September 2022

It’s been over a year since my last interview; a ton has happened to say the least.

Today I’m chatting with Tamara Khlghatyan, an NYC-based photographer with a background in Linguistics. As with everything, I stumbled upon her Instagram profile and immediately loved her people photography.

Hello Tamar, before you start answering the questions below. What have you been up to this week?

I am just back from a weekend getaway with my friends. I had a good time off to recharge and recollect!

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where were you born and grew up?

I was born in Gyumri. It’s a small city in Armenia. It is a country rich in culture and traditions, and some of these traditions I just never agreed with, so I always needed to leave and seek experiences outside of it.

I grew up in a pretty open and supportive family but being just an artist wasn’t an option. I always say back in time in Armenia, you had to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure, so very few people would do whatever their hearts wanted. I got accepted into university to study translation studies, and a year after, I traveled to the states for the first time as an exchange student. It was a whole new world to me, like in Aladdin’s song.

When I was back, I was lucky to have friends who were talented painters, musicians, photographers, and actors with whom I would hang out. They helped me a lot to survive my university years. I would skip classes to spend more time with them in their studios or on rooftops, just listening to them play or rehearse. I loved being around that creative energy.

I picked up a camera for the first time when I was 25-26 after I paid my dues to my parents.

You're a self-taught photographer. How did you get into photography and what tools helped you learn?

When I was in my last year at the university, I decided to take time off and do some soul searching. I left for Greece for a year as a volunteer to work on a project. It was a shocker to my family because girls don’t just take time off from their universities. They graduate and work on their careers, so I had a year to figure things out.

In the beginning, I didn’t have many friends or things to do, so I would find myself bored wandering the streets of the small island. My friend gave me her camera one day and said I should try to have fun with it. I went out and, honestly, came back with the card full of photos of flowers, trees, and the most bizarre stuff, but I was very proud. The next day I went again, but this time I was curious to shoot people. I remember I shot this gentleman in a baby blue hat sitting in front of a blue building. When he saw me photographing him, he started cursing and throwing stuff at me. I just kept shooting him and loved it. I kept going back to the streets doing more of that. I have started reading and watching documentaries and doing photo walks with other photographers. Two months later, I used my small savings and bought a used canon 450.

I remember thinking that now that I have this serious camera, I need to work on serious projects. I convinced the head of the elderly center to let me work on a photo story there. I would go there every day and shoot for hours and interview older people for stories, and then sometimes I would go to finish the story but would find out that the person was no longer alive.

But it was in that period when I knew that photography is all I love and all that is permanent for me.

To everyone just getting into photography, I would advise shooting as much as possible with whatever camera you have. I know we all have the pressure of finding our voices and defining our styles, but you only do it after going through so many layers of experiments and experiences. Hang out with artists, ask questions, do shoots with your friends and say yes to all the ideas in your head, no matter how crazy they may seem to you

Now, here are some quick-fire questions. Espresso or Latte?

Espresso always!

Morning person or night owl?

Night owl

Beach or Countryside?

Beach

Dolma or Chikofte?

Vegetarian dolma

Brooklyn or Manhattan?

Brooklyn all the way!

Summer or Winter?

Summer!

Color or Black and White?

Black and white!

Hasselblad or Leica?

Hmmm

Film or digital?

Both

Lastly, finish the sentence. "A good day in NYC is…"

…to finish the day without being cursed :D