As a graphic designer, Ann Jiang is a master of composition. The 27-year-old Quincy resident’s photographs play with lighting to carefully capture a variety of subjects, from a couple walking together in the Financial District to a pair of recycling bins on a Cambridge street. Jiang’s photography can be found on her aptly named Instagram account, @ann.jpeg.

Q. Has photography affected your approach to graphic design?

A. As a graphic designer, you’ll come across photography in one form or another in your career. Being able to dabble in photography and having that experience helps inform what I look for whenever I’m trying to conceptualize a photo shoot or when I’m art directing other photographers. We can speak the same language.

Q. Conversely, has your background in graphic design affected your photography?

A. It has changed my views in what I think is considered good work and not-so-great work. I’ve become a little more critical of my own photography because I’m always looking at other people’s photography. I have something to strive for in terms of what I think is good.

Q. With that in mind, what do you look for while shooting?

A. When I first started off, my interest was mainly in cityscapes. But the more and more I delve into it, I feel like my interests lie more in people and their connections to the world, which is why I shoot so many portraits. I also try to dabble in the abstract, using the environment and light. I like shooting things with harsh shadows and converging lines.

Q. How has this experience changed the way you look at the city?

A. I feel like it’s given it a renewed sense of beauty. I grew up in and around Boston, and before I picked up photography, it was kind of getting boring for me. With photography, it helps me see the city again for the second time around.

Q. What are benefits of using Instagram to display your work?

A. I believe using social media to share your work is another way to enter into a larger discourse and be able to share your vision and how you see the world with other people. Creativity breeds creativity, so that’s always a plus in my book.

Q. What has your experience been like interacting with the Instagram community, as well as with other photographers?

A. I’ve always aspired to inspire. If my work gets people out there in the world to create their own, that’s a huge plus. Collaborating with other people is also very fun because being able to get a sense of how others view the world is very interesting to me. Sometimes it’s difficult to step outside of yourself.

Interview has been condensed and edited. Sonia Rao can be reached at sonia.rao@ globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @misssoniarao.