Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Mardy.
Hi Paul, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It’s hard to talk about my career as a photographer without mentioning my extensive history as a musician.
My journey as an artist began at the age of three when my Haitian and Dominican parents bought me a keyboard, thinking I would be using it just as much as the other toys I played with at that age. My passion for music never died, and I never questioned or saw myself doing much else until the completion of my Master’s degree at The New England Conservatory of Music in 2020, which was also the beginning of the pandemic. The pandemic was a devastating hit for the artist community and college graduates hoping to tackle the workforce. However, there was an “aha” moment when I shifted gears and picked up a camera.
I started dabbling in photography in the middle of college; Before the pandemic, photography was always on the back-burner as a side hustle to help pay for college expenses. However, that shortly changed, and now it’s my full-time job!
I believe that my past experiences as a classical musician only influence and shape my art as a photographer. I’m grateful that throughout my journey and during this shift that I’ve always had a supportive village of family and mentors to help guide me in my creative pursuits.
In the summer of 2022, I had the opportunity to perform again; I played woodwinds (piccolo, flute, recorder, clarinet, bass clarinet, and the saxophone) for 1776 the musical with the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.). It was my first time performing in two years! Two years without regularly performing, practicing, and being amongst other musicians daily! I accepted the A.R.T. contract with the intention of figuring out in what capacity music could still be in my life. During that contract with the A.R.T., I had the opportunity to shoot for Vogue Magazine. It was a life-changing graduation shoot for Yara Shahidi! Despite doing photography full-time those two years, before Vogue, I still saw myself as a hobbyist or a musician who dabbled and just happened to take nice photos. I met with Yara’s parents (Afshin and Keri Shahidi) after that weekend, and I expressed to them then and there that I wanted to move to LA. I learned from that conversation that I shouldn’t be hasty. They gave me strategic advice on moving forward, and I marinaded on those words for the rest of the summer.
When my contract concluded with the ART, there were still a few weeks left in the summer. I had briefly served on the faculty for the Greenwood Summer program, an elite chamber music intensive camp for the finest and brightest 10-13 year-olds you’ll ever meet! When that summer concluded, I knew my journey with music wasn’t over, but my artistry would manifest differently than I had ever imagined for myself. So I set sail to move to Los Angeles promptly after my time at Greenwood to do photography without any doubts and second-guessing. Being able to shoot for Vogue gave me so much confidence to believe in myself and go full throttle into my photography journey.
Since moving to LA, I’ve had the pleasure of shooting Los Angeles Fashion Week, a few commercial shoots, and I also have a few exciting projects coming up that I can’t yet disclose! As I currently write this, I am 4 months to the day of my arrival to Los Angeles, and I just signed off on a photo studio space in Koreatown!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Every day is full of obstacles and challenges. It’s also an opportunity to learn and grow… Let’s just say I’m doing a lot of learning and growing these days!
Taking the leap to move across the country is a huge investment! It was a setback for a little bit; However, I always remain hopeful and never forget why I’m doing what I do.
The freelance life is difficult, what helps me during the challenging times is finding equilibrium in my emotions, spirit and mind. It may seem counterintuitive but in the moments where it seems like you have no time, in the heat of adversity, when you feel too stressed to do anything, that’s when you need to spend more time checking in and taking care of yourself.
Taking care of your body and mind is just as crucial as refining your technical abilities as an artist. I’m grateful that every day I learn new tactics and tools to combat those challenges.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve learned the fundamentals of storytelling growing up in a Haitian/Dominican household. Haitian Creole and Spanish are both incredibly expressive languages that have plenty dramatics and theatrics built in the simplest of phrases.
I’m a creative, I’m a storyteller, I’m an artist.
Photography is one conduit to how I express my creativity, storytelling and artistry. I enjoy shooting a plethora of things, especially portraiture that intentionally has an element of storytelling. With photography, you have the power to reimagine whatever is in front of the lens. My vision is to amplify the voices of those who are unable to speak for themselves, give power to those who are often powerless, and shine light where there is often shadow. I think my background as a musician comes to play in understanding movement, emotion and being an effective communicator/collaborator.
Because my photography journey is still relatively young, I’m still finding my niche. I started incorporating strobe lighting to my work about a year ago and I love the process of learning more and more about them. At the current moment, I see myself diving more into commercial, fashion, and editorial photography. A vision of mine is building a collective of other like-minded black artists and telling the diverse stories of the African diaspora.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I believe that the bigger the risk, the greater the reward. Life is full of risks and plenty of opportunities. We’re meant to get up and fall, but when you do get up again after falling, how you get back up is the essential part of life.
In our digital age, it’s easy to fall into a cycle of comparison between ourselves and what we scroll past on our feed/explore pages.
I sometimes catch myself, and when I do, I get back up to fulfill MY purpose and achieve new PRs for MYSELF.
I constantly take risks to get out of my comfort zone because that’s the only way to grow!
It’s a privilege for me to live the life I do, and I would never want to take it for granted. That’s why one of my mantras is to go big or go home. Moving to LA was a huge risk. I was leaving my family, friends, and entire network thousands of miles away to pursue an entirely new career path.
Knowing that my targets in life are bigger than myself makes this whole journey more rewarding. When my parents emigrated to New York, they left behind all they knew in hopes of having a better life for themselves and their seven children. Similarly, my voyage to LA 🙂 is to create a better future for other underrepresented groups and share the diverse stories that exist within those of the African diaspora.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.paulmardyphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/paul.mardy?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc=
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/PaulMardyPhotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mardy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@paulmardy514
- Other: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS833US833&hl=en-US&q=Paulmardyphotography&ludocid=3109001493420334237&gsas=1&lsig=AB86z5Way-faSQXuw3uMC2CR4YOM&shem=lssle&kgs=94013ae244a46330&shndl=-1&source=sh/x/kp/local/3
Image Credits
Photos of me were taken by Daniel Emuna and Paul Marotta
