IN CONFIDENCE | SOPHIE ELGORT
There’s nothing like an honest conversation with someone you admire. That’s how we had the idea for ‘In Confidence’, a series where we sit down with powerful, inspiring women who are trailblazers in their own field. We’ll have open conversations about how they have navigated their career successes and challenges, and at the same time we’ll explore how they find confidence, whether that’s with a powerful uniform they rely on every morning or small daily rituals that help maintain balance.
For our latest instalment, we sat down with photographer and director Sophie Elgort. Known for her personal approach to image-making, Elgort’s portfolio includes beautiful portraits of names including Naomi Watts, Brooke Shields and Rose Byrne. She also happens to be a part-time Hamptons local, turning the lens on herself (with a little help from her three children) to offer her unique perspective on our latest pieces, at her home-away-from-home in Southampton. The New York City native has spent a lifetime of summers on the Long Island coast with her parents–renowned photographer Arthur Elgort and theatre director Grethe Barrett Holby–and siblings. Here, we delve deeper into her professional journey as she shares her tips for a career rooted in creativity, the balancing act, and how to spend an idyllic Hamptons day.
Your work is described as the ‘intersection between photography and storytelling’, what does that mean to you?
What’s interesting about photography to me is the person, the subject. I’m interested in people’s stories, I want to get to know them and see them in action. I think there’s something special about that, the connection you get to make with the person you’re photographing. It’s intimate, even though there’s a camera in between you. [For me] a good photograph shows you something about a person you may not have seen, a part of their personality, a glimpse of who they are. I like to direct to a point and then I want them to take it from there, that’s where I think the special shots happen.
Over the course of your career so far, what have been your biggest lessons learned?
That you can’t be easily flustered, because you’re dealing with real people and personalities. Being in front of the camera is a stressful thing for some people, but you can’t take it personally. You have to be ready to change course and work with everyone collaboratively, the stylist, hair, makeup and the subject. If you become flustered and aren’t giving a good vibe, it’s going to bring everyone down.On set for one of my first clients–I was pretty young–I was lighting my shot and the light had cracked. In my head I was panicking but I didn’t tell anyone the light had broken. It was about getting the shot done, making them feel like they were in good hands. You just have to keep going and figure out a solution.Also, you learn from it. Now I always bring at least two lights and a back-up camera!
“I’m interested in people’s stories. There’s something special about the connection you get to make with the person you’re photographing.”
What advice would you give to people wanting to explore a future in a creative industry?
So much about it is developing your creative vision and your perspective, and realising that’s going to evolve. I think the best creatives are those you recognise without needing to see their name, whether that’s an artist, or a movie director, for example, you know a Wes Anderson movie is his without having seen the credits, it’s got that mark on it.I remember showing people my work at the beginning of my career and asking ‘how could it be better?’ – I used to get so frustrated when their response would be ‘just keep going’, I wanted them to tell me what to do but there’s no right way to do something creative. You have to get to the core of what you want to be doing, and what you feel is authentic for you, another person can’t tell you what that is.
You have three young children, has motherhood changed the way you approach your profession?
I don’t think it’s changed my perspective but it’s definitely changed how I have to do things logistically! You have to be efficient, and be able to problem solve quickly to make things work. I’m lucky that I get to have both, because I like having my time with the kids at home, but then I also really appreciate the time I get to have to myself without them.It’s funny, some of the young actors, or models I shoot, I think I try to mother them a bit. I make sure they have water, I’m always like ‘have you eaten today, shall we have lunch?’. They always make fun of me for it, I guess once the mom, always the mom.
“There’s no right way to do something creative. You have to get to the core of what you want to be doing, and what you feel is authentic for you”
You’ve grown up spending time in The Hamptons, why is it a special place to you?
I think it’s such a nice juxtaposition to being in New York City. I love the energy of the city so much but it’s also very nice to leave sometimes! You’re still pretty close to it, but all of a sudden you’re in nature, by the beach. The air feels fresher here, who knows if it actually is! And a jump in the ocean is always a great thing to do, even if only for a few minutes, it can totally turn around your day and your mood.Then, my family is here. My parents got a tiny little house in the early 80s before they were married, it was on a dirt road with no other houses around, they got married on the deck. We grew up coming here a lot on weekends and as much of the summer as we could. When we started having kids, we ended up getting our own little place five minutes away.
“[The Hamptons] is such a nice juxtaposition to being in New York City. I love the energy of the city so much but it’s also very nice to leave sometimes!”
What does your ideal Hamptons day look like?
I love being out on the water, I’m a total boat person. We don’t have one but anytime I can I get on one! So, some sort of boat outing where you can jump off into the sea or swim is my ideal day. This past weekend I escaped for two hours with a friend and went wake surfing, it was a really good day. Then, just a nice meal and maybe some live music.
Any recommendations?
Thursday and Sunday nights at Cooper’s Beach in Southhampton, they have live music on the beach. It’s super casual, you bring a beach chair and some drinks, you can order takeout from the Cooper’s Beach Shack. Everyone just chats, kids are running around, it’s a real neighbourhood community.There are lots of great vineyards here too, Wolffer is a beautiful one. They also do live music on Friday and Saturday nights, you bring a blanket, get a bottle of wine, watch the sunset. For me, those experiential things are really special, something unique to here.