Meet Sofia Garcia Sanchez

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sofia Garcia Sanchez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sofia, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

I find that this question, for me, goes deeper than race, ethnicity, or gender. It looks and feels more like ” oh no, no one else here thinks as creative/ free- spirited as me” or ” I’m the youngest in the room, will they be offended when I’m providing leadership? ” or ” I know I’m being perceived as bossy here, but this room needs directive, here we go….” – being successful when I am the odd one in the room is still a work in progress. But the more chances I take, the more I realize that my experience, perspective, and talents brought me into the room. You know that saying of, if there’s no seat at the table, make one? It’s like that; often times, the opportunity to create your own seat won’t be this grandiose announcement of opportunity, rather a small moment where you said yes to helping/directing/being a part of a project and now have to follow through with all the planning, confidence, and knowledge that that entails. It can be scary when you yourself weren’t aren’t even sure, but something that I find helps me with said success is reminding me that the opportunity presents itself only when I am ready. If it is in front of me, then I am capable of getting through it, even if I have to stop by and ask how or do some research along the way. Even in the case where I am fully scared and unsure, approaching from a place of curiosity helps to avoid a spiral of all the reasons why things may go awry. With questions, we can find answers. With curiosity, and a belief in self ( albeit at times wavering) gets you closer to the result than not trying at all.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a multi-passionate creative and tend to dance around in various media: production, screenwriting, editing, photo, video, film, creative direction. Simultaneously, I am a big believer of mysticism and spirituality, and use those pillars as inspiration in my art. I provide my service from a point of radical presence to create more aligned projects. In it’s most raw form, it looks like transformational photoshoots, where we let intuition, nature, and embodiment guide the way. The freer and more vulnerable we can be, the better. Outside of the transformational photoshoots, say for Creative Direction, I let this approach of potent presence and reverence for nature (and the mystic) guide me along the way.

What most excites me about this is how well it is received by those who are drawn to my work. Often times, photo sessions reveal a lot of vulnerability about a person, so it is of utmost importance to receive the person in a way that lets them feel seen + heard. After, I see a newfound sense of connection to themselves, confidence, even– reconnecting them to a sense of play, a reminder of their own inner power, all being celebrated and commemorated by the images we’ve created together. It excites me because I think society is shifting to a world of higher authenticity, higher service, and generally more open minded ways of connecting both to the self and to each other. My goal is always to celebrate the person in front of my lens, leaving them with a sense of being understood and appreciated just as they were in that moment.

As for what’s next, the foreseeable expansion is in humanistic short films, nature-centric video campaigns, and possibly re-instating mindful art classes again. But to stay in the loop @lenstranscend on instagram would be your most up to date source for announcements of the sort!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Early in the photographer journey: practice, find community, hold projects and deadlines for yourself so that you are consistently creating. Being perfect, having the best equipment, or technically understanding all the facets of photography don’t matter nearly as much if you don’t put theories into practice. The more you shoot, the more you’ll understand your likes and dislikes from a creative, professional, and inter-personal standpoint. Finding community to keep you accountable to your goals and creations is huge when you are in the rut of no inspiration, but when you find the people that think and worry about all the same things you do, you feel seen.
Early in spirituality: start journaling. about your day to day, your dreams, your frustrations…. even if it is a stream of consciousness you will begin to see the patterns that lie in your head from day to day. An observation that proves most useful when wanting to take agency in your path.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

Balance is key for everything– society is so invested in the hustle, the niche, the perfectionism ( at least it has been that way for a while, thought the tides seem to be progressing away from that) yet lately I am really keen on the view that chipping away at the things you strive for one day at a time, is better than trying to perfect one sole thing. I don’t want to be the expert, I want to be relatable. I want to the person who’s taken the unique cards given to them, and applied a hard work ethic and invaluable service in my interactions. I wouldn’t get that if I was stuck on only perfecting the right camera settings. It’s your experience, after all, complete with all the different interactions and phases over the course of your life that allow you to blossom into a more cognizant perspective and awareness within any industry or topic. My time as a photographer would lack its essence if not for my journey into spirituality, my presence welded through adversity, my compassionate and loving connections cheering me on, or peers mirroring aspects where I still had to learn/ work hard at. What’s the point of being great at something if you cannot connect? I hope our future is filled with people that understand beauty is not within the confines of black and white, but is valuable, and vibrant, in the gray.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lenstranscend.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/lenstranscend

Image Credits

@lenstranscend