Sophia Pagan is a New York photographer who has been living in Paris since 2008. In this interview she talks about her journey to becoming a Fine Art photographer and her latest projects.
Photography has been your passion for a long time. How did it all start?
I’ve always been an artist at heart and was creative even as a child. When I entered university I studied graphic arts and was first introduced to the world of retouching and discovered a great interest in developing retouching skills. For a long time I thought I wanted to become a professional photo retoucher. After university, I went on to work in magazine publishing for 5 years. At the first publishing house I worked for (Time Inc.) I was in charge of photo fulfillment for their international titles. I started to work with thousands and thousands of photographs on a daily basis, I worked closely with photo editors and art directors and started to develop an eye for photography.
When I left New York for Paris, I had the idea of going back to my original dream and becoming a freelance retoucher, but needed to work on retouching skill, which were lacking. I decided to teach myself the needed skills and realized that I needed quality images to practice on. So I started taking photos for the first time, found my true passion and fell in love with the art of photography.
In 2008 you decided to move to Paris to continue pursuing your “photography dream.” Why Paris?
When I left New York, I didn’t really have a plan. I was miserable sitting in an office all day and the higher up the corporate ladder I went, the less and less I found myself doing the creative work I loved. I had visited Paris, once, 3 years before I decided to move there permanently, and I just felt an immediate connection to the city.
When I left, Paris was the only thing I could think of for the next three years, but I couldn’t find a logical way of relocating there. I didn’t speak French, I didn’t have any international job prospects and I didn’t have a place to stay.
I had moved on to work at Conde Nast at the time, another publishing house, and hated every minute of working there. One day, it came to an all time unbearably high point and I bought a one-way ticket to Paris on my lunch break and I’ve been here ever since.
Do you feel that you’re now part of the Parisian “art scene”?
I do, or at least I can say I have my foot in the door. My name is starting to get around more and more and I’ve been associated with a few different cultural centers in Paris and international fine art competitions. I have had my work featured on French television station ARTE, and have had my work published in various magazines, books, newspapers and literary journals. Most recently one of my images was published in the New York Times.
You’ve also had a few exhibitions in Paris. How were they received?
They’ve all been received extremely well. I couldn’t be happier with the turnout of my events, and appreciate everyone who supports and follows my work.
What is your philosophy as a Fine Art photographer?
I see Fine Art photography as something that elicits an emotion. Today we see so many images that may be technically perfect, but lack any type of emotional interest. I create photographs that feature aspects of our, all to familiar, everyday lives, and show them in a new light.
One where, if we just took the time, we could find the most amazing things surrounding us at all times. In today’s world we are all to focused on checking our digital lives or getting from point A to B, we miss all the beautiful instances of things unfolding right before our eyes.
How can you transpose this in the more routine photographs such as the portraits you do in your Paris studio?
I think it’s the same concept. We are all so focused on trying to make our digital lives so well manicured; I’m starting to see how that influences our real world expectations of ourselves and others.
All too often I will have a client in front of me and within the first 5 minutes all they’ve done is list everything that is wrong with themselves. I don’t see any of that, the first thing I ask myself when I have a portrait client in front of me, is “What makes this person beautiful?
I talk to them and soon enough I’ve found that spark of beauty, unique to them and the rest of session is about capturing that spark. All too often, after my portrait session, my clients will come back and say things like, “You made me beautiful.” or “I didn’t even recognize myself.” I always tell them that I can only bring out what’s already there.
You’ve recently also opened a shop on Etsy. What is your approach here?
As a photographer, I have thousands of images, but the Fine Art world is selective; leaving me with many beautiful works that never see the light of day. I wanted to find a way of bringing these works to the world and decided to open an Etsy shop. The work I feature on Etsy are great as gifts and for the discerning home decorator, searching for original artwork to brighten up their space.
What makes a good photograph?
A lot of people would say the usual common things like, composition and light, but to me it’s instinct. A photograph reveals an endless story taken within a fraction of a second. I can see something happening and sense that a photograph is about to unfold before me. There have been countless times, where I stop, bring my camera to my eye and wait for an event to slowly unfold until, the moment happens.
The moment where everything collides in this majestic dance of seemingly unrelated events to create this one unique instance, and click; it’s forever frozen in time. That’s what a great photograph is to me, images that capture almost impossible moments and tell an endless story.
What does it take to become a Fine Art photographer?
It takes discipline, a strong eye and the ability to take a step back from your own work. All too often I will have an image that I’ve fallen in love with, but know, deep down, it’s not the one. As heart breaking as it is, I have to be able to let it go. It’s not easy, but a weak photograph can ruin a strong portfolio.
