Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayden Sahli.
Hayden, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My upbringing is responsible for where I am today. From three years old up to high school, I went to a French American International School in Portland. I didn’t know it at the time but it expanded my world view at a young age. I mean, I went to school with people from all over the world. Mostly locals, but there were so many kids I came across from other continents. All the teaching staff were from Europe, so it gave me a chance to grow up with a different perspective of the world. I was always creative like a lot of other kids, but my background was very different. I was exposed to so much art and culture at a young age.
So I found photography late in high school, and to be honest I didn’t think anything of it. I actually didn’t really enjoy it, it was just something to do instead of sports all the time.
I went to University of Oregon and didn’t touch a camera for like two years because I was having so much fun and socializing all the time—life hadn’t hit me yet.
I built a small portfolio with mostly portraits and fashion images when one of my friends I looked up to named Brayden Figueroa managed to get me an internship with the Marketing and Media sector of the Oregon Athletic Department. It was SUCH a special opportunity.
Up until this point, I had no idea how to shoot sports! I didn’t even have a lens that could capture players close enough to use on social and for websites. I only shot portraits and clothes before I got this job! I was such an outcast at first.
Since UO was basically where Nike was founded, our company which was the athletic department was essentially Nike adjacent. For my very first project, I presented an idea to shoot an editorial for this Jordan x Oregon collaboration that would be sold to the public, and no one had any images for the collection yet! In my head, I was like: ‘I can’t pass something like this up, this is what I’ve been waiting for”. I shot the photos, one of my bosses came with us on location and we literally casted some of my friends which was the best part. I’ll never forget that day.
A couple of weeks later, I get a text from one of my higher-ups saying that my work made it onto the Nike app. That was a crazy day.
That’s when I kind of knew that what I was doing could turn into a career if I sacrificed enough and put in a lot more work. Since then, I’ve worked with some other global brands, been featured on some other amazing platforms, its been fun so far.
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 would be a bit dramatic for me to say that its been a tough road. I mean its been relatively smooth so far, but to be honest I treat my journey like I’m still just getting started. That way, I don’t lose sight of the goal (both short term and long term). That mindset has gotten me to where I am now, and it keeps me pretty humble, I’d say.
But I wouldn’t call my journey easy by any means. There have been so many times where I wanted to throw in the towel and follow a ‘safer’ career path. Most of my battles happened within me; emotional and mental battles.
When you first start out in any part of the creative field, you constantly question yourself, and you almost become your own worst enemy. Is what I’m doing relevant? Is it even good? Do people care?
I think that last question is one of the hardest things to answer, and putting the question on a pedestal can come back to haunt you, it can eat you up. That’s why it’s important to really take the time to reflect and understand why you’re even creating work in the first place. Take time out to check in on the foundation that you built for yourself and reevaluate your intentions, you know? Like ‘what message am I portraying in my work, and has that message been said yet?’ If you have a vision that’s unique then naturally people will gravitate towards your work. You just have to search for it.
Be real with yourself.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
So, I’m a photographer by trade. Ultimately, my long term goal is to use photo as a platform for me to move into a director role because I want to have a bigger say in the creative process. But yes for now, I work as a freelance photographer.
I specialize in fashion photography, and most of my work now is done in studio, which is so much fun. It’s nice being able to control every element of what I’m working with and not having to worry about weather changes and location changes, all that. My work is focused on simplicity, and it’s pretty concise.
I’m really trying to elevate reality by bringing out the elegance in whoever or whatever I’m working with at the time with lighting, styling, posing, literally anything. My team and I are very creative on a whim so the result comes out different every single time, which makes working very exciting.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
For any creative person, I think there are two huge foundational traits you need to have. The first is ignorance. Not in the reckless sense, but ignorance in that you can’t be swayed by hype.
It’s funny, a few months back, I was having a really good conversation about this with my friend, Yaw Agyemang, who’s a brilliant emerging designer. We were talking about how the majority will buy into hype and how detrimental that can be. You know, when people who only like things that are popular, there’s a couple of things going on. First, they’re playing it safe; in essence they don’t want to stand out. Secondly, they probably haven’t taken the time to tap into what they truly gravitate towards.
Falling victim to hype robs people of their individuality.
Which I guess segue to the next trait you need as a creative person; you need to have genuine taste and learn to trust it. Having good taste can be more important than being creative! Seriously!
You can’t explain why you like certain things. That’s what makes people different from one another. Taste filters out all the bullshit and points you in the direction that ultimately allows you to create something true to your own vision.
Once I learned how to trust my taste and my intuition, creativity became kind of like a game for me—and I’m going to play it until I die.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.haydensahli.com
- Email: hayden.sahli@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haydensahli/
Image Credit:
Hayden Sahli
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