: @Wurld2000k
When and how did you get into photography?
I started recently when a lot of people started their hobbies because of COVID. Before I was super into basketball and really into athletics in general. Then COVID hit, and we couldn't play basketball anymore. So, I was kind of just left with what I felt was nothing. I've never considered myself to be a creative person because I was always playing sports. So, I didn't think I could be an athlete and creative at the same time. It kind of left me with this open door of like, what path are you going to take. I had already been taking pictures of my friends for fun, and not even anything professional. One of my friends convinced me to just start up a page and see where it goes.
How were you able to master your skills while being in high school?
Once I had to pick my courses for grade 12, I initially didn't take photography class, because at that time, I just felt like it wasn't worth it. I felt like anything I needed to learn, I'll learn it when the time comes. But then my counsellor was like, No, you should just take it, for fun. So, I took photography and it really just taught me more about the fundamentals of photography. I don't want to disregard my teacher who taught me those things. I really appreciate her for teaching me the basics of how to operate a camera. But I would say a lot of my skill came from just not being afraid to fail, in a sense, and just taking photos for the sake of taking photos. That's what you have to do, like when you first start out it’s just the mindset of like, there's no strings attached. This isn't for anything crazy, like, just let your creativity flow and see where it takes you. Then you can polish it up as you establish yourself.
Is there anyone you were really excited/shocked to work with? Who are you hoping to work with in the future?
I feel like when I first started I didn't have goals because I didn't know I was capable of getting to where I'm at now. A creative here in Vancouver that is the first that comes to mind is Boslen who is a rapper here and he's totally going to put us on the map for sure. I got to shoot for his merch, which was really cool. And it was just one of those things where I just never thought that someone like him or his team would ask me to do that. In terms of people that I would like to work with one day, I feel like a lot of them are more so like celebrities. I love Billie Eilish, I love SZA, and I love PinkPantheress.
What advice would you give to someone who's starting out in photography?
I would probably tell them to not compare themselves to established photographers here, or anywhere, because it's not realistic. You need time before you can flourish. It's like growing flowers, they don't grow overnight, you have to put a lot of attention and care into them.
• I would tell someone just don't be afraid to fail.
• Don't compare yourself to other people, especially people that you're not on their level and one day you will be but you need to fall and get back up to know what it's like and find yourself.
• Don't try to be a duplicate of someone else. Just be authentic and be you and don't try to please the masses, like always do it for you first, and everyone else will come after.
How is it being black living in Vancouver?
Being black here in general, is tough, in the sense that the population of black people here is already so small. Growing up being one of the only black kids in a classroom was hard. Because it's like, realistically, you know, that you are setting the standard for the rest of these people to like what a black person is because of the small population. I know that how I act in a classroom full of non black people, that they're gonna look at me as the stereotype or as the epitome of what a black person is. So, it's a lot of pressure because you have to, at least for me, I always felt like, I wanted to prove a point of like, we're not the societal stereotype that people cast black people as. So, I always felt like I had to deflect from all of those things of like, not being too loud, not being too ghetto or whatever people you know say about us. So, that in itself is already tough.
How is it being a Black photographer in Vancouver?
Lately, what I've found, is that being creative is so different, and it’s so crazy because the creative industry is it’s own little world here. If you’re not in it, you really have no clue that it would even exist. it's just so hard to be a part of, because everyone's so established. And I think especially here, everyone has this mentality that they're above people when realistically, we're in Vancouver, so we're not really above anyone, until we're out of here. But it's just hard. I feel like, because of the lack of black people in Vancouver, there's a lot less black people in the creative industry in itself. So, I don't have a lot of black friends in the industry. And, you know, there's pockets of people that I mesh well with, but it just, feels really Clicky. It feels hard to be a part of and I hope it improves, I hope it changes. I know, even in Toronto, it already feels like more of a community there, especially for black creators. I hope that I make other black creatives feel safe to share their work and reach out to me as well, because that's also partially why I've started this account is for people of color, but more specifically black people to have a safe space. To envision themselves doing things that I'm doing or what the models are doing and so on.