Meet Zaydaan Jahangir | Travel & Street Photographer

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

Hi Zaydaan, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Photography in general is not as difficult to get into as it may seem. A lot of people have asked me, “How can I get into photography?” or “What gear should I get?” and honestly, it doesn’t take much. The best start you can have is to just start taking photos of the things around you, whatever they may be. I was blessed to have access to a DSLR camera when I first started photography, but a lot of the newer phones have cameras that can take very high-quality photos, so as long as you have a phone with a camera you are set. As for actually taking the photos, the best advice that I can give is to learn the fundamentals like the exposure triangle, focus, and composition. As you progress and find yourself getting better, you can start experimenting with more advanced techniques like long exposures, motion blur, or focus stacking which allow you to produce more fun and creative compositions like astrophotography, street photography and with the right lens, macro photography.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My type of photography isn’t confined to one topic; however, my favorite types of photography are travel and street photography, so that is what I try to do the most. I’m pretty young, which I guess sets me apart from others, and it allows me to embrace a more childlike mentality when taking photos as opposed to taking it super seriously. My improvement over the years is something I’m very proud of and take pride in as a photographer. I’m really excited about how I may improve in the future and especially how my style of photography changes.

I got where I am today just by having fun with photography. I had a constant urge to create the coolest photos possible, which led to a lot of watching YouTube for new techniques and plenty of experimentation which brought out my creative side. But during the first stages of quarantine, I started burning out quickly and eventually stopped photography altogether. I couldn’t find anything to take photos of and tried to focus on editing old photos to keep the momentum going; however, after a while, I simply lacked any creative energy to do anything and took a break. Fast forward a few months and while looking through Instagram I saw a pretty cool cloud photo that just sparked something within me to go out and take photos of clouds. I ended up with over a hundred edited photos of just clouds. After that, it was just a snowball effect with more opportunities popping up like a chance to travel to Mexico and a new lens to play around with, all leading to where I am today. It was quite dreary during that break period, not being able to do what I enjoyed. But I did rediscover that creative side of me and learned to cherish the ability to go out and take photos, so that drives me to take photos every day.

Something I’d want the world to know is that since I don’t specialize in a certain area of photography, I usually post the next cool photo I find, whether it be a photo of lighting or a cityscape of Dubai. I just post whatever I want as a photographer not sticking to a theme, and I think my brand exemplifies that randomness of posting whatever type of photography I want with my unique style.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There aren’t many tourist attractions that I’m aware of, but there are some places that are a must-visit.

Monday: We’ll start by visiting the Dallas Aquarium because aquariums are always cool and I feel like everyone loves a nice aquarium visit. After that, we’d have to take a lunch break around Klyde Warren Park, which is always so nice to be around and watch the local entertainment. I would end off the day walking around downtown at night, just exploring the area, especially at night because the city has a completely different vibe to it.

Tuesday: Staying in the downtown area, I would have to take them to the Perot Museum. Every time I visit that place I am in awe of the number of interesting things that they have. For a new visitor it could take up the whole day just exploring all the cool things in that museum and I 100% recommend it to anyone visiting Dallas. At night it’s just the same as Monday, exploring the city because it’s that big and hopefully taking some cool street photos.

Wednesday: Moving away from downtown, I would visit the malls, especially the Galleria, because that place is huge. It would definitely take a few days just to look through the entire mall, but just for today we could shop around, and maybe go ice skating while we’re at it.

Thursday: The Dallas Zoo is always fun to visit and see the animals just like the aquarium. Afterward, maybe watch a movie at a Cinemark just to relax for the day,

Friday: Another cool place we would visit is the Dallas Arboretum, which is pretty interesting if you like nature and plants. There are some really interesting spots like the reflection infinity pool next to White Rock Lake, which is a great photo to take. It’s nice to visit on a warm spring day and have a picnic or watch some of the live entertainment surrounded by heaps of flowers.

Saturday: If it is that time of the year, we would have to go to the State Fair. The state fair is probably the most fun you’ll have in Dallas; all of the rides and events combined with that atmosphere of fun is something everybody has to experience. We’d end off the night on the Ferris Wheel and if we’re lucky, get a nice view of the sunset with the skyline in the background, which is another great photo.

Sunday: Moving away from downtown, we would visit Legacy West just because it’s always a nice spot to go to and maybe take some photos. We could have lunch at Legacy Hall and try out all the different cuisines they offer. To end the trip off we’d go to Bols for dinner; it’s probably my favorite restaurant and always has the best food.

I don’t eat out much, so I don’t have many food recommendations, but some great places to visit are Klyde Warren Park, The Perot Museum, The Dallas Zoo and Aquarium, The State Fair, the malls, and just some of the local parks and coffee shops which never fail to impress me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Two people come to mind, one of my best friends, Samien Rahman, who has been featured here before and is always willing to take photos with me testing out whatever crazy ideas I may have, and Syed Hasnain, who allowed the both of us to go out and take photos that we weren’t able to take our own. Hasnain was a real benefactor in my photography adventure, allowing me to use lenses, taking me to different locations, and inspiring me with his style of photography. He showed me a different perspective on photography and by allowing me to look through that lens he truly helped me grow as a photographer.

Website: https://zaydaanjahangir.squarespace.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zayj27/