Intrigued by the shutter sound of his father’s old cameras, a 10-year-old Alex Tran (12) took his first photo. Since then, his love of photography has grown to bring new depth to his life.
“I really enjoyed going outside and meeting new people and just trying new things,” Tran said. “There’s always something there to learn, [so photography] never felt stagnant to me.”
Tran’s photos have been published in digital and print magazines like Vogue, which he said have helped him hone distinct styles and approaches.
“Digital [photography] is so much more competitive [than print] because you’re dealing with a whole completely different style of photography,” Tran said. “Photos that are published for digital stuff [are] really eye-catching. [For a] magazine, the person who has a magazine already has it, so you don’t need to retain their [attention]—it just has to mean something to the rest of the piece.”
He attributes his success to ambition and persistence, constantly finding or creating opportunities to submit his work to publishers. One of his main avenues is the PhotoVogue program, in which photographers, with approval from Vogue’s editorial board, submit two photos every Monday to be considered for publication.
“That’s how I basically started [submitting photos]—I realized Vogue is pretty cool, so I just started submitting photos every week to that collection,” Tran said. “Eventually, some got in. Probably 99% of them didn’t, but it always feels good when those two get in.”
To him, photos worthy of being published are honest and meaningful.
“For me, it’s all about just capturing the moment,” he said. “For each person, there’s a completely different way of capturing the moment, so in my eyes, capturing the moment is just kind of embracing the imperfections in your own work and realizing that it’s really the imperfections that create the life around us and what makes things in daily life special.”
Tran said his understanding of photography was fostered by many of the industry’s biggest names.
“Whenever I see a photo I really like, I try to get in contact with the person,” Tran said. “[I] just kind of ask them their thought process through the photo and why they chose that specific one to be submitted or what made that so special to them.”
By reaching out to people like Alex Webb, whose photos have been featured in the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, and more, and photography influencer Tatiana Hopper, Tran said his view of the art has expanded.
“I met a lot of really famous people through general interest, just asking questions,” Tran said. “They were able to give me wisdom or knowledge that influenced my own work, so I really appreciate them for that and those experiences in general.”
Tran also embraces the technical side of photography, with some of his photos being advertisements and test-runs of new products from popular companies like Prism Lens FX, Walking Way, and Moment. He said this work is reflective of his own camera preferences.
“I try to keep my post processing down to, not minimal, but when I think it looks good, it looks good, so I do a lot of my stuff in-camera,” Tran said. “If you look up a brand that makes camera filters or in-camera stuff, I probably shot for them.”
He said the process of gaining access to these products was tedious.
“I’ve used every brand out there, and really half of the time it’s, ‘Please, please, can I borrow this?’” Tran said. “That’s how I’m able to get my foot in the door for a lot of brands, and then, [if] you just produce good work, then when the next new camera comes out, they [say], ‘We liked your work last time, do you want to work with us this time?’ and they send one over.”
Ultimately, he said that while networking and creating opportunities were key to his career growth, it was his passion that allowed him to succeed. For him, the perfect shot is not about the recognition, but about capturing the important things in life.
“I really enjoy [the] photos that I take when I’m out with other people or with my family, traveling or just hanging out,” Tran said. “I feel like when I’m in the presence of other people, I’m able to capture the emotion of what I’m feeling a lot easier than just being alone. When you’re around other people, you can pull inspiration from a lot of different sources. I feel like photography isn’t meant to be a solitary journey; you’re meant to explore it with other people.”
