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

Hi Dominick, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The biggest factor I would attribute to the success of my photography is starting out as a jack-of-all trades. I think it’s incredibly important to be well versed in multiple genres of photography BEFORE really nailing down your brand. There is such a misconception now to find a niche from the get-go, especially in the world of social media. Although that is incredibly important down the line, I don’t feel that you can achieve a truly solid foundation to your niche unless you’ve experimented with multiple categories. The more I experimented with photography whether that be food, portraits, fashion, engagements, etc…. there was something I learned from each category which further solidified my voice as a photographer. You then end up going into each shoot with a wealth of knowledge and tools you can apply to every shoot going forward. With constant experimentation, I ended up refining my voice and style as a photographer.

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.
It’s really amazing to look back at my past and see how I got to where I am today and how early on that really started. I believe all of it attributed to where I am today as well as my visual brand, As a child I’ve always been very creative. I’ll never forget, in 2nd grade my teacher wanted to have a parent-teacher conference to discuss that I drew and talked too much in class. I continued to draw over the years, then started oil painting at an early age eventually moving into acting and graduating with a degree in film production. All of these things point to visual and performing arts in one capacity or another, which photography pretty much is in its’ purest form. All of those skills learned I’ve absolutely applied to my photography. Drawing and painting taught me about composition and colors palettes. Acting taught me about performance and working with different personalities. Film production taught me about story telling and lighting. Having that background in art and film production really developed my brand over the years. I experimented with all types of photography until I found my voice. Being open minded and trying different types of photography was such an important lesson. You really learn about what you enjoy doing through a process of elimination. There’s a gut feeling you get when you’re doing something special that speaks to you, it’s undeniable. Listen to it. It wasn’t easy to make a career out of photography. I worked as a graphic designer at a marketing company for 7 years while I did photography on the side. The constant was that I continued to do photoshoots outside of work, which eventually afforded me a full time position as a photographer at the same company. I truly believe that staying motivated, creative and hungry for creating art is what allowed me get better at my craft and gain recognition. With social media being such a huge part of our lives, it really excites me that photography is more alive than ever. We constantly rely on photography to educate us, motivate us, we use it as a means of escape like some people do with reading. We are more visually driven than ever. The uses for photography has exploded with the introduction of technology and social media; it’s incredibly exciting to see the talent. I find myself CONSTANTLY inspired by other photographers.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you know me, you know how much I absolutely LOVE Los Angeles. I was born and raised in LA, so I have nothing but love for this city. I would start at the beach in Santa Monica and work my way down to Studio City; hitting all the best food spots (I’m a HUGE foodie), Howlin’ Rays, Bestia, Petit Trois, Felix, The Tasting Kitchen, Osteria LaBuca, Mozza, Church + State, the list can go on and on. I’m also a huge sucker for anything that’s a rooftop, so I would definitely hit Perch for their drinks and views. The Rooftop Cinema Club is another one of my favorites in DTLA or Hollywood. If they really wanted to go out dancing I would head to Silver Lake and hit the 90’s dance club at Los Globos. If they wanted some desert Milk, Salt + Straw or Sidecar Doughnuts would be a must. There’s so much to do in LA, I can go on forever. I’ve lived here for 33 years and I still haven’t even scraped the surface.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout my family. My mom, dad and brothers. They are absolutely the foundation to who I am as a person and I attribute everything to them. From my taste in art, music, movies, photography, fashion and food, it all stems from them, so I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to them! (Hi mom!)

Website: www.dominickaznavour.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/domaznavour
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominickaznavour/

Nominate someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.