“Documenting all the beauty around me is what motivated me to be a photographer and blogger in the first place.” So says Yvonne LyraAoko Were our Capital Lifestyle Instagrammer of the Week.
LyraAoko is a 23 year old content creator based in Nairobi, Kenya. She is a photographer, videographer, and writer behind the Lifestyle, Culture and Entertainment blog, Cynosure.
Lyra’s passion for all things living is eloquently showcased through her photography. Her Instagram account consists of a carefully curated edit of photography where she shares her gastronomic adventures, travel tales, art & culture, fashion & beauty takes & life musings.
On Lyra’s Instagram feed, it is common to see beautiful portraits, captivating urban landscapes, and the hustle and bustle of Nairobi.
Capital Lifestyle linked-up with her to find out how photography and Instagram have impacted her journey in Mobile Photography.
What cameras do you enjoy shooting with and what do you like most about them?
I mainly shoot with my Nikon D330 &D750 forthe more serious photography work because of the clarity of the images and the amount of tweaking the cameras allow me to do. My Instagram content is mainly shot on my mobile phone. I like to mix and match on occasion.
Where do you shoot most of your photos and what sort of photos do you like to take best?
Documenting all the beauty around me is what motivated me to be a photographer and blogger in the first place. I felt as though people missed out on seeing and fully experiencing all the beauty that this world holds and so I set out to document it all through my eyes. I shoot everyone, everywhere and at any time!
What are your top tips for taking captivating Instagram photos?
Think about your shots before you shoot. I used to shoot very randomly until I realised that there is a beautiful science to taking good images. The composition, the elements in the image, the mood you are trying to portray, the message you are ultimately going to convey. All these things matter when capturing a single image.
Which instagrammers do you recommend everyone to follow?
I mostly follow lifestyle bloggers and fashion photographers and these three do it for me.
@margaret__zhang
@emilysoto
@kat_in_nyc
How has Instagram influenced your profession and your business?
Very many photographers were faceless before Instagram. It has definitely helped me in marketing my brand and increased my interactions with both local and international content creators in all fields.
5 Favourite Yvonne LyraAoko Were Instagram Posts
While shooting a portraiture series for Blankets and Wine I came across the 2Endo sisters. Photographers dream of such moments, It was perfect…they were standing in the middle of the grounds oblivious of my presence with the sunset illuminating directly behind them. It was beautiful.
One day while trekking in Karura forest with my good friend Imelda Rose, we made a stopover at the waterfall, sat down on a bench and chatted for over an hour over box wine and subway sandwiches. She gladly obliged right after when I asked her if I could shoot her by the waterfall. We used a pink picnic cloth, magically transformed it into a gown and shot in the middle of the waterfall while being stared at by more than twenty curious onlookers. The power of Photoshop produced this image.
I was a participant in a Canon Workshop late last year and this is one of the images that stuck with me long after the experience. I had visited a tea plantation on a personal assignment and I met one of the tea farmer’s daughters. She was very shy and just as I tried to take an image of her, she covered her face with a bunch of twigs she had in hand. Her beauty radiated even through the leaf blades.
I shot a really amazing look book for a local fashion boutique and I had my younger sister as my little helper for the day. She was the only person I used to shoot when I started out in my photography. It was fun bonding with her and this picture always reminds me of the importance of family support in your creative work.
A month after my mum’s 50th birthday celebration, I came across a bunch of dried up roses left over from the festivities. I did not want them to be thrown away because they looked even more beautiful after they had aged. I decided to take a few images with them. After calling up friend and talented model, Rosemary, we set out to shoot with her donning the now ‘vintage’ flowers in her hair. This image consists of two things that greatly inspire my work, roses and sweet melanin.