Tara Violet Niami

Tara Violet Niami (b. 1993) is a photographer and cinematographer from Los Angeles. Tara has an MFA from American Film Institute Conservatory in Cinematography and a BFA in photography at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Tara made her cinematography feature film debut on Ramin Niami’s independent feature film Eye Without A Face which released in August 2021 in the US, Canada and the UK. Tara has additionally directed and shot a number of other narrative shorts, fashion films and music videos and other short form content. She was the co-cinematographer and main camera operator of a short documentary Who Do You Protect? produced by activist collective The Future Left, which recently premiered in competition for best US short at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival. Tara shot a fashion film by Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti for designer Mithridate, which premiered virtually at London Fashion Week. A music video she shot with the same director duo, for Madame Gandhi’s track See Me Thru is currently playing the international festival circuit and was originally released on Billboard. As a cinematographer, she is represented by Claire Best of Claire Best & Associates. 

In addition to working as a cinematographer, Tara has worked as the production still photographer on films like the Focus Features film The Mustang (released March, 2019), Amir Naderi's film Magic Lantern (which premiered Fall 2018 at the Venice Film Festival). The poster featuring photographic imagery by Tara, won a Silver Clio Award for Film Advertising. Tara’s photographic work, since 2009, has been shown in group shows in London and Berlin been published in such publications as Elle France, Vanity Fair Spain, VICE, Le Monde, the book If You Leave covered by Dazed & Confused, and more.