Junior, Andrew Xayaraj might not be a name you hear every day, but if you scroll through his Instagram feed or catch a glimpse of Ridgeview’s latest sport events, you’ll quickly see his talent. In fact, Xayaraj is a self-taught photographer and videographer, turning ordinary moments into captivating shots.
Xayaraj’s inspiration for photography began when he noticed other students posting pictures on social media and capturing money worthy shots. “The first camera I started with was an old Dslr camera that my aunt let me use,” Xayaraj says, and his experimentation soon turned into something more. After a few months of learning through YouTube tutorials and trial and error the young photographer found his creative spark, but along the way faced some setbacks, “challenges I faced sometimes was getting on the field because they’ll kick you off and learning everything about cameras”, Xayaraj says.
What began as a curious hobby quickly transformed into a passion for Xayaraj, “I forgot his name, but he has a certain style that I like. It’s sort of the film type”, Xayaraj says when asked if he has been inspired by any popular photographers. While others are obsessed with filters and digital effects, Xayaraj enjoys the vintage side of film providing a sense of nostalgia for his customers. Even though Xayaraj is in high school, his business is pretty laid back. “My favorite gigs are sports, and normally if they’re having trouble paying, I won’t send the pictures until they are able to make the payment,” says Xayaraj.
Some could argue that prices shouldn’t be high for photos, but considering the process of getting your picture taken includes editing which is very time consuming. “A mistake I made early on my journey was that I charged super cheap like I never used to charge when I started out,” says Xayaraj. Despite having no formal classes or mentors, Xayaraj has a goal of becoming a director.
“Any advice I’d give anyone is to just go out there and start shooting because the more work you put into it, you’ll get better eventually”, Xayaraj says. Xayaraj has big plans. He’s thinking of film school, where he hopes to pursue his love for photography. But, for now he’s focused on creating a documentary for Ridgeview boys’ soccer team of their journey through the winter season.
