Belgian portrait photographer Bleg Bayraktar has achieved remarkable success on social media, reaching one million Instagram followers in just seven months through an approach that emphasizes politeness and cultural respect. The 24-year-old photographer, who posts content under the Instagram handle @itsbleg, has cultivated a reputation for being soft-spoken and incredibly respectful regardless of which country he visits or which people he encounters.
A video posted on Bayraktar's Instagram account showing him approaching an elderly worker in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district has gone viral, accumulating nearly 9 million views. This success stands in stark contrast to other social media personalities who have drawn negative attention in Japan by engaging in disruptive behavior such as blasting loud music on quiet train carriages, performing pull-ups on sacred torii gates, and flying drones in prohibited areas.
Japan holds special significance for Bayraktar as it represents the birthplace of his portrait photography journey. In 2022, he participated in a one-semester study exchange program at Tokyo's prestigious Hitotsubashi University, where he studied economics. Although he was already interested in photography at the time, he was initially too shy to approach strangers for portraits.
"I tried once to ask a stranger if I could take their portrait, but it took so much energy and I thought, 'I'm never doing this again,'" Bayraktar recalls about his early experiences. Despite common perceptions about Japanese people being reserved, he discovered that the majority of people he approached in Japan were actually happy to have their photographs taken.
After completing his studies and working briefly in the finance sector in Belgium, Bayraktar returned to Japan in November 2024 for what was initially planned as a short trip. This time, he was determined to give portrait photography another serious attempt, and he began documenting these interactions on video. "I started posting videos, and then one video blew up. Suddenly, all my other videos got more attention. I gained 100,000 followers in 10 days," he explains.
The unexpected success prompted a life-changing decision. Upon returning to Belgium, Bayraktar immediately handed in his notice at his finance job and decided to pursue photography full-time. Since making this leap, he has traveled extensively to countries including France, Turkey, Morocco, South Korea, and Japan, continuously photographing people and documenting his journey while steadily building his online following.
"I don't know what's happening to me, to be honest," Bayraktar admits. "Seven months ago, I was still sitting at my desk at my nine-to-five job. It's unbelievable." His success has been particularly notable in Asian countries, where he has found people more receptive to being photographed compared to other regions.
During his most recent trip to Japan last month, Bayraktar continued capturing street portraits and found that approximately 60 to 70 percent of the people he approaches agree to let him photograph them. "So far I've found that in Asia, people tend to say yes more so than other countries," he notes, adding that he found Moroccans to be the most private among the populations he has encountered.
Bayraktar's approach to photography is fundamentally shaped by his personal values and initial shyness, which he now views as an asset. This characteristic enables him to approach people with genuine humility and ensures he never imposes himself on others. Unlike many influencers who treat Japan as their personal film set with everyone else serving as background characters, Bayraktar consistently prioritizes his subjects' needs above his own content creation goals.
"I always try to learn the language, learn about the culture and try to be respectful of the country," Bayraktar explains. "Being polite is not something I need to think about, it's natural. I'm asking people for their picture and I feel like that's already a huge request." This mindful approach has earned him overwhelmingly positive responses from both his subjects and his growing audience.
For aspiring photographers or content creators considering following in his footsteps, Bayraktar offers straightforward advice: "Always try to be the most polite person possible." His success story serves as a refreshing example of how authentic respect and cultural sensitivity can lead to genuine connection and social media success without resorting to disruptive or disrespectful tactics that have unfortunately become common among some international visitors to Japan.
