The Other Side of Fear with Tobi Shinobi

Whether it’s leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck to pursue photography, or checking out the possibilities of AI, sometimes the greatest rewards lie on the other side of fear. Teresa Au speaks to photographer Tobi Shinobi about his first career in law, making a name on Instagram, and why drone photography is so peaceful. Tobi also shares his perspectives as a brand strategist, advising the same types of corporate clients who hire him for their shoots.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Learn about Tobi’s upbringing in East London
• Why practicing law and photography are so opposite
• The importance of being exposed to the arts
• How the shift from law to photography was both a jump and a push
• There’s no time for fear when you’re so busy
• Growth and progress are not linear
• Professionalism as a means to creativity
• Listening to clients
• What Tobi loves about photography
• The best way to shake a bad mood
• How the AI revolution is like the Industrial Revolution
• The difference between fear and respect
• Controversy over AI use in photography
• The AI we’re already using without realizing it
• Tobi’s “real life” Photoshop technique
• What makes you more or less of an artist?
• The thing that makes both AI and photography exciting
• How creative strategy is like storytelling
• Why storytelling is so essential to human beings
• Are you cut out for working with brands?
• Brand safety and authenticity
• Tobi’s one word for 2023 (and 2024)

Tobi Shinobi is an award winning photographer and videographer based between London and Chicago who was just named one of Adobe’s 2023 Firefly Creators to Watch. His work encompasses high profile events, product photography, architecture, and interviews. An early Instagram star, he has over 200,000 followers across online platforms. Tobi finds beauty in often gritty urban landscapes and his distinctive focus on detail, perspective, geometry, and symmetry allows for a new appreciation of architecture. 

Tobi provides social strategies for an array of digital content from video to photos for brands. He regularly works for clients such as Audi, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Samsung. He is an alumnus Adobe Lightroom Ambassador and Sony Global Imaging Ambassador. His first solo photo book, Equilibrium, is available now, and he starred in the award-winning documentary, I Take Photos. He is currently showing work in Brazil and in Chicago, some of which was recently selected as part of the 2023 MvVO awards. 

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

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