We recently connected with Tina Sokolovska and have shared our conversation below.
Tina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Honestly, I never really saw myself in a regular nine-to-five. Nothing against it, it’s just never been my reality. I’ve never actually had a nine-to-five in my life. I’ve always been on my own, my own boss, figuring things out as I go.
My life’s been kind of all over the place. I’ve changed so many cities and countries over the past ten years that having my own business was really the only thing that made sense.
I always laugh at that joke, “I quit my job to have flexible hours, now I work twenty-four seven.” That’s exactly how it feels. When you have your own thing, you’re always working, but it still feels like freedom. Every time I try to picture myself in an office, I get a little panic attack, like no, thank you.
At the same time, my goal is to build stability, the kind I never really had. So even if my path looks a bit chaotic, I’m trying to create something steady out of it. Freedom and stability, that’s the dream combo for me. And yes, I’m definitely a hundred percent happier this way.
Tina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Tina Sokolovska, a photographer, creative director, and founder of 917 Agency in New York. I got into photography when I was five years old. I was born in a small town called Druzhkivka in Donetsk oblast, Ukraine. It was a very simple place, but that’s where I first discovered how much I love capturing people and moments.
In 2016 I moved to Dubai, and that really opened up my world. I started working internationally, traveling for shoots, and producing bigger projects. Then in 2019 I moved to New York and that’s when everything started to click creatively.
Now I run 917 Agency, a full-service creative production house. We do everything from creative direction and photography to video, CGI, VFX, and 3D motion. Basically, we bring ideas to life for fashion, beauty, hospitality, and lifestyle brands. Some of our clients include Vogue, The Plaza Hotel, Reese’s, and Team USA.
What sets us apart is taste and storytelling. I care a lot about emotion in images, it has to feel alive, not just look beautiful. Clients come to us when they want something fresh, cinematic, and meaningful.
I’m proud that we built all of this from scratch with no investors and no big network at the beginning, just passion, hard work, and great people around me. And after all these years, I’m still as in love with what I do as when I was five.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met my partner Ana (Anastasiia Melnychenko) in May 2023. She had just moved to New York from Ukraine under refugee parole and was looking for a job as a producer. We had a few mutual friends on Instagram, and one day she just texted me there. We met, and honestly, the rest is history.
I can’t imagine my life or work without her now. Despite her young age, she has huge experience as a producer and such a strong sense of responsibility and creativity. So in 2024 I made her a partner at 917 agency. We just clicked right away. We understand each other perfectly, we work the same way, and she’s probably the only person I can spend twenty-four hours with and not get tired of.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
What really helped me build my reputation is something I always talk about in my lecture The Human Side of Photography. It’s not just about the camera, it’s about people. Soft skills are my biggest strength – knowing how to work with people, communicate clearly, build trust, and make everyone on set feel comfortable.
A lot of people forget that part, but clients remember how you made them feel, not just how the photos look.
And of course, the quality of work matters too. My team is mostly from Eastern Europe – super high standards, very creative, and unbelievably fast. We have this reputation for being the team that can pull a shoot together really quickly and still deliver. That mix of connection, professionalism, and speed is what people know us for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://917agency.com
- Instagram: @tinasokolovskaya
Image Credits
All images rights Tina Sokolovska