We were lucky to catch up with Nicola Parisi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicola, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I’ve been working in the photography industry for over 10 years, in a variety of roles: photo assistant, in-house photographer at a small company, production assistant, and most recently maintaining my own business as a freelance photographer. I knew nothing about photography when I started out but I learned early on that even if you are inexperienced at something, rolling up your sleeves and being eager to jump in wherever you’re needed is invaluable. Being focused and present is hard these days – we have so many distractions – but one of the best assets that an artist can have on set or when they’re collaborating is anticipating the needs of others and acting as though no type of work is beneath them. I think that success often means wearing a lot of hats – whether that’s washing dishes or ordering lunch or renting equipment or running errands before a shoot. Being engaged, friendly, resourceful and down for anything can go a long way – no matter the industry.

Nicola, 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?

Art has always been a big part of my life – my parents are both artists and I grew up with a huge appreciation for design and handmade objects. My interest in photography started in middle school but didn’t develop more seriously until I was out of college. I majored in fine art so was able to take classes in a wide variety of media: drawing, painting, sculpture, digital art, photography. It was great to get this exposure to many art forms, but I didn’t leave college with clarity about what I wanted to do professionally. I fumbled my way through my first couple of post-college years (working as a photo assistant, doing small design projects, and writing for blogs), and eventually got a full-time job as a staff photographer taking portraits at a casting agency. Freelancing at 23 with no real job experience or sense of community was hard, and this job gave me the stability I was craving.

In 2016 I returned to freelancing, after feeling a bit more grounded (professionally and financially) from working full-time. I assisted a couple of amazing photographers really closely and learned so much from their mentorship. All of the photographers I worked with were in the food and beverage space, which opened up my network to folks in the restaurant/bar and spirits world and also enabled me to work with some amazing prop and food stylists. Through observing all of these incredible people, I started to do more and more of my own styling. And as a lover of physical objects, I had an excuse to start accumulating gorgeous vases, ceramics, and trinkets and folding them into my work. My office is towering floor-to-ceiling with bins of dried flowers and linen napkins and candles and balloons and cheese graters and all kinds of random things. I work mostly in the food & beverage space (with bars, restaurants, and CPG brands like olive oil companies or wine labels) and with local artisans and makers – I get to tap into this prop stash all of the time to make my clients’ worlds come to life.

Covid actually pushed me to tap into my creativity outside of photography – working in isolation at home sort of forced me to provide full-service creative work for my clients because collaboration was suddenly not so easy. I ended up providing art direction, recipe development, and production work before a shoot; prop-styling and photography during a shoot; and then retouching, social media consultation, copywriting, and graphic design work (email campaigns, printed collateral, etc) after a shoot. I’m a detail-oriented person and it’s in my nature to dive really deep into my projects. Many of my clients are small, local businesses (ceramicists, bars, restaurants, winemakers) who don’t necessarily have in-house creative teams. I realized during Covid that many of these founders and makers were stretched really thin (not to mention the added stress of a global pandemic) – it was a natural evolution for me to offer other types of services to them. It can be a lot for a small business owner to find and hire the right people to manage marketing and creative work for their brand – that means hypothetically hiring a dozen different contractors. Getting all of those pieces to come together seamlessly can be a lot – and I like to think that I can help my clients with that by providing such an array of services. It feels fulfilling to be able to see a project through from concept to deployment in the world.

I feel so grateful to be able to do what I do. I love that I get to be creative daily, that my work doesn’t just orient me around a computer screen, that I get to be out and about and meeting new people and moving my body and making things. I’ve gotten to a place with photography where, when I’m actively taking photos, I get into this flow state. Before and after a shoot can feel stressful in terms of logistics and planning and post-production, but when I’m actively using my camera, time completely disappears. All of the stressors or to-do list items that float around my head most days slip away and I feel unilaterally focused and energized. One of the reasons why I love photographing restaurants and small businesses and artisans is that I get the opportunity to connect with amazing people, and get to use photography as a tool to help bring their product or space to life. I get to be wholly creative and build community at the same time. Many of my clients have become friends, and many of my friends have become clients.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I didn’t start my creative journey with any specific goal or mission – when I was just starting out, I suppose my goal was simply to be able to make ends meet as an artist. But I think ultimately, my goal is to foster community. I love that my job allows me to meet new and interesting people across a variety of industries. I work with restaurant owners, bartenders, artists, winemakers, creative directors, designers. When I start the process of working with someone new, I’m always so inspired to get to know them more. I love that both friendship and community have blossomed out of doing the type of work that I do.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I moved to San Francisco at 23, fresh out of college, I didn’t have a plan. I could count the number of people I knew in the city on one hand, was attempting to freelance (but had no real job skills), and was borrowing money from my parents to make ends meet. I attempted freelancing for maybe a year and really struggled. My parents, who’ve always been supportive of me and of unconventional career paths eventually said, “you know what, maybe freelancing isn’t for you?” I agreed! It was too much for me at the time. I got a full-time job for a few years, which built up my confidence, my network, and my savings. I returned to freelancing after a few years, ready for something new. My plan was to freelance only temporarily while looking for another full-time job. A year passed and I was still freelancing. Then another year. Then another! I didn’t think I could go back to it again after how challenging it was for me. Turns out that time can change a lot of things – my community had grown, I was more confident professionally, and I had learned so much about photography and having my own business from my mentors – not to mention, I had become a better artist and more technically skilled photographer. Now it’s been going on 8 years of freelancing and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Now that I’ve established relationships with many local businesses in the Bay Area, it makes me feel more connected to where I live. I have an invigorated love for this place because of my work. Restaurants and bars and local businesses are the heartbeat of our cities and towns – I love that it’s my job to help elevate and celebrate these businesses with photography. Twenty-three-year-old Nicola who moved here with no community, no marketable skills, and no money would’ve never expected to feel this way.

Contact Info:

• Website: nicolaparisi.com
• Instagram: @nicola_parisi

Image Credits
Portrait of Nicola is by Mina Aiken. All other images are by Nicola Parisi