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Meet Alexandra Sapp

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Sapp.  

Hi Alexandra, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Being creative has always been a part of my identity. Growing up, I expressed my creativity through drawing, painting, and fashion, but it wasn’t until high school that I started taking photos. At that point, Instagram was a new thing, so I found taking photos and editing filters on my iPhone to be so cool. During that time, social media began to take over our lives. I spent most of my time on Vine, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Through consuming so much photo and video media, I found myself loving to document everything I did. I loved making things look beautiful and capturing people as they were. 

Once I got my first Canon Rebel, my passion skyrocketed. I brought my camera everywhere. I filmed and photographed everything. As college was approaching, I knew my career had be something involving a camera. I could not imagine doing anything else. Making art gave me so much joy and purpose while traditional school did not. 

Fortunately, the universe allowed me to move to NYC and attend Parsons School of Design to pursue photo and video. To spare all the details, it’s been a seven-year journey. There is no straight path for a creative career. I went to school and worked trying to find every opportunity there was. During this time, I was trying to find my voice and style in the industry while making art I truly cared about. Trying to find the balance between getting the commercial work and making the art is still a struggle I deal with every day. I’m not sure if that struggle will ever go away honestly. Although this career requires me to live in the moment and keeps me on my toes, it allows me to do what I love every single day, and I wouldn’t trade what for anything. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Navigating a creative lifestyle and career is quite a rollercoaster of unknowns. It has incredible highs and annoying lows. Every day is a new adventure of hyping myself up and not falling into self-denial. The occasional “do I stay freelance or go back to full time?” question arises a lot. “Do I want security or freedom?” “When do I make the time to work on my art?” From my experience, I say do what opportunity is right for you in that moment. Nothing has to be permanent if you don’t it to be. Every experience presents the opportunity to learn and grow to make your next big thing even better. 

Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Finding a balance and schedule is most important for your mental and physical well-being. It can be incredibly difficult to find a routine being an independent creative. Burnout is real so learn to find your boundaries and risks you’re willing to take. You have to embrace the stressful, but beautiful climb. Find the right pace and mindset that pushes you enough to feel some motivating pressure. This is not the career to stay comfortable in. You have goals to achieve and dreams to fulfill. 

I remind myself that I get to do what I love on my terms, and that’s living the dream to me. My happiness and success in doing what I’m passionate about is my priority. Sure, you have to pay the bills, but believe me, it’ll all work out if you put that effort into what you believe in. Everything will fall into place if you work hard, strategize, and put good energy out into the world. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Throughout my career, I have gone where opportunity has led. I’m a director, cinematographer, photographer, and video editor. My career has taken many paths, and each job is different, but most of the projects I work on are in the commercial, editorial, or documentary space. I have worked with various clients like The New York Times, Vogue, Kate Spade, Sea NY, Revlon, Macy’s, Elizabeth Arden, Modelo, and Daily Harvest. Working with various brands and collaborators has been the best way to learn more about the industry, however, the documentary work I have done has been my greatest and hardest learning experience. 

I am most proud of my first feature documentary film that is currently in post-production. It has been the wildest journey to concept an idea from nothing and develop it into an entire film over many years. It’s a personal project so the emotional and logistical barriers that come with finishing it has been my greatest challenge. I am so grateful for my collaborators and supporters who have been on this uphill climb with me for many years now. 

I think what sets most artists apart from others is how they tell stories from their own personal experiences. One’s perspective and style is what makes them stand out. My art is solely based on my personal experiences. Only I can make that work because it is the experience I lived and observed. Although this art is based on my experience, it can be a shared idea others have similarly experienced as well. Connecting with the audience through emotion and feelings is why I do what I do. I love to make people contemplate, create conversations, and better understand perspectives that deserve to told. 

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I think working hard and timing has a lot to do with luck. So much of my career has been fueled by luck and timing, as well as, being ambitious and having faith that everything will work out. I think so much of finding success in a creative career is by always taking the leap of faith even if it’s risky. High risk usually means high reward if you have the right mindset. Having the right mindset is what sets you up for luck. Why not take the risk especially when you’re young? What do you really have to lose? I think people are lucky because they have put in the preparation for when an opportunity presents itself. Rarely do people just get lucky by doing nothing. For me, luck means trusting in the universe. If you put good energy out into the world, it will return that energy back to you. 

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Alexandra Sapp

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