Meet Sophia Leon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Leon.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My real fascination for art began since I was a child. One day, my oldest sister, Maria showed me these fashion female models she had been drawing in her notebook and she encouraged me to replicate the same image. I was fascinated by how easily and with a single stroke she could draw an entire arm. I was never able to replicate my Sister’s drawing but, it opened up my eyes to a whole new world so I began to draw whenever I had the chance. I’ve always been fascinated by art. in particular paintings of females from Art Masters such as Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring and Gustav Cllimt’s paintings of Adele Bloch-Bauer II and Pablo Picasso’s 3 Dancers. I never missed an opportunity to enter art contests during my school years.

I won several. I have a background in fine arts and worked with several mediums such as oil, acrylic and watercolor. Watercolor pointillism was my favorite technique. At the same time, I left college, my nieces and nephews were being born. I had a point and shoot camera and I fell in love with those newborn faces. I began taking pictures of them every opportunity I had. I continued taking pictures of them well into their late teen years. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that, I purchased my first digital SLR Camera. In the beginning I didn’t know what I was doing. I had just purchased an expensive camera and a prime lens and I used the auto setting for several months. I discovered that my camera was complicated and very temperamental. Quite honestly, I was very intimidated by it. I would have nightmares. lol. I went back to school and I took several courses in photography and also joined a meet up group in California where I collaborated with a very creative team lead by Tawny Horton, a very talented photographer.

Please tell us about your art.
I hope one day I can dedicate all my time to photography as a full-time job. I love to create and collaborate with other creatives. I’m evolving as a photographer every day. I can look back at my work and always think how I could have done it better. I keep an open mind and try to learn from others and most importantly handle constructive criticism well. What I love most about photography is when I am able to connect with my client/model and make them feel relaxed and so focused in their element that they forget I’m there. Whenever I can get my model to be the best version of themselves and lose their fear in front of the camera, then I feel it’s a huge accomplishment for both of us.

I used to come home from work tired all the time and I didn’t have the energy and I was lacking the focus to get out there and make magic happen. Recently, I resigned from job with Maricopa County and began to focus more on my photography. Although, I continue to photograph my Grand Nieces and Grand Nephew, I am now focused on working mainly with Women. I have always loved the female form and all its beauty and diversity. I want to assist women by capturing true raw portraits of themselves and helping them see the beauty they each possess. I want them to recognize one particular feature they love about themselves and enhance/embrace it.

My hope is that women celebrate themselves by setting up a photoshoot every year on their birthday for the rest of their lives. Sometimes I have a particular theme in mind and other times I have to really pick my subjects head to figure out the best theme. Together, we come up with a theme that best suits my client. So many women look back years later and have regrets. I certainly have regrets I didn’t have more pictures taken of myself during my younger years but, I’m also a firm believer that women just become more beautiful with age.

I wish I had dedicated more time to my passion for photography and I wish I would have backed up all of my work. 10 years went by really quick and I lost so many images because, my computer died and I was irresponsible with my work. I’m an introvert my nature so it’s really hard for me to network but, I’m learning that when you love something so much and you find yourself in your true element, it becomes a little easier to talk to people. I will be working in a project in the near future regarding a serious women’s health issue. An issue that has personally affected me and many other women I know. I’m expecting to have the project completed by March 2019.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
My advice to fellow artists is make time for what you love. Find something that you love and give it your all. Learn from other artists and network. Build a portfolio of your work. Learn how to take constructive criticism well. I wish I would have learned from about the complexity of digital cameras when I first purchased mine; It would have saved me so many headaches. Don’t be afraid to get out there and shoot every chance you get but, shoot in raw manual mode.

Although there are many experts our there we can learn from, hands on experience is the best teacher. With time you just learn to be familiar with a particular style and you just make it your own and run with it. There seems to be so much competition within photographers but, you should never be afraid to share your secrets people will respect you more for it. Nobody will ever re-create you style. If someone tries to re-create your style don’t be threatened; Be happy for those who clearly admire your work enough to want to re-create it.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
https://www.facebook.com/SophiaLeonPhotography/
https://www.instagram.com/sophialeonphotography/

Contact Info:

• Email: sophialeonphotography@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophialeonphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SophiaLeonPhotography/

Image Credit:
Christina Bettencourt
Amanda De Leon
Alyssa Marie Desapio
Kattia G. Charmonate

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