Hadiya Gaiters

Photographer, Musician

Philadelphia, PA

Once you take a photo, there's no going back to check if it came out well.  You have to line up the perfect shot and trust that you've captured the truest sentiment 

of that moment. 

She's captured the faces behind our Owning It series, delivered eloquent reviews of songs that hold meaning to her, and has created some of the most unique content our brand has seen. A woman who we always see behind the camera, we proudly introduce you to Hadiya Gaiters.

We first reached out to Hadiya in June of 2018 after seeing some of her portrait work on Instagram.  We met up at Johnny Brendas to discuss how we might be able to work together, and a few cocktails and an unexpected meal later, we planned our Owning It interview series, for which Hadiya would become the featured photographer.  

One of the first things that drew us to Hadiya's work was her unique style of shooting on strictly a 35mm camera. When we asked Haidiya why she only shoots on a 35mm, she replied simply with, 'precision.'  

She says that shooting with film forces her to choose her shots more carefully, bringing greater value to each photograph.  

Jonathan Yamini of Chestnut St. Bagels in Philadelphia, PA. Shot By Hadiyah Gaiters

With film, each roll can be costly, and there are only so many shots, so a photographer must be selective. Of course, once you think you've snapped a masterpiece, the photos still need to be developed.

Once you take a photo, there's no going back to check if it came out well.  You have to line up the perfect shot and trust that you've captured the truest sentiment of that moment. 

In her photos with a human element, Hadiya waits for a natural moment of human emotion before snapping away; something in their face that she can capture in time forever. Hadiya says she's dabbled in working on a digital camera, but know that film is where her heart is.

Originally from New Orleans, Hadiya studied Film at Temple, and coincidentally, she recently produced a video for Philadelphia ceramicist, Anthony Romero.  She has a creative eye like very few we have ever seen.  Not only is Haidya growing in photography, and working her full-time job in IT at the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, she has also been spending much of her time making music.

Originally self-produced on her phone (don't worry, she's upgraded to a microphone since) Hadiya's music explores styles from hip-hop to acoustic, on a journey to find her sound. She seems to get her experimental inspiration from a lot of the music she surrounds herself with--including the music she has written reviews about for our Weekly Spotlight Newsletter. Keep an eye out for our next collaboration with our friend Hadiya.