Sophie had several interests when she was younger. In high school and in college, Sophie pursued ski racing at a professional level. Later on, she decided to focus on another passion full time by starting her own photography company. Her portraits include Rosario Dawson, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Brooke Shields, Dove Cameron, Ansel Elgort, and Becky G. In order to share her love of photography with other girls, she co-founded an organization called Through Our Lens, which provides mentorship and opportunities for girls to get involved and gain exposure with the industry.
When you were growing up, what were your goals and inspirations?
When I was growing up, I had a lot of different interests. My parents always supported me in whatever I dreamed about doing. I started playing classical piano when I was pretty young, and I was also involved in acting and school shows. Something else I started when I was young was skiing. My mom was a ski instructor, and she put me into their race program while she was working. By the time I was twelve, I was competing and winning state championships and doing the Junior Olympics, so my goals throughout high school were focused on my ski racing career. I ended up moving up to Vermont to further pursue ski racing. But, at the end of high school, I decided to go to college instead of pursuing racing full time. I had many different interests and did not want to cut myself short from being able to explore other things as well. I raced for my college team at Brown University, and I am glad I decided to continue on and go to college.
When was a time you failed, and what did you learn from that experience?
I feel like I fail all the time. One of my biggest failures was about 8 years ago, I decided to sign a lease on my own photo studio. It was really expensive to rent every month. However, my idea was that I would rent it out to other photographers when I did not have shoots. But, the idea did not work out as no one rented it. I was not in the business of studio rentals, I had no idea how to go about doing something like that. I had to focus my photography career. I could not get out of the lease, and I had signed a five-year lease. I met with a lawyer when I signed the lease, and he would be able to get me out of the lease if things don’t end up working out. So, I went back to him and he looked at me as if he had never said that before. It was devastating. I did not know what to do. I either could stay in it for the full 5 years or forfeit my security deposit. I decided to fail fast and get it over with. I met an entrepreneur almost a decade ago, who emphasized failing fast, so you can pivot your focus right away. At the time, I felt like it was the worst thing in the world. But, I learned that I had to stay focused in order to succeed. It took a year of catching up on payments, but I am just so glad I did not stay in it longer.
What advice would you give your former self?
Taking the time to figure out what is important to me and what I stand for and really continuing to check back in. In the beginning, you are trying to get things done and move forward and work on your brand so you can write your own story, but it is so important to do that for yourself.
Do not act on things when you are angry or heated. If something does not go the way you originally expected, take the time to take a deep breath and think about what your next steps are. Make sure you calm down before taking action.
What is one dream you have yet to accomplish?
One of them is to make narrative films. Right now, I make fashion films for fashion brands and magazines. For me, the next step is to create films that tell stories. It’s a goal of mine that I am beginning to work towards.
Growing up, what was an assumption you had about the world that ended up being incorrect?
Growing up, I believed that you can do a million things and succeed in all of them. It is so important to be clear and focus. The fact is that you can't do everything at once. Even if you do, you cannot do it well. It is all about prioritizing what you want to do and what is important to you. Do a few things the best you can and spend the time to really become an expert at those things. You only have so much time at the end of the day.
What was a key decision you made that helped you get to where you are today?
It was the decision to become a reliable person, which doesn’t sound like a decision, but it really is a choice. It is important to show up and follow through on what you said you were going to do. You would be surprised by the number of people who do not follow through on what they say they are going to do. However, if you are someone who makes the effort to show up when you say you are going to, you will have a large advantage over others.
