Meet Alex Tafreshi | Director of Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Tafreshi, an owner-operator videographer and photographer, and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I have always found that having an honest and personable relationship with my clients has been the best way to maintain a healthy and trusted client base that continues to come back for more projects. Now, I certainly work hard to provide my clients with the best product possible, by leveraging my equipment, my network, and my reliability to offer them a streamlined process, but above those important aspects, the relationship I have and the way that I communicate with the companies and individuals who seek my services is the lasting element that I would say keeps my calendar full with projects that I, in turn, can enjoy working on. A good friend of mine taught me the value of transparency with your clients, and it has never let me down. By being open and communicative with your clients, which helps to manage expectations, provide an opportunity for dialogue to agree on deliverables or simply to provide them with the comfort that you have the capacity to understand what they need, it creates a deeper level of trust, and therefore inspires confidence to know you were the right choice for the job.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Today, I’m a Director of Photography, a studio owner, and brand myself as an Owner/Operator. I offer clients the one-stop-shop for their video or photo productions. Whether they need someone who can bring the entire kit to their location, or to offer a studio space to shoot in, I help to keep things affordable for the client, but offer a mean package to suit. But its been a journey to get here.

I live in the world of visual storytelling. I took the long, windy, mapless route to figure out how to get to where I am now, and I still barely know where I’m going. I worked as hard as I could to learn everything there was to know, figuring it out as I went. There is no playbook to developing a craft, nor is there a singular destination to where it can go. Because of that, I have learned that my journey is a unique experience that I can be proud of, and has allowed me to grow at my own pace knowing that whatever success I find comes down to the work ethic and determination that I show.

I was 25 years old when I decided that I wanted to hold a camera for a career. I didn’t know what that would look like, so I went as deep as I could to learn all the ways you could use cameras. I’m fortunate that I discovered this as digital cameras started to offer reliable photo and video capability in a compact package, so I set off for 2 years, traveling the world with my camera in hand, learning how to capture images and turn them into stories.

Along the way I’ve learned that while the tools can be addicting to collect, they aren’t what make you a good storyteller. They can be an aid to the process, but in no way are the deciding factor in whether you’re telling a good story. I have learned immensely through the jobs, collaborations, and friends that I’ve worked with how to get your vision into a frame, and I think that knowing how to do that is a huge component of being good as a cinematographer.

However, since my brand is something that offers a one-stop-shop aspect, I have had to learn a well-rounded approach to being more than just a singular creative. Today, that means knowing how to run a business, and that is where things have gotten interesting. 20Twenty Productions started out as a guy with a small camera, a couple lights, and a microphone. It quickly grew into a studio full of equipment, but was fundamentally based on the fact that I could communicate with my clients, operate a functional schedule, and collaborate with colleagues to get the job done. I’d say that my success has been the ability to navigate all of those aspects, but it has also been the challenge of a lifetime to learn.

I consider myself a work in progress. This journey has not been an easy one, and I encourage anyone who chooses to embark on it to remember that the process is what makes it an adventure. It’s easy to get caught up in the frustrations of what is or isn’t. My advice is to recognize that your frustrations are an indication of your will to learn and to grow, and to relish in the fact that your ambitions will lead to excellence.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles is a big city with a lot to offer, so I like to show my slice of it to those that visit because there’s a pride I feel when I get to show what we get to do on any given day. With my friend coming to town for a few days, the first thing I do is get a good stretch and sweat going, maybe even bringing a camera for the photo op. We start by going for a hike at the Kenneth Hahn state park, which is affectionately called our “backyard” given that our house backs right up to it. Our hike takes us to one of the best views of the entire city, offering a nearly 270 degree view of Los Angeles from LAX/SoFi Stadium, to Malibu, Century City to the Griffith Observatory, and Downtown with the mountains behind. It’s an unparalleled way to see the lay of the land. Now that we’ve broken a sweat, we go to brunch and a cocktail at Margot at the Platform in Culver City. That leads us to a nice bike ride down the Ballona creek parkway from Culver over to Playa Vista, avoiding the often inescapable traffic famous in this busy city, ending our ride at the Runway where we can grab a drink, dinner, and even see a movie. Over the next few days, we balance our activities playing pickle ball and golf with delicious home cooked meals in our Ooni pizza oven, hangs with our friends, and seeing the sights that don’t lead us to sitting in traffic the majority of the time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My success story is a lifetime in the making, and in no way is limited to a singular moment, individual, or institution. I wish I could credit each and every person who offered me the tools and stepping stones to get to where I am now. My dad, Jack, gave me the skills to build with my hands and the inspiration to see what creating a small business looked like. His impact on his community and the network of clients he built in his lifetime has shown what providing a service as a family run brand is all about. My friend Christina offered me the jobs and opportunities that allowed me to learn on the go, to grow my kit, and to level up the stakes one gig at a time. She continued to entrust me with the clients and challenges they provided, and I ate them up with the most insatiable appetite. Most importantly my wife Dana gave me the confidence to know I was good enough to keep going. Her support and encouragement kept me from facing the inevitable symptoms we all encounter, like imposter syndrome, comparison of others, and not recognizing how far I’ve come. To all my people, I thank you for the friendship, the connections, and the trust you showed me. I am what I am thanks to you.

Website: 20twentypro.com

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