Meet Lily Soleil Correa Lewites of Picture Party

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lily Soleil Correa Lewites.

Lily Soleil, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved to California when I was eleven after growing up for a large part of my childhood in Nicaragua. My number one priority coming to the U.S was to be successful academically but it was difficult to deny myself the exposure to creative outlets of expression. I’ve always doodled, painted, or wrote.

Photography became my primary means of expression from ages 11-16 and then film and modeling. I had graduated early from high school at 17 and had already finished a lot of my general college requirements while I waited for my acceptance letters to four years universities. This was when I had a lot of free time and as I saw it, the last chance to end my high school chapter with an embrace of my talents and quirks. I created Picture Party as a community for people in my city to create together rather than by themselves. I had been a lonely artist for all of my teen years but I was passionate and had good taste, I just did not have the means to meet people who thought similarly or were driven by the same aspirations. I did not have people my age who I looked up to, partly because I did not see a space where I could find them. Picture Party became the most consistent community in my life and it was self-made. I have to this day never missed an event and it’s my favorite thing to do. It’s my favorite thing to say I started. And my favorite thing to say I’ve continued to do well.

Great, 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?
It has not been easy. The older I get, the more I thought it would get easier. The obstacles have changed instead, they are simply different. Sometimes more difficult. When I was 17, with Picture Party just starting, I struggled to create something that could be taken seriously. I had to behave extremely maturely, show up and do as I said I would. I avoided making promises I could not keep and I struggled with letting people help me. I am and will always be the most passionate about Picture Party and it was extremely difficult to work with friends who were developing their own passions. I did not know how to gather a team that would sacrifice their times and talents without receiving much of anything in return. Now I have a surplus of people who help me and my struggle now is transitioning into adulthood and still managing the stress, cost, and time that Picture Party takes up personally. However, so many amazing things have come from it that all the struggles make it extremely worthwhile. Especially watching people take their first photos or model for the first time. The sparkle in their eye is why I do what I do time and time again.

Picture Party – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Picture Party is a creative community dedicated to nurturing a safe space for people of all ages to express themselves through photography, video, modeling, styling, and makeup. We meet up once a month in a photo-worthy location and offer a theme or challenge to guide the artist’s work toward a new skill or area of improvement. We are known for being a highly welcoming environment and true to its aesthetics. We are casual while also highly organized and one of our priorities is being accessible, affordable, and all-age friendly. All these things set us apart, not a lot of community prioritize accessibility to youth, but as a young adult myself, I believe in our teens and children so much because they are driven, artistic, empathetic, unapologetically themselves, and fierce.

One of our proudest characteristics is the inclusiveness of our planning. We aim to create a balanced number of events that include opportunities for studio collaboration, branding, runway practice, set design/backdrop building, product or business photography, networking, and print submission. We also love to collaborate with business to bring new customers while allowing us to make use of their beautiful spaces and offer their resources to our attendees. It’s been wonderful to watch our members find their favorite locations and businesses as well as paid opportunities with our sponsors where they can grow their skills and the business can hire talented artists.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment is not just one. As corny as it may sound, my proudest moment is after ever event, once the crowd is dying down and the people left are those who felt they just needed to know more and stick around to ask questions. It’s when I’m watching everyone connect and then they look over at me and call me to come closer. For someone who felt like she never got credit for the work she did, whether in high school or college, it’s huge for me to accept that Picture Party exists out of my pure will to continue it. I don’t gain profits or fame or opportunities for myself as much it costs me, I continue to have an event every month because nothing makes me more proud than knowing I’ve created a space for next generation to thrive and succeed.

Pricing:

• Our events are usually FREE or very inexpensive.
• For ticket purchases or FREE RSVPs visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/picture-party-picturepartay-17139544814

Contact Info:

• Website: Picturepartay.org
• Email: picturepartay@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/picturepartay
• Twitter: twitter.com/picturepartay

Image Credit:
Mike Spicer; Sydney Prather; Oscar Peña

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