About Me
I like to be behind the camera too sometimes!
With a career previously in blogging and social media, I’ve been taking photos for years. I began in high school when I bought my first professional camera and taught myself everything I needed to know about photography. I’m proud to know say I’m fully self-taught and still learning more as I go! My style of photography has evolved throughout the years; my website showcases a mix of my work: when I first started to now.
“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”
– Ansel Adams
​
A nerd at heart, I’ve always loved teaching myself things that interested me. I was a well-known fandom editor back in the day and did that for several years up until high school (when life got in the way and school became more of a focus and priority). I couldn’t let my side hobbies go, however, and started an Etsy store my freshman year of high school (9th grade). I still run that Etsy store to this day, and I sell hand-painted shoes. From there on, photography came into my field and I decided to run my photography business on the side while pursuing online blogging and Youtube.
​
When I first bought my professional camera, I would take pictures of everything and anyone. I was in 10th grade, and I would take my camera outside, put it on a tripod, and take photos of myself in different outfits for my fashion/lifestyle blog (known as AbsolutelyAya). I had a Youtube channel at the time where I would post DIY projects and recipes; I photographed my thumbnails, recorded my own videos, and edited everything all together. Eventually I thought, "why don't I take photos for people?" and I started taking senior portraits for individuals in my area.
Education
2016-2022
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Born and raised in the Chicago area, I went to school for business marketing at UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). I started out as a biology major- at the time I thought I would become a dentist or optometrist... turns out, I absolutely hated it and switched to being a business major! I still struggled my following years in college as I'm an artist at heart, and I love to create work I'm passionate about rather than anything else. I graduated with a degree in Marketing in 2022.​
2022-Present
Aya Sellami Photography
It is a dream to be able to work my passion! Photography will always be in my heart, and it has consistently stayed in my life for years. I'm excited to see what more the future holds!
“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”
– Dorothea Lange
“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.”
– Andy Warhol
“Aya is great to work with. She made the session so smooth and easy, and it flew by. I never had a photoshoot that was so natural, and I just got to be in my element. She captured all the right moments.”
.
