Mateos Papazian began his photographic practice with Antoine Zilpochian. Opening the Zilpochian-Papazian studio at the beginning of the 1860s, they parted ways a few years, establishing their separate business.The seals ofPapazians' studio on Grand Rue de Galata are quite vaunting. They boast about various international awards, but thus far there is no evidence that he had participated in any such competitions. This was probably a disingenuous ploy, through which the photographer tried to lure his unassuming clients. The shady aspect of Papazian's practice is further testified by some of his unethical, not to say illegal actions. A number of carte de visite portraits of prominent figures which Papazyants distributed under his name are known to have been made originally by Adbullah Frères and Vassilaki Kargopoulo.

During the 1870s, the studio changed its name to Papazian Frères, indicating that Mateos’ brother(s), whose name is unknown, had joined the business. They also opened branches in Varna, Bulgaria and Dieppe, France and it is likely that different members of the Papazian family were responsible for each location. According to photography historian Bahattin Öztuncay, Papazian’s Istanbul studio ceased its operations in 1883, but his heirs continued the family business in Bulgaria. Some five years later another photographer bearing the name of Mateos Papazyants opened a studio in Vagharshapat in Russian Armenia. Whether the two photographers were connected in any way is not known.

Vigen Galstyan, 2016