Tara Whiteman
By Staff Writer, écoute moi
Tara Whiteman is an Asian-Australian social media star who is best known for her blog and Instagram profile by the name ‘Tara Milk Tea’, in which she posts personal and professional photographs specializing in lifestyle, travel and fashion. A design graduate from UNSW Australia, she had originally begun her Instagram journey by sharing her fashion sketches, and also took commissions from fans. She often used her overseas trips for designing competitions to travel around the world and shared interesting photographs on Instagram. Her vibrant and colorful images have caught the attention of over a million followers within a very short period of time. She was still a student when she begun getting professional contracts from various companies and brands, and has worked with diverse brands from Canon to Tiffany & Co. Recently in March 2019, she collaborated with comedian Rhys Nicholson for the ‘2 Aussies in Cali’ campaign produced jointly by Los Angeles Tourism and San Francisco Tourism. She has also been a member of Qantas’ exclusive Q Collective team since 2016.
Tara Whiteman
Tara Whiteman developed her passion for travelling early on in her life when she got the opportunity to explore Asia while visiting her mother’s side of the family. Like travelling, her interest in photography was also fuelled early after she received her first camera at the age of 12. Since then, she became obsessed with taking photos of everything and everyone around her. Initially, both travel and photography were hobbies supported by the other jobs she held. Her first job was working in retail at the age of 15, and following school graduation, she took various jobs in admin, marketing and PR roles related to her degree. After completing high school, she began travelling the world with her friends with the savings she had secured. While pursuing her design degree, she got several opportunities to “work with companies on photographic projects, from tourism to fashion to food clients.” Being able to travel the world and share photographs as a job has been a dream-come-true for her. With her attractive travel journals and picture-perfect backgrounds, it’s no wonder that she has amassed over a million followers on Instagram. The Asian-Australian blogger has a passion for digital art and her highly creative Instagram feed is evidence of just that. She ensures to match her outfit with the background and often has different Instagram themes for her feed. Her pictures mostly include her travel adventures with exquisite locations.
Tara Whiteman
Whiteman who is a design student recently completed her Honours degree while travelling and working full time with clients as well as managing her Instagram feed. Things have skyrocketed since 2017 for Tara, who now travels full-time and collaborates with brands – visiting the likes of Abu Dhabi, the Maldives, New Zealand and Vancouver in a matter of months – and earning all the way.
‘I love the experience. I feel like travelling teaches you so much, and makes me so appreciative of life,’ Tara told. ‘I’ve always loved the creative side, and being able to turn photography from a hobby into my job has always been a dream. I also enjoy the ability to share these experiences online so others might be inspired to visit as well.
Tara Whiteman
‘The world is incredible and I’m always excited to see new places. It’s endless and I’m still not over it. I don’t think I’ll ever stop travelling, even if it becomes once a year, or once every few years.
‘I do have a rough plan for my future, but I’m always open to change.’Tara has also shared how she captures such enchanting lifestyle and travel shots, especially in areas which are often over-populated and crowded:
‘I love exploring cities in the early morning, when there are less tourists about,’ she said.
‘This is usually before 8am. I find places can be much more charming with less people around or, you’ll tend to find locals out and about, which can tell you so much more about a place.
‘However, sometimes I like to take photos in busy places because it captures the essence of a city.’Tara insisted she doesn’t have any ‘secrets’ behind taking the perfect photo – but she does ensure all her images match on Instagram by posting images that are bursting with bright colours.
Tara Whiteman
‘I love vibrant imagery, so I don’t have a particular style or theme. When I’ve been in New Zealand you’ll see my images become more green and blue, and I like how that flows at a particular time,’ she said.
‘I travel with my partner and we’ve both always enjoyed photography. I take photos of him, and he takes them of me. Strangers offer to take photos of us together, which is really nice.
‘If I’m going to be in the photo, I might frame it first, and he’ll then take it. But he has a really good eye so I just let him work his magic with the camera.’
Tara Whiteman
In order to get over the feeling that she is constantly ‘on’ and working, Tara said that sometimes she likes to leave her phone and camera behind for a day when she is away – so she can just fully immerse herself in a place and the nature of it. Tara was the only Australian to make it into the esteemed top 20 of the Instagram Rich List for 2019.
Her photos are beautifully captured with perfect set-up and colours which make it eye-catching. Just like in this picture, right from her two-piece dress to her hat, make-up and background, everything is colour coordinated.