WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW HER

Emily Soto’s analogous approach to fashion is turning heads at international Vogue magazines, Nylon, Marie Claire, Who What Wear and more, while racking up hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Instagram: @emilysoto

This image and the next: From Soto’s “Tales of the City” editorial for Marie Claire Indonesia. Model Puck Loomans, wearing Gucci, is photographed on 35mm film.

As a film-favoring fashion photographer based in New York City, Emily Soto straddles two worlds: one where on-trend brands embrace the feel of real, raw film, and another where clients expect the digital look that has conquered the industry for the last decade and a half. Over the last couple of years, however, Soto has observed an aesthetic shift, increasingly, to film.

“Right now, less is more,” she asserts. “People don’t like to see things that look over-retouched and overdone, for the most part. People are appreciating more the quality of Polaroids and the imperfections.”

The Upper East Side-dwelling photographer recalls a couple of recent shoots for The Modist (that’s the Net-a-Porter of Dubai, Soto says), which requested that she shoot with 35mm film.

Soto obliged, happily. Lately, she’s been enjoying the resurgence of medium-format and 35mm film in look books and fashion campaigns, and the uptick of Polaroids in editorials. The unknown, as always, lies in what’s next.

THE DISCOVERY

Proof that detours can’t stop a creative person from following their true passion can be found in Soto’s journey to becoming a sought-after fashion photographer. Recognizing her love for travel at a young age, she got a Bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management at Western Carolina University. She studied fashion too, but the South didn’t host many fashion-related careers, Soto says, nor did she see herself leaving.

It wasn’t until she met her husband that she discovered photography. A photographer at the time, he invited her to shoot a couple of weddings with him, and while she didn’t love the genre, she adored the medium. Around that time, one of her friends wanted to take a shot at modeling, and when they came together to create images, something in Soto clicked.

That friend set her up with other aspiring models, which prompted her to join Model Mayhem, a platform full of “fresh faces” that, like Soto, were building their portfolios. She moved to San Diego in 2010 and dropped the beauty dish she had been lugging everywhere. “I felt like I had to have a lot of lighting to be a photographer, because I was brand new and I was learning, but as soon as I started shooting with natural light”—she snaps her fingers—“I was outdoors.” Getting in with local modeling agencies in San Diego, she skirted up the coast to Orange County a year later, closer to the bigger modeling agencies and magazines in L.A.

She built relationships with the stylists she worked with over time, who then recommended her to new clients. Meanwhile, Soto found assignments through social media. She nurtured her online presence diligently. Today, with over 300,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 750,000 on Facebook, she estimates three-quarters of her clients find her via these channels. Her popularity online, Soto hypothesizes, has a lot to do with the style she developed: a whimsical, romantic, ethereal look inspired by the sunny West Coast and her Sigma f/1.4 lens’s soft focus and bokeh.

In 2012, after building her portfolio, Soto and her husband decided it was time to move to New York City. They figured they’d give it a one-year trial run, but they haven’t left. Her husband moved on from shooting to start his own company, Vinta, through which he creates hip backpacks for photographers, and Soto planted her photography roots in the concrete jungle.

Soto used Impossible Project film to photograph this editorial, called “Meet Me in the Middle Somewhere” for Monrowe magazine.

THE EVOLUTION

As Soto likes to say, acclimating to the photo scene in New York was “a process.” L.A. was more agreeable to the ethereal look she developed, one that verges on “over-styled and costume-y” at times. “My style, I would say, evolved. I still love that romantic look and whenever I get to, I try to push that in my work, but I definitely had to take a step forward.”

Soto began familiarizing herself with an indoor studio, playing around with tungsten light and refining her look with new techniques. While she’s sure to include digital shots, Soto always likes to include film, at least as an extra. Sometimes, this means blowing her clients’ minds; other times, she’s educating them.

“I kind of assume clients know a little bit about photography, but I’ve been asked if my Polaroids are overlaid, like it was all post work,” says Soto, who has had to clarify what a Polaroid is. “I love it when I have clients that don’t need convincing, or they come to me because that’s what they want—especially celebrities and musicians. With the other clients, they appreciate it.”

Soto is fairly hands-off when it comes to directing models, aside from going over the mood board and general feel that the client was hoping for. Otherwise, Soto sees working with models as more of a collaborative flow she tries not to interrupt. “For the most part, models know what they’re doing,” she says. “Clients will tell me whether they want something a little different from the model, and it’s my job to get that out of them.”

On set, there will be anywhere from three to five different cameras with her—a DSLR, medium format, 35mm and Polaroid camera, say—and depending on what she’s shooting and in what timeframe, this can be a little dizzying. “If it’s editorial, we’re trying to get ten looks in,” Soto explains, “and if it’s a look book, we’re getting anywhere from 30 to 50 looks. It’s insane sometimes.”

This is especially true when unforeseen circumstances come up. Soto has arrived on set only to learn that the model they casted is sick or double-booked the day and can’t meet for hours, or someone else on the team didn’t show. Having a resourceful creative team on your side helps, as does a following fit for the occasional frantic call-outs on social media. “You never know what’s going to happen on the day of the shoot, there are always different hurdles,” Soto says. “Flexibility is key, and not giving up.”

Instant film fit the “Spring Itself” editorial for Monrowe.

THE FUTURE

As a self-taught photographer who never assisted, she learned how to navigate obstacles just by encountering them in real time, and with that, she is no stranger to lessons learned. One that immediately comes to mind: “Knowing what’s worth your time,” she says.

“Shooting what you love—I guess that’s where I’ve wasted some time,” Soto admits. “I always encourage people to try different techniques, especially when you’re starting out and deciding what resonates with you, but you also have to learn when to start saying no to assignments you know you don’t love or that you’re not going to be proud of. You can miss out on opportunities because you already committed to something that you’re not that excited about.”

“Whispery Layers,” an editorial shot for Vogue Taiwan on instant.

Some months are busy; some are quiet. It helps that Soto has managed to hold onto the same clients dating back to those she first worked with in L.A. five
years ago. And in between shooting assignments, Soto fills the gaps by nurturing her creativity with personal work. Last year, she had a number of exhibitions through Impossible Project that traveled to galleries in Paris, London, Berlin and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Over the summer, Soto was the photographer for supermodel Adriana Lima’s American Beauty Star, a competitive reality show on Lifetime for hair and makeup artists that debuted in the fall. She also nabbed a couple of assignments that have since topped her list of favorites: photographing model and activist Winnie Harlow for Vogue Ukraine and a quick shoot with the band Girlyboi on a rainy day in the Hamptons for 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Soto’s 18-year-old self would be pleased to see the almost constant worldwide travel she has been able to do now, juggling upcoming campaigns, celebrity shoots and workshops. But these days, her eyes are focused on shooting more personal stuff. “I’m hoping to do more with the new Polaroid Originals camera that just came out,” says Soto, referring to the OneStep 2 that hit the market over the fall. There’s something else she’d like to get her hands on: 8 x 10 film. We’ll know who to attribute fashion’s future love of large format down the road.

A digital frame of model Celia for L’Officiel India.

Cameras: Leica M7 (35mm), Impossible Camera I-1 and Land Camera (self-developing instant), Sony a7R II (digital)
Lenses: Sony FE 86mm f/1.4 GM, 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS
Lighting: ARRI HMI kit, Westcott Skylux LED

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