His name is Arian Teo. Photographer and filmmaker who are now social media icon. He has over 495k Instagram followers and over 4.4 million Tiktok followers.
He fell in love with photography when he was 14 years old. Now he works with Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Nikon, Sennheiser, and other major brands.
You may have seen him on your “For You” page on TikTok or in an ad for Lazada he made and is in.
Arian Teo used to go to school in Singapore at Ngee Ann Polytechnic to study Film, Sound, and Video.
His claim to fame is that he posts short videos of creative ways to take photos and edit them that even beginners can do. The end result often looks professional with free and easy-to-use editing apps, even though it was simple to get there. But now, he also has established a store where his other projects are; some can buy through it.
Arian Teo ideas come from random thoughts, and then they go to him. But he also looks for random ideas from other artists and movies and adds his style to them to make them unique.
It took some time for him to develop his skills in content creation.
Around the age of thirteen was when he first began taking photographs. He was taking the images with his mobile phone. Many of his peers engaged in such activities served as a source of motivation for him. Then he concluded that their ideas were more appealing than his because they use a DSLR.
Therefore, Arian Teo put all his penny into purchasing his first camera. Hype beast chose to highlight one of his posts as a highlighted post. And after that, his following expanded at a rapid speed. Arian had just 5,000 followers before he went to bed, but when he got up the next day, he had 11,000 followers. As his portfolio and following expanded, he began to receive approaches from other brands. Because he can now declare that he is doing it at least part-time, we can argue that it has evolved from a pastime into a career for him.
Since then, he has made the most of the opportunity to gradually expand his presence on Instagram while also keeping an eye out for new opportunities and emerging platforms. His friend and fellow local content creator served as a source of motivation for him.
Arian has launched his channel on TikTok.
Even though he merely wanted photography to be a peaceful pastime for himself. Things began to change when a famous news source for streetwear culture, Hype beast, published one of his photographs on Instagram as part of their “Hype beast Out There” segment, which showcases landscape photos and unrelated content to the hype culture.
Arian claimed that the success of his TikTok account had been his most notable accomplishment, as it had given him many new opportunities to work with major brands like Citibank and Piaget on commercial projects. He can also earn enough money to maintain his current lifestyle and pay for his educational expenses.
On the other hand, Arian is not letting his early successes make him arrogant. People who have had the opportunity to interact with him frequently characterise him as humble and genuine.
People have the impression that those who create content and influence others are extroverts. Despite this, Arian Teo is an introvert who keeps to himself.
When Arian Teo sees a lot of beautiful photographs online and often wonders how the photographers took and edited such pictures, he learns that photography and the visual arts are his true passions. Curiosity was driving his decision to pursue a career in photography and the visual arts.
Regarding Arian Teo, A good photographer or filmmaker should be familiar with their work style by investigating and experimenting with a variety of photographic subgenres, such as lifestyle, events, or food photography. After that, focus on a specific subfield; by doing so, you will have more extraordinary experience overall in the industry.
Arian Teo is aware that some photographers believe that editing a photograph takes away some of the “realness” of the image because it is not “real.” However, the fact is that we live in such a highly developed and competitive world that each person needs a unique set of abilities to differentiate themselves and improve.
Once you’ve made a name for yourself in the world, various opportunities, including those in photography and filmmaking, will begin to pound on your door. Examples include endorsement deals, work in photography, and social media marketing efforts. Because of his dogged determination and unwavering commitment to the job, Arian Teo has collaborated with a wide variety of well-known companies, including Samsung, Canon, Microsoft, and many others.
