Picturing World Cultures: Kiana Hayeri: Iran / Afghanistan

Kiana Hayeri was born in Iran, and this was where she launched her career as a photojournalist and visual storyteller. Yet after traveling to Afghanistan for a 2014 assignment, she decided to relocate, spending the next eight years covering both the frontlines of conflict and everyday lives of the Afghan people.

In this second installment of our monthly series, Picturing World Cultures, we speak with Hayeri about her experiences living and working in a region mired in cultural upheaval, failing infrastructure, and rife with political violence.

Listen in as Hayeri shares insights about her early work documenting youth culture in both Iran and Afghanistan, while revealing subtle differences in how each society approaches a division between public and private life.

When it comes to making pictures, Hayeri’s first concern is for the latent potential of her photographs to endanger the lives of her subjects. She elaborates on making conscious calculations in her head related to every small detail to mitigate this risk.

Working as a woman within a patriarchal society involves great challenges, and we broach this subject, as well as the advantages she has when photographing culturally sensitive subjects.

While Hayeri has little problem maintaining focus on the frontlines while immersed in her work, we also discuss the tolls of making pictures in traumatic situations, and the importance of taking breaks to reestablish a sense of normalcy and maintain health and sanity.

Hayeri has worked with an extensive network of local contacts to arrange access for the stories she tells. She avoids using the term “fixer” for these essential collaborators, pointing out, “The credit for a lot of the stories that we work on goes to our local colleagues, because they are the ones who put themselves on the front of everything. It’s their reputation, their lives that they risk. I have a lot of respect for that.”

Check out the first episode of our new podcast series Picturing World Cultures, featuring my interview with Australian photographer Wayne Quilliam, here:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/picturing-world-cultures-wayne-quilliam-australiatasmania

Above photograph © Kiana Hayeri
Guest: Kiana Hayeri

For more information on our guest and the gear she uses, see:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/picturing-world-cultures-kiana-hayeri-iran-afghanistan

Stay Connected:
Kiana Hayeri Website: https://www.kianahayeri.com/
Kiana Hayeri Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kianahayeri/ 
Kiana Hayeri Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kianahj
Kiana Hayeri Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/speakers/kiana_hayeri