My name is Emmanuel Soriano, I’m a passionate street photographer from Toronto Canada with four years of experience. My style of photography specializes in capturing moody, cinematic and vibrant scenes of urban street life and cityscapes and I enjoy capturing these scenes in rainy, gloomy and snowy weather conditions. My photography style influences include Cyberpunk genre and Neo-noir films. My street photography works have been showcased at art gallery events such as Futurist Blockchain Conference in Toronto.
Can you tell us a bit about your artistic career - and how you came to create NFT art?
I started getting into photography in 2018 shooting mostly urban street photography. My ways of making income with photography was through wedding, real estate and portrait shoots part-time. A friend of mine introduced me to NFTs and showed me various artists who are making income through NFT art. Seeing this has inspired me to get into NFT photography and made it my goal to hopefully become a full time NFT photographer in the future.
Can you walk us through the process of creating one of your NFT artworks from start to finish?
The style that I want to convey in my photos is a moody, cinematic and vibrant atmosphere. In order to achieve this look in Lightroom editor, I mainly make the adjustments on contrast, highlights, vibrance and saturation. To achieve a moody, vibrant and cinematic feel on my photo, I increase the contrast, decrease the clarity and dehaze, I also apply color grading and adjust the tone curves to my liking.
How has technology influenced or changed the way you create art?
Technology has allowed me to achieve a certain style in my photos. For example, the technology Lightroom editing software has allowed me to be able to alter and achieve a certain mood and atmosphere to my photos. This would not be possible without the editing technology Lightroom.
Can you describe a particularly challenging or rewarding moment in your artistic career?
The most challenging part was when I was still new to the NFT space, I had a hard time selling my NFTs and I had a hard time getting the attention of potential collectors of my work. The most rewarding part of my artistic career is when I was able to sell out an NFT collection after months of consistent marketing and building a community.
How does your cultural or personal background influence your art?
I have come from a family that enjoys different artistic expressions such as music and arts. I’ve also played different kinds of musical instruments in the past as a hobby. I’ve naturally gained interest in photography as part of my curiosity to try out something new and it eventually turned into a passion for me.
What challenges have you experienced so far as an NFT artist and how have you overcome them?
One of the challenges that I have experienced when I was still new to the NFT space was that I had difficulties making my art visible to potential collectors. One of the ways of overcoming this challenge was by increasing my engagement on twitter, making genuine connections with fellow artists and through that I was able to get the attention of potential collectors of my work.
How did you sell your first NFT artwork and how did you establish yourself in the NFT market?
When I was just starting out with NFTs, my first collector was a friend of mine. He wanted to support my transition in the NFT art scene, so he bought one of my first artwork. I established myself in the NFT market by selling affordable 1/1 editions of my artwork.
Can you tell us about your marketing strategy and how you interact with your community?
My NFT marketing strategy is by shilling my artwork for sale on my twitter page and requesting my twitter friends to share my NFT artwork through retweets to increase visibility and reach out potential collectors.
Do you collect art/NFT art as well?
Yes, I'm a small NFT art collector and collect mostly 1/1 artworks and photography editions that resonate with me.
How do you see the future of NFT art and what do you think will change in the future?
I think that NFTs are here to stay and as more artists gain knowledge and understanding about NFTs and the blockchain technology, we'll gradually see a shift where more and more artists will join the NFT space in the future.
How do you maintain a sense of authenticity and originality in a world where digital art is so easily replicated and shared?
In order to maintain a sense of authenticity and originality, I'm looking to implement provenance of my own artwork in the future in order to build trust with my collectors. I would also implement a certificate of authenticity system which will ensure that my artworks will not be replicated.
What is your goal or vision as an artist?
My goal is to become an established NFT artist where I can make a living by selling my artworks as NFTs. My other goal is to help onboard more new artists to the NFT space and help support their transition. My vision as an artist is to express and share the inner sense of joy, calm and peace that I experience when I'm out in the streets taking photos and I want to share that same experience and sentiment with my audience through my photography.
What advice would you give to newcomers to the Space or new NFTartists?
My advice to new NFT artists is to place more emphasis in making genuine connections and friendships within the NFT community. Patience is key and it does take time and hard work and consistency before seeing the results.
Twitter: @eighty8stills