Today we are catching up with Australian Student Photographer of the year (2016), Tayla Nuss Soeharto; learning about her journey in photography, and what she is up to now after winning the highest award a photography student can get in Australia.
Tayla Nuss Soeharto, 2016
What got you started in photography?
I still don’t really know what sparked my interest in photography, but I think it all began when my mum gave me her film camera and sifting through all the photographic memories she captured with it when I was growing up. I then bought my own little point and shoot from an op shop around the corner and started taking photos of my sister with it and experimenting with film and double exposures.
When you first started at PSC, what kind of photographer did you imagine you would become?
At the time I was really interested in analogue photography so I guess I was expecting to make progress with film techniques and develop my style through that. However, even though I still enjoy using film, I think the digital world won me over!
H
ow has your style developed?
Looking back through my work, I have always used a lot of colour in my images and been very interested in objects, especially ones found in the everyday household. All the series I made while at PSC were also set up in some kind of way, either in a studio setting or around the house. Compared to my early works, my lighting technique is much more resolved and my images are a lot cleaner. Throughout my studies I began working with fashion students, which has slowly warmed me up to the idea of photographing people and not just objects.
Tayla Nuss Soeharto, 2016
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I'm working with a few RMIT fashion students and taking photos for their publication, as well as starting a mini out-of-space inspired still life series, which is still a work in progress!
What advice would you give to current students?
Don't be afraid to show all of your work in progress images even if you hate all of them, they can be the beginning of something brilliant!
What do you do when you’re not taking photos?
I intern at The Photo Studio two days a week, work my casual job and watch weird space videos every now and then.
Tayla Nuss Soeharto, 2016
Where do you find your motivation?
I mostly pull inspiration from the random things around me or things that I watch.
What is your dream job/shoot?
My dream shoot would be to collaborate with American artists Alex Wallbaum and Aleia Murawski on some kind of fun and whacky still life project.
Who/what inspires you?
I sometimes get in a mood where everything inspires me, like a colour, a piece of fruit, or a weird object and i just need to set something up and photograph it!
Tayla Nuss Soeharto, 2016