One quick scroll through the Instagram account of Tobi Shonibare, better known as Tobi Shinobi (@tobishinobi), and you’ll find his influences are obvious; Tobi’s world is one of kaleidoscopic symmetry, worshipping the geometric art of the urban landscape. It’s a distinct style his more than 137,000 followers recognize and appreciate, but his Instagramming has gotten Shinobi more than fans; it has made his livelihood.
Shinobi moved from London to Chicago only two years ago, and credits his involvement on the image-sharing app for not only making that move possible, but for allowing him to develop his path away from law, which he originally studied, and toward his passions of photography and cinematography. What began as snapping photos in alleys on his London lunch breaks became a full-fledged career on another continent.
Shinobi’s images focus on the sharp and sophisticated elements of a subject, whether it’s the familiar lines of a city’s skyscrapers or the design details of a fresh sneaker, and he counts clarity and symmetry as the most important qualities of his images. Brands like Bose, Lululemon, Audi, Nike, and Sony Pictures have noticed, commissioning Shinobi to create images or video for marketing, social media, or art…or a combination of all three. On the professional level, Shinobi has only ever shot with Sony cameras, so it’s perhaps no surprise that Shinobi was chosen by Sony in 2016 to join their elite pool of Global Imaging Ambassadors.
Adorama caught up with Shinobi to find out what makes up his typical day, and how he knows when weather conditions will be perfect for his trademark foggy Chicago photos.
Adorama: First things first. What is your gear setup and your usual editing workflow?
Shinobi: My normal day will usually see me leaving my house with the Sony a7R III, the Sony 35mm f/1.4 and Sigma 14mm f/1.8 lenses, and my DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone. Also in my bag (a Gitzo backpack) are spare batteries, my MacBook Pro, a Gitzo tripod, and a lens skirt for shooting through windows.
Instead of editing images in Adobe Lightroom, I tend to use Adobe Camera Raw. It has most of the same functionality and, when combined with the Adobe Bridge management app, gives me 98 percent of the tools and functionality. I use this combination because I like to sharpen using Adobe Photoshop. From there I’ll airdrop my files to my phone and ensure that they’re consistently edited using my favourite filters and adjustments in the VSCO app before posting them to social media.
Adorama: What would you consider to be elements of your signature style?
Shinobi: I look for balance in life and always want to consider many perspectives. This outlook manifests itself in a symmetrical and geometric approach for a lot of my photography, with color playing a major role. When shooting people, I enjoy single point perspectives and isolation of the subject from the background, which is also the case when it comes to my cinematography. I always take a range of photos, but many will simply not make it to my social media feed if I don’t feel they fit with my style.
Adorama: Was there a moment you remember first falling in love with photography?
Shinobi: One day, on my lunch break in Shoreditch, East London, I walked onto a derelict area and was struck by the combination of texture, color, and light. There are a few areas like this in London — broken glass, old tires, graffiti, discarded spray cans — and I remember getting really close to one of the spray cans and shooting it at a really shallow depth of field. I knew that I had made “something” and I wanted to make more, to really “do this.”
Adorama: How do you make a living right now, and how big a role does your photography play?
Shinobi: I work in advertising as a Senior Content Creator. In short, I provide photo, video, and ideas for a wide range of clients in an even wider range of situations. I could be shooting people, places, products, events, or food. Photography is a large part of my work and has changed my life.
Adorama: How much preparation do you put into an image? Can you give an example of an image or project of yours which required a great amount of prep?
Shinobi: I’m always thinking about how to improve shots that I have taken or how I can grow as a creator/creative. I am always on the look-out for new locations for shots, as well as for technical advances that might help me to take my creativity further. For example, I’m in the process of “building” a digital lenticular camera. This has been a process of working out the right way to mount the individual pieces and control each lens, and then I’ll test it out in the wild. I’m keen to see the end results.
Adorama: You frequently share photos of Chicago’s architecture surrounded by lake effect fog. How do you know when the conditions are right?
Shinobi: I have developed a sense for when it’s going to be foggy. I can just feel it. But I also check the city’s weather live cams and have a couple of friends who will let me know if they think I should go shoot. I love these images, as they are so rare and different from what everyone else captures of Chicago.
Adorama: What are one or two spots in Chicago you like to take friends or visitors to shoot, and why are they so special?
Shinobi: I take them up in the John Hancock Building to get the iconic view of the lake. Not many people know that the lake has proper beaches, and the view from the Hancock shows the coastline in such a great way. The other place to go is to outside for a shot of the Hancock itself. The shot of that tower is quintessential Chicago.
Adorama: After your original home of London and your current home of Chicago, what’s your favorite city to shoot?
Shinobi: There are too many to limit my answer to just one. I recommend Paris, Hong Kong, Barcelona, and New York.
Adorama: Have you experienced any drone fails, or near-fails?
Shinobi: Yes, I have crashed my drone and it’s wasn’t fun. It happened on my first time flying my DJI Phantom 4, when I hit the “Return to Home” (RTH) function. The drone was pretty high up and directly above me, so it was difficult to work out its speed while it was returning. At about 30 seconds in, I realize it’s coming in pretty fast. So I instinctively put out my hand to catch it, then remembered that it has propellers. My immediate second thought was to get out of the way. The drone had decided that the floor, its original take-off point, was not the elevation at which it should stop, and it hit the ground at speed.
Adorama: What features would you love to see manufacturers build into the next generation of photography drones?
Shinobi: I’d like to see the reintroduction of portrait mode into the Mavic series, and for drones in general. I think the industry isn’t doing enough to address shots taken in portrait (vertical) orientation.
Adorama: What are some opportunities you’ve had that wouldn’t have happened without sharing your work on Instagram?
Shinobi: I wouldn’t be living in Chicago if it wasn’t for Instagram. Sharing on Insta has sent me traveling the world. I’ve been to movie premieres, have given talks before crowds, been recognized on the street, and met and made friends with amazing people. Best of all, I’m being paid to do something that I enjoy and that inspires others to chase their dreams.
“I wouldn’t be living in Chicago if it wasn’t for Instagram. Sharing on Insta has sent me traveling the world.”
Adorama: On a recent Instagram, you added the caption: “Surround yourself with the right people and your whole life becomes a party.” Imagine you’re on a fantasy weekend trip with a vanful of a few other photographers. Who are they?
Shinobi: Hmmmm, I gotta go with a few: Ron Timehin, Ope Odenuego, Mohammed Abdul, Gareth Pon, Bryce Cameron, Eric Ward, and Jomayra Texeira.
Adorama: What’s your single favorite photo you’ve captured and shared, and can you tell the story behind it?
Shinobi: I always tell myself that I haven’t taken my favourite photo yet. It keeps me driven to keep exploring.
Check out Shinobi’s full Through the Lens episode below:
