Hey there- I’m Ziyah.
I am a photographer based in Urbana, Ohio, serving both Champaign and Clark County as well as the surrounding areas.
Photography has been a part of my life for a long time. The first time I picked up a camera, I was in fifth grade, but it wasn’t until high school that I began taking it seriously. Since then, I have photographed everything from families and portraits to weddings, events, businesses, and little moments that are easily overlooked.
I recently relocated to the Urbana area after spending several years in Tiffin, Ohio. While in Tiffin, I worked as a staff reporter for the Advertiser-Tribune, where I covered community news and events while regularly photographing the people and places that made up the community.
I now work in IT for the Northeastern Local School District and continue to freelance as a photographer and writer for the Dayton Daily News and Springfield News-Sun.
That combination of experiences has given me the opportunity to work with a lot of different people and photograph a lot of different situations — from planned portraits and weddings to fast-moving events where you have one chance to get the shot.
And that’s something I really enjoy about photography.
You have to pay attention.
I don’t want every photograph to feel overly staged or heavily edited. I want my photos to look like the moment actually felt.
I use professional editing tools to make sure an image looks its best, but I generally prefer natural colors, realistic lighting, and subtle adjustments over completely changing what was there in the first place.
Whether I’m photographing a wedding, a senior, a family, a local business, or an event, my goal is pretty simple:
Give you photographs that feel like you.
A little more background
I graduated from Heidelberg University in 2022 with a degree in Communications and a focus in Integrated Media. While there, I spent a lot of time working with photography, graphic design, and other forms of visual media.
My formal photography education started in high school with Intro to Photography and continued with Advanced Photography and college-level photography courses. Those classes gave me a foundation in everything from composition and camera settings to RAW processing and Adobe’s creative tools.
Since then, I’ve continued developing my photography through client work, personal projects, events, and journalism.
My time at the Advertiser-Tribune was particularly valuable in that regard. Covering a story often meant walking into an unfamiliar situation, meeting people for the first time, and figuring out how to tell that story visually without getting in the way of what was happening.
That experience still influences how I approach photography today.
The best moments aren’t always the ones you planned for. Sometimes they’re the ones you almost missed.
Why is it called Knub Foto?
If you haven’t met me before, there’s probably a good chance you’ll notice something a little different about me.
I was born with symbrachydactyly, a congenital hand difference that left me with only a thumb on my left hand.
Growing up, I got used to the questions, the looks, and occasionally having to explain myself. For a long time, being different was something I thought about more than I probably needed to.
Eventually, I decided to just own it. That’s where Knub Foto comes from.
“Knub” is a nickname inspired by my left hand. What could have simply been something I was self-conscious about became part of my identity — and eventually, part of my business.
I think there’s something fitting about that when it comes to photography, too. A good photograph doesn’t have to look like everything else. The things that make us different are often the things that make us interesting.
So if you’re a little different, don’t be afraid of it. Be yourself. There’s enough normal in the world already.