Meet Simone Thompson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Simone Thompson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Simone. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Park Slope, Brooklyn and I was raised by two artists trying to make it in their own respective fields. My mom studied theatre at Julliard in the eighties only to make the switch to visual art when I was very young, and my dad is a jazz pianist and a composer.

I’m a child of the early nineties, so we lived in a Brooklyn that for the most part, predated mass gentrification. I grew up fairly poor and to make ends meet, my dad taught private lessons at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and my mom worked as a substitute art teacher, leading puppet-making workshops and working some summers as an art teacher at camps so that I could attend.

I remember growing up during that time in Brooklyn to be really magical. We always struggled financially, but the demographics of the neighborhood then were very working class so I never really felt it. At the time we were a part of a community of other artist families just like ourselves trying to survive in New York in the late nineties. When I was nine, a month before September 11th, my dad got a teaching job at San Diego State, and we moved to California.

The move was hard on all of us, and I remember from a young age, having a hard time connecting with a lot of people around me due to the culture shock of it all. Because my dad is a musician and he comes from a long line of them, he decided to get me involved with music at my school and started taking me to private violin lessons. I was lazy about practicing and somewhat resistant but had a natural aptitude for music, so I stuck with it from elementary school all the way into my first year of college.

When I was 19, I quit violin and spent the next couple of years moving around and dabbling, trying to re-define an artistic identity for myself. It wasn’t until I was 24 that I discovered photography somewhat accidentally. A family friend gave me a Yashica Fx-3 film camera and basically told me shooting the film was a waste of time, but maybe I’d get some use out of it. I shot a few rolls that came out massively grainy and underexposed but just kept messing around with it.

After a few tries, I got better, and I figured out the basics of metering light and framing a subject, and it was then that I realized that I really enjoyed it. Getting started was a bit tricky, but at the time I was living in New York again, and I would just reach out to people I found inspiring. While living in New York, I made a lot of lasting connections and friendships with people through photography that was very defining.

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?
I didn’t go to school for photography so everything I know I taught myself. With that being said, I’m not super technical, and the bulk of the outcome of my photographs rests on the connection I feel with the person I’m shooting.

In many ways, I’m just getting started, and there have been times I’ve struggled to fight for my worth as an artist, set rates that are appropriate and to make a living solely freelance. I think it’s important to note too that I don’t see a ton of people like me represented in the photo and video world.

I’m black, queer and a woman and while it is a changing game, there are always going to be people in the industry that doubt you. This year in particular though I’m fighting for myself more. The other thing I’m trying to cultivate is the balance between my artistic practice and my everyday life. It’s a constant process.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I mostly shoot film portraits, so people generally come to me with fashion or lifestyle driven projects. I would say my portfolio is a mix of studio and natural light photographs and I’m moving in a direction where I would like to build sets for people to be photographed in as well as incorporate video.

I’ve been shooting more musicians lately too, and I would love to do more of that. One thing though that’s really important to me during a shoot is if I’m connecting with the person I’m photographing. It’s very rare that I don’t and that connection is one of the things I enjoy most about the process.

I think because most of the people I shoot are around my age and lead similar lives here in LA I am able to make them feel comfortable, and that is something that really helps with the outcome.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was little my parents use to take me to the Bandshell summer concert series shows in Prospect Park. New York summers are hot and sticky, and we would all picnic on the grass surrounded by family and loved ones.

I just remember it being packed and the energy was always so electric. There was one year when Chaka Khan performed, and everyone went wild. It was just this really beautiful annual celebration which encapsulated summer & brought all of Brooklyn together.

Contact Info:

• Website: simoneniamani.com
• Email: info@simoneniamani.com
• Instagram: simone.niamani

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