Muaz

photographer and video maker

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Muaz is a video maker. Muaz learned photography from tutorials on YouTube and says he has never worked under another photographer. He first worked with one company, and he made hand-drawn animations for a company, about six or seven of them.

Early life and background

Muaz's father is a botanist. His mother is a former principal who retired this year. He says no one in his extended family works in a creative field. He says he inherited all of this from his mother, and he helped her make videos on a handycam. [1]

Muaz bought his first camera in 2012, which by his recollection was a Nikon D3200. His father bought his second and third cameras. He describes himself as a die-hard Nikon user. He says he had no plan 10 years ago or 5 years ago, and that all he had was a tinkering mind that explored and tried things. [1]

Education

Muaz studied mechanical engineering. In his second semester, friends said he would not finish it, and he replied that he would. He says he was one of the brightest students in his class, that his attendance was full, and that about 200 other engineers were with him. He had about five or six good friends. [1]

He spent two years at university and then six months in a job. He once told his father he did not want to continue university, and his father told him he must finish his degree whatever happened. He also says he went back to his university. He says he likes mechanical engineering as much as he likes photography. [1]

Career

Muaz learned photography from tutorials on YouTube and says he has never worked under another photographer. He first worked with one company, and he made hand-drawn animations for a company, about six or seven of them. Good projects began to come to him around 2017, about halfway through university. [1]

He calls a 7 Up project his big break and thinks his 7 Up coverage is the best he has done so far. He was based in Lahore while he had a job. After he left his job he had a solid plan. He said Lahore was good but he would move back to Islamabad. [1]

His focus at that point was video, because people said his videos were good. He says he might later move to only video work, not photography. [1]

Studio and client work

Muaz's studio is inside the Markaz, in the basement. His corporate work is mostly short one-minute videos. He recently made three one-minute ads for a hair oil brand. [1]

He does not send a team in his place to shoot events. He takes event bookings only when he is available to attend them personally, and says he skips about one in ten events. He says clients feel more confident when he is present at the event. He says he always keeps in mind that he must not make a blunder, and that he can tell from how someone holds a camera that their hand is not steady. [1]

Views

Muaz says becoming a good photographer takes about four years of unpaid work, and that the learning one gets from a job is complete within about a year. He says the creative level is still very low and compares photography right now to a desert. He does not follow other photographers because he does not have time. [1]

He says he does not want to make YouTube videos as well as wedding videos. He does not think he will get into content creation, though he once considered it. He says he does not act to make people feel good, and that rushing would damage his credibility. [1]

He says every problem holds an opportunity, that people must start small, and that patience is essential. He advises people to explore themselves and be patient. He says there is no privilege in building one's own name, and he cites one local food company as an example for local businesses. [1]

Timeline

2012
Bought his first camera, by his recollection a Nikon D3200.[1]
2017
Good projects began to come to him, about halfway through university.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-01-04 Leaving engineering to build a creative voice Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Where did Muaz study?

Muaz studied mechanical engineering. He spent two years at university and then six months in a job. He also says he went back to his university.[1]

Where is Muaz's studio?

Muaz has a small studio in E-11. It is inside the Markaz, in the basement.[1]

How did Muaz learn photography?

Muaz learned photography from tutorials on YouTube. He says he has never worked under another photographer. He bought his first camera in 2012.[1]

When did Muaz buy his first camera?

Muaz bought his first camera in 2012. By his recollection it was a Nikon D3200. His father bought his second and third cameras.[1]

What was Muaz's big break?

Muaz calls a 7 Up project his big break. He thinks his 7 Up coverage is the best he has done so far.[1]

References

  1. Leaving engineering to build a creative voice . Thought Behind Things , 2021-01-04.
Show the source passages (62 statements)
  1. The episode description names him Muaz Ali Qureshi. In conversation with Muaz Ali Qureshi, this episode explores his journey.
  2. He says he inherited all of this from his mother. I think I inherited this all from my mother because um when I was young,
  3. He helped his mother make videos on a handycam. toh hum ammi jo hain meri used to was make to use videos on that camera jo handycam hota, VCR wala. Toh I was used to help her.
  4. He bought his first camera in 2012. Phir in 2012 I bought my first camera.
  5. His first camera was a Nikon D3200, by his recollection. D3200 tha mera khayal hai.
  6. He describes himself as a die-hard Nikon user. Bahut sakht Nikon, matlab ke die hard Nikon user.
  7. He studied mechanical engineering. Aur log samajhte hain ke aap, log puchte hain aksar ke aapne mechanical engineering kiya phir photographer ban gaye.
  8. He says he likes mechanical engineering as much as photography. mujhe mechanical engineering utni hi pasand hai jitni mujhe photography pasand hai
  9. He says he was one of the brightest students in his class. I was one of the brightest students of my class.
  10. His university attendance stayed full. Meri attendance puri hoti thi
  11. In his second semester, friends said he would not finish mechanical engineering, and he replied that he would. unhone toh mujhe pehle dusre semester mein bole the ke tum nahi karoge yeh mechanical engineering. Maine kaha nahi nahi nahi main karunga.
  12. He spent two years at university and then six months in a job. Kyunki do saal maine university mein guzare, che mahine maine job ki.
  13. About 200 other engineers were with him. mere saath 200 aur bhi engineers the
  14. He had about five or six good friends. Mere kuch gine chune paanch che dost the jo ke matlab ke achhe dost the
  15. Good projects began to come to him around 2017, about halfway through university. Maine matlab ke graduation, matlab ke half of university thi toh mujhe achhe projects milna shuru ho gaye the. Like around 2017 ki baat kar raha hoon main.
  16. His father bought his second and third cameras. Uske baad doosra camera bhi abbu ne mujhe khareed ke diya, teesra bhi abbu ne hi khareed ke diya.
  17. His father is a botanist. Mere father botanist hain.
  18. His mother is a former principal who retired this year. Meri ammi jo hain woh APS system ki principal hain. Abhi woh retire hui hain is saal.
  19. No one in his extended family works in a creative field. No one in my whole khandan is on from creative side.
  20. He had no plan to become a photographer when he bought his camera. toh mera zero plan tha ke maine photographer banna hai life mein
  21. He says he had no plan 10 years ago or 5 years ago. I did not have a plan 10 years ago, nor did I have a plan 5 years ago.
  22. He describes his path as having taken shape by doing, like an accident. Aur woh karte karte jo bhi ban gaya, woh ban gaya. It was like ek jaise kehte hain na accident.
  23. He describes himself as having a tinkering mind that explored and tried things. All I had was a tinkering mind that would explore and try to feel like
  24. He learned photography from tutorials on YouTube. Woh main tutorials hi dekh dekh ke, YouTube se dekh dekh ke maine kiya sab kuch.
  25. He has never worked under another photographer. Kabhi maine aaj tak kabhi kisi matlab photographer ke saath kaam nahi kiya, maine apne own pe hi kiya hamesha.
  26. He first worked with one company. sabse pehle maine SomTom ke saath kaam kiya
  27. He made hand-drawn animations for a company, about six or seven of them. Uske baad maine kaam kiya ek aur Redick Technologies, unke liye maine hand drawn animations banayi thi, takreeban che saat.
  28. He calls the 7 Up project his big break. 7 Up was a big break.
  29. He thinks his 7 Up coverage is the best he has done so far. Aur I think ke woh meri 7 Up ki sabse best coverage hai abhi tak.
  30. He went back to his university. Haan, I went back to my university.
  31. His father told him he must finish his degree whatever happened. Lekin abbu ne mujhe sirf ek baat boli. Jo marzi ho jaye, degree toh tum complete karoge hi karoge.
  32. He once told his father he did not want to continue university. Us time ek time aaya tha ke main university se wapas aa gaya toh maine abbu ko kaha maine nahi karni hai.
  33. He was based in Lahore while he had a job. Main Lahore mein hota tha actually
  34. After he left his job he had a solid plan. Lekin jab maine job chhori, toh uske baad main bahut solid plan ke saath tha.
  35. He said Lahore was good but he would move back to Islamabad. Lahore is good, I will move back to Islamabad.
  36. His focus at that point was video, because people said his videos were good. Maine mujhe mera jo main focus tha na, woh meri videos ka tha. Achha. Because everyone was saying ke tumhari videos achhi hoti hain.
  37. He says he might later move to only video work, not photography. maybe maybe I shift to videos after some time, only videos, not photography.
  38. He takes small projects for companies alongside wedding work. Main kaafi chhote chhote projects karta hoon companies ke saath.
  39. He has a small studio in E-11. I have a studio, little studio in E-11.
  40. His studio is inside the Markaz, in the basement. Markaz ke andar hi hai, basement mein.
  41. His corporate work is mostly short one-minute videos. Corporate ka mostly uh small videos nahi hoti, chhoti chhoti videos, DVCs type one minute type.
  42. He recently made three one-minute ads for a hair oil brand. Uh Coca-Cola ki ek hair oil ka hai, unki chhoti si teen videos thi, a one minute ki ad type.
  43. He does not send a team in his place to shoot events. Woh wala team wala kaam nahi karta main, ke main aapko team bhej dunga.
  44. He takes event bookings only when he is available to attend them personally. warna toh agar main event pe available hoon toh main lunga booking warna main nahi leta
  45. He says he skips about one in ten events and attends the rest himself. Woh koi koi 10 mein se koi ek event hota hai jisme main na jaun
  46. He says clients feel more confident when he is present at the event. jab aap ki event pe apni presence hoti hai, ek toh client confidence mein hota hai bahut zyada
  47. He says he does not act to make people feel good. Main kabhi kisi ko act nahi karta ke main usko achha feel karaoon.
  48. He says he always keeps in mind that he must not make a blunder. Aur mere se koi blunder na ho jaye. Haan. Yeh mere zehen mein har waqt hota hai.
  49. He says he can tell from how someone holds a camera that their hand is not steady. woh camera pakadta hai na toh mujhe pata chal jata hai ke iska haath seedha nahi hai.
  50. He says becoming a good photographer takes about four years of unpaid work. Agar aapne ek achha photographer banna hai toh 4 saal aapne muft kaam karna hai.
  51. He says the learning one gets from a job is complete within about a year. Woh ek saal ke andar ho jati hai, jo learning aapne job se leni hoti hai na.
  52. He says the creative level is still very low. woh toh bahut chhota hai aur matlab ke jo creative level hai na, woh bhi bahut neeche hai abhi.
  53. He compares photography right now to a desert. photography right now is like ek desert ki tarah hai
  54. He does not follow other photographers because he does not have time. Main nahi follow karta kisi ko. Mere paas itna time hi nahi hai.
  55. He says he does not want to make YouTube videos as well as wedding videos. main nahi chahta ke main YouTube ki video bhi banaoon, main wedding ki video bhi banaoon
  56. He says he does not think he will get into content creation, though he once considered it. Uh I don't think so. Ek time aaya tha ke jab mujhe lag raha tha ke mujhe karna chahiye yeh.
  57. He says every problem holds an opportunity. saari problems hi opportunities hain
  58. He says people must start small and that patience is essential. Toh woh aapko bahut chhote se start karna hota hai, aur sabr bahut zyada zaroori hai, sabr se hi kaam hota hai.
  59. He says rushing would damage his credibility. aur jab main rush karunga toh meri credibility kharab ho jayegi
  60. He advises people to explore themselves and be patient. Toh just, um, explore yourself. And be patient.
  61. He says there is no privilege in building one's own name. apna naam banane mein koi privilege nahi hota
  62. He cites one local food company as an example for local businesses. Main aapko ek misaal deta hoon, Saver Foods.