We recently connected with Sophia Calderon and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sophia, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I love this question. Before I share more about how I found my purpose, I wanted to acknowledge the weight that the word “purpose” carries. As people in general, but specifically creatives, we are often-times asked what our purpose is as an individual and in regards to what we create. The first step for me was stepping away from the idea that my purpose had to be one thing that would never change – we are constantly evolving, trying new things, and learning more about ourselves, which makes having one specific purpose essentially inevitable.
The first step in my journey of finding purpose was understanding who I am at my core. When I was 20, I moved out to Colorado to join the Service Corps. A large part of the program’s curriculum was centered around identity intersectionality. Initially, we were challenged to think about the amount of identities we take on in our daily lives. For me, the list extends multitudes – everything from Woman and Latina, to Photographer and Artist, to Sister and Nurturer.
Once we laid all of these identities out in front of us, we were invited to consider which core values derive from them – this is where I found purpose. After exploring everything from spirituality, to social justice, to living playfully, I stepped back and realized it all has a place in what I love to do – which is to create art inspired by this beautifully wild and heart-wrenching world we all experience.
The first time I truly realized my purpose existed at the center of all of these things was when I sat with the idea of sonder, the understanding of everyone around you having a life as full and complex as your own. Sonder curiously invited me into the world of storytelling and is the fuel that generates my passion.
At the root of it all, I believe the first and greatest step you can take in finding your purpose is finding yourself – truly getting to the core of who you are and what you want from this fleeting lifetime. In regards to a creative career path, knowing your identities allows you to understand the perspective you create from…knowing your values allows you to quickly discern who you are interested or willing to work with in order to stay aligned with who you are.
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’m Sophia Calderon, a media-focused Creative Consultant and Photographer. I often describe myself as a “storyteller of the human experience”, given that I hold tight to the idea that every story has an immense amount of value, even when we don’t see the value in our own. I celebrate the experiences deeply woven within the fabrics of our lives through visual and written narrative, in an aesthetically pleasing way. I’m so excited to officially have the title of Creative Consultant partnered with photographer. Photography is still the pivotal point of my creative work, but I now offer services in relations to my background in Public Relations + Communications, such as social media management, graphic design, videography, copywriting and editing, Squarespace website design, and of course photo sessions.
I carry the idea of celebration throughout my all of these areas of my work by supporting organizations, and individuals as well, in sharing their purpose and goals in their ongoing missions. This is why my portfolio embodies everything from photographing friends in an amazing new outfit we thrifted, to a feature story about an up-and-coming restaurant, social media graphics for a service-based non-profit, or even a mockup campaign for my dream clients. Again, when you think about what the human experience is, the opportunities are endless.
My identity as an artist is molded by the intersection of identities I exist within. I am a 22 year old, Costa Rican-American woman, raised in the South. Throughout my lifetime I have experienced a calling to capture the divine within the profound and the profane, which led me to various work-based experiences ranging from the restaurant industry to a refugee resettlement non-profit.
As most artists know, creativity is not confined to your work, yet exists within the bounds of your everyday life. When I am not doing client-based work, you will find me pouring into a wide variety of personal projects, such as styled photoshoots, recipe development + food photography, interviewing friends and family, all of it. The inspiration for these projects primarily derives from the folks I am gracious to call my community and the patch-worked culture that we are all a part of.
Being inspired by and learning from others has allowed me to embrace my role in humanity’s larger, interconnected narrative. I am the keeper of a never-ending list of stories, held together by a cohesive, stylistic thread. The variety of subject matters I focus on consistently opens new doors, allowing everyone to find themselves within my art one way or another.
Through and through, my work is an offering – a chance to share the authentic experiences individualistic to your personal story through visual and written narrative. I am so passionate about what I do because it allows me to tap into creativity consistently, but even more so, allows me to be part of so many different people’s lives. I want you to know your story is important & I want to tell it in a captivating way to a visually-literate world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Wow, I truly think I could go on and on, but the three that resonate with me the most are: having artistic integrity, deepening your craft, and approaching the world with curiosity.
As a storyteller, I think integrity is a top priority for me. Whether it be sitting down with me for an interview feature story or simply getting your photo taken, vulnerability is present. I think human to human, we have an obligation to provide dignity to one another, especially in spaces where we are talking about our lives. For me, I ensure that I always give everything in me to do justice to the story of the person I am working with because I want my art to be a safe haven. I think you can practice this by being really intentional with your work – all it takes is a bit of consideration.
Integrity also shows its face in the logistical side of creative work. Going back to what I mentioned in regards to purpose, you have to know your values. One way to stay true to who you are is to make sure that you are only working with individuals or brands that align with your values. I sincerely believe that this principle allows you to remain energized about what you are doing and also attracts the people you would want to work with. Integrity is one of those things that seems so obvious, but can be difficult to apply in real time, especially when financial income is on the line. To put it simply, life is really expensive right now, but no job is worth compromising on your belief systems. Say it with me, “money always comes back”, trust that and do better by you.
Secondly, deepening your craft. I wish I could remember what show and what chef it was who said this, but I remember watching Food Network as a child and hearing someone talk about how he perfected his style of cooking and he said something around the lines of “I explored every other field – art, sports, all of it to perfect cooking, which was completely unrelated. All of these experiences teach you what you like and what you don’t.”
I keep this concept in my back pocket at all times. I truly believe that I am the creative I am today because of the vast skill set I own, which comes from trying so many different things – you keep what works and you rewrite what doesn’t, but I promise you will learn so much about yourself and discover interests you never knew you had.
Lastly, approaching the world with curiosity. Explaining the benefits of doing this would be a never-ending list. Curiosity, for me, has been the gateway to growth in every aspect of my life. It has generously given me some of the greatest friendships, conversations with strangers I’ll never see again, inspiration for photoshoots, recommendations to restaurants that ended up being the best meals of my life, the answer to big questions, all of it, just because I chose to be curious. From my experience, all I can recommend is to show up compassionately in the world, ask questions, smile at strangers, try new things, and never be the one to tell yourself “no”.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Of course, I am always looking for new opportunities to partner with others and collaborate! It’s probably super obvious, but I have a million different interests that I love incorporating into my work, which broadens opportunity for collaboration. For example, I love anything cooking/foodie related, soccer or tennis focused, all things fashion, and of course will always make space for Latina-Owned businesses. Honestly, you name it and there will likely be a chance to create something incredible.
When collaborating, there are always a few things I am looking for – for example, if it is “product based”, I want to make sure that it is a product I would actually use and again, the company feels like a good fit for me. If there are in-person opportunities with other creatives, I always want to ensure that a collaboration has equity through and through, which looks like both benefiting from the opportunity and are truly there to experience one another’s magic, which applies to partnership as well.
I am often available for paid opportunities, if you are looking for someone to take the creative stress off of your hands! In this capacity I expect financial equity, along with trust in my vision. From my end I can always guarantee transparency, efficiency, adaptability, and my best effort.
If any of this sounds like a good fit for you, please connect with me through my website (sophiacalderon.com) or any of my social media platforms!
Contact Info:
- Website: sophiacalderon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiacalderonfoto/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-calderon-8b512b191/
Image Credits
Sophia Calderon Photo (I took & own the rights to all images + created/own the rights to the graphic)
