Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Pavan.
Hi Veronica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I left California in 2006 and moved to New York to attend Parsons School of Design, where I graduated with my BFA in Photography. I ended up starting my career in photography licensing/ artist management and stayed in NYC for 14 years.
As much as I loved being involved in the business and strategy side of things, I found that I really missed shooting, so I started photographing weddings as a creative outlet on weekends. I never thought it would grow into more, but I’m still actively doing it almost 11 years later! I’ve always opted not to make it my full-time job because not relying on it for my livelihood has kept it fun and allows me the freedom to choose my clients out of a shared creative vision and not a necessity. Aside from A Heart String, I am an account executive at Getty Images, where I help our corporate clients find and create original content.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Pursuing photography was so different ten years ago! This was the pre-Instagram-hyper visibility era & that created a different set of challenges than there are today. There was tons more gatekeeping and when I joined the workforce, the traditional notion that you had to “pay your dues” created a lot of toxicity. My peers and I have a lot of stories that would probably destroy careers if they happened / were exposed today. I really think this generation is doing an amazing job of dismantling those constructs and now, largely because of social media, individual creatives and underrepresented communities have so much more visibility and influence over the culture. That comes with its own set of challenges and responsibilities and while it’s still far from perfect, it is encouraging to me to see so many more faces and bodies that look like my own represented in the media and in the workplace.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Shooting Weddings instantly sparked joy in my creative life – they are the perfect combination of all the photo genres that I love (fine art, editorial, fashion and still life!) & allow me to dabble in all of it at once. Being given the opportunity to create something beautiful and meaningful for the couples that entrust me with their memories is the cherry on top. I’ve been fortunate enough to attract couples with really unique creative visions and I do my best to capture the vibe of the day as true to life as I can. My wedding work has been featured in Vogue, Brides and Over the Moon, among others.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
When I was starting out, I was constantly trying to visually consume everything – photo blogs, archives, magazines, books, music videos, work that was in galleries and museums. All of this really helped inform my vision and I think it’s really important to know the history of the medium in order to have an understanding of what has been done and how we got here. But now that we’re culturally inundated with content 24/7, I also think it’s important to step away and tune into yourself and focus on what truly interests you/lights you up and why. Honing in on these things are the only way you can make work that you’re proud of and that will ultimately set you apart – work made out of passion just hits differently.
Regardless of what type of photography you’re pursuing – shoot all of the time. Improving your craft is an active practice.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aheartstring.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/aheartstring
Image Credits
Portrait of Veronica by Brandon Pavan
