Meet Anna Poisson

We were lucky to catch up with Anna Poisson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Anna, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

There is a word in German language that describes a particular sort of optimism that I consciously try to cultivate in my life: die Zuversicht. It means more or less to “believe in the future”. To believe that there is a positive future for oneself. It is a belief but also an attitude. That does not mean being naive or blinding out the reality.
In my interpretation it simply means to acknowledge my place in the world and to do the best out of it to the best of my ability at any given moment in life. I grew up among pessimists and skeptics and due to that upbringing I was rather prone to having a dark outlook on life. But at some point in my late teens I noticed that the quality of life of pessimists tends to be… poor. It manifests itself in bad mood, sadness, anger or resentment and sometimes in illness and isolation. I did not want my life to look like that. So I oriented myself on such anti-role-models and did the opposite. I also think that there is something to be said about growing up in Europe and being extensively exposed to somber literature and cinema. It gives you some perspective and is a good tool to practice appreciation of one’s own life. After all I might not be a princes or the richest person in the world but compared to people living in war zones my future outlook seems pretty damn good. Those are extremes but you always have the choice to compare up or down from where you are.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a visual creative with background in writing and teaching language. My focus is on the photographic medium. As an artist I am mainly engaging in story telling and as a professional I am currently building my commercial photography and design studio. I called it “imperfekt studio” because of my interest, not because the work I do is lacking in any way. My goal as commercial photographer is not to amplify the “desirable” standards of perfection but rather emphasize that there is a broad spectrum of diversity in life: in human beings, animals, landscapes, life styles etc. Photography in particular is infamous for perpetuating beauty and life standards that are not consistent with the reality of most people. Especially now, at the time of smartphone photography and videography and the everyday-life-exposure on social media, the pressures of uniformity, group conformity and following trends are constant and omnipresent. So is the bubble of perfection presented in neatly curated bits and pieces with no insight behind the curtains of the show. Additionally the rapid spread of AI imagery only flattens down the bandwidth of visual representation. That is where I see the real opportunity for visual artists and professional photographers like myself.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

My journey unfolded less than perfectly, it did not follow a straight forward path or a road map. I used to work in public relations, then as freelance reporter and author, as office manager and as language teacher. I lived in Poland, Germany before I settled down in the US. Some would say I waisted time but exposing myself to changes and having to adapt constantly are the qualities that I consider as the most impactful in my journey. I spent a lot of time taking detours, and each and every of them unexpectedly turned out to be a place of learning valuable skills. Some people are following inspiring role models. I am more of the avoidant type: It always appeared clearer to me where I don’t want, rather than where I wanted to go. More often than not just embracing a given opportunity rather than chasing a particular goal, resulted in an unexpected enrichment that was overall contributing to my personal and also professional growth. I think that overemphasis on hard skills and achieving your goals as early as possible ignores an essential but unquantifiable part of our development to mature human beings. Hence my advice: Take your time. You cannot force personal development into a schedule. Like learning a foreign language, it will take as long as it needs to. And consider every detour in your life as an unexpected opportunity to learn something new. Getting out of your bubble and shifting the perspective can change everything and open doors you did not even know existed.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My current challenge is to develop a business that is viable but also follows my values and my long term vision of responsible photography. I also struggle a little to find my own path as an artist and small business in the hypercapitalistic system of our time. These are challenges that I do not have clear answers to yet but I am confident that the time will come. I am looking for like minded creatives in my area (Denver metro area) to gain moral support, exchange ideas and possibly to collaborate. Mainly I try to take it easy and trust into the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.imperfektstudio.com / www.annapoisson.com
• Instagram: @imperfektstudio / @aniapoisson

Image Credits

All images: © Anna Poisson / imperfekt studio