Eric L. Hu: Watch Out, HONY

By integrating his innate creativity and flair for networking, Eric Hu has transformed his initial pastime of  photography to a work of art that has attracted thousands of admirers. Not to mention, Eric is one of the co-Founders of Humans of NYU.

The Deets

• Name: Eric L. Hu ‘18
• Major & School: Steinhardt for Media, Culture, and Communication
• Hometown: Setauket, NY

HC NYU: You were originally a violin performance major. What made you change to MCC?

EH: I grew up playing violin since I was 8 and I was also always more of a creative person. Looking at my future, I just had the mindset that I was bound to be a performing artist for the rest of my life. But when I got into the city and started working as a consultant for a lot of startups in marketing and social media, I started to realize that I was more interested in digital media, marketing, and tech. It was then that I decided to make the switch to MCC. After having taken several related courses, I’ve officially decided that this is what I want to pursue.

HC NYU: When and how did photography become more than a hobby?

EH: I’ve always wanted to do photography ever since I was a little kid. But every vacation when I tried to use my mom’s camera, she would always say, ‘No, you’re going to break it!’. It’s always been something I’ve wanted to pursue, but growing up I never had the time to save up all the money to buy a camera. However, senior year after graduating high school, we went on this huge trip to the Caribbean, and I bought myself a cheap camera. The pictures ended turning out better than I expected, so I came to college and decided to apply for the special interest housing floor called media revolution NYC. The whole floor was flooded with Tisch students, photographers, and videographers; they inspired me to go out and take more photos! I remember one night, we went out with my suitemate at the time, and we just bumped into these random kids in Union Square. These guys were insane! They would climb on top of bridges to get the perfect shot and their dedication really struck me. I started investing more time and money on photography and began teaching myself all the basics and techniques. Some like to take classes first, but I was always a DIY kind of person. Besides, learning things through trial and error and experience is more fun and interesting. From then on, I decided that photography would definitely be a part of who I am.

HC NYU: How did you save up to buy your own camera?

EH: I worked about five jobs during my freshman year of NYU, three jobs over the summer and four gigs this semester. I’ve done everything I could to save up while still contributing towards my tuition costs. I don’t like asking my parents for money because I feel bad as it is asking them to pay for my college tuition. I’ve done work in real estate, apparel sales, digital media, photography, client acquisitions, customer relations, the list goes on. It’s been quite a wild ride, but looking at all the fun I’ve had and all the amazing experiences I’ve enjoyed, I wouldn’t change a thing.

HC NYU: What’s it like being one of the Co-Founders of Humans of NYU?  

EH: So two years ago, Kanyon Iwami and Anna Lin created the Humans of NYU page. What they really wanted to do was replicate what HONY’s Brandon Stanton does, which is a great idea because NYU is at the center of the city with one of the most diverse student bodies. They found me in my freshman year through my photos on Instagram, and asked me to join the team. Personally I want to bring more social media engagement to Humans of NYU and feature a lot of different voices that haven’t been exposed yet. I want to showcase artists and musicians, students active in Greek life, graduate students and even professors. My goal is to bring diversity and a more wholesome view of the community here at NYU. We have a relatively small team composed of four people. Anna and Kanyon are both away due to study abroad, so I’m currently the most active member.

HC NYU: What is DxO and what’s it like working for them?

EH: DxO labs is a French photography company that has an office in San Francisco as well. For the last thirteen years they’ve been creating photographic softwares similar to Adobe Photoshop. Recently they launched the world’s smallest one inch sensor camera about the size of your palm. It fits right onto your iPhone but takes professional grade photos. I was originally introduced to the camera through a friend, and I thought it’d be an amazing idea to see if I could help promote the new technology. I applied to work for them by sending in a cover letter to every single one of their employees on LinkedIn, and I wouldn’t stop until I got a response. They finally interviewed me over Skype, and the the director of business development took me in. Starting from July this past summer to now, I‘ve been doing all sorts of different marketing and sales consulting, and I represent them in the east coast. Through DxO, I’ve gotten the chance to attend PhotoPlus EXPO and pitch the camera along-side some of their employees. Some of my photos have been featured on their social media, and more importantly, I’ve taken some of my favorite shots with the DxO One!

HC NYU: What’s the coolest feature you’ve gotten?

EH: BØRNS, an indie rock band, featured one of my photos. I went to a concert and took a photo of their lead singer, Garrett, and he ended up featuring it on their official band Instagram. Also, for people from the West Coast, the DJ Pretty Lights featured my photos twice which was so awesome.

HC NYU: What do you most enjoy taking pictures of?

EH: Frankly, I don’t really enjoy taking any one photo more than others. What I do enjoy is having an excuse to leave the dorm and have something to do and be artistic at the same time. Photography for me can be a source of stress relief or even productivity. Night time is definitely my favorite time to shoot though; I think that the biggest challenge in photography is taking a good photo when there is no light. For me at least, viewing the city how others might miss it is a constant challenge that keeps me going. Exploring locations like the lower East Side, places that are less glamorous and people wouldn’t normally associate “New York City” with is interesting. I like finding the nitty gritty places. Maybe it’s not as clean or upscale, but I like finding those dark corners. It has more character for sure.

HC NYU: What are your plans for the future?

EH: Ideally, I want to go into marketing and advertising for a photography company like Sony, Leica, or DXO Labs. No matter what though, I’m going to do my best to travel the world and take my camera everywhere.

HC NYU: And to wrap it up…

1. Three words to describe the perfect picture: Unique, Memorable, and Impactful  
2. Dream Shooting Location: Iceland for sure. The beautiful landscape is out of this world. I would consider Istanbul and Paris as some of the best urban areas to shoot though.
3. Dream Camera Model: The one I have now, the Leica M.
4. Ideal Girlfriend: Someone who’s active and wants to explore. It doesn’t matter what she does, but she has to be passionate about something. I would want us to be able to share our passions together and travel together. It’s really important to know that someone has my back and vice versa. Also, she better love golden retrievers.

Follow Eric on social media: Instagram: @ericlhu; VSCO: ericlhu.visco.co