We recently connected with Pauline St Denis and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Pauline, thanks for joining us today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

I had my first photo job in a mall for a department store in Cleveland Ohio, I photographed mainly children. One client was upset with her childs image. The little boy had very large ears and very large, buck, teeth. I being completely honest said ” Mrs. X, I’m A photographer not a magician” Needless to say I was let go ! I got back on that horse and moved to Chicago where I worked at a catalogue studio, Kranzten’s. I had an amazing boss, Greg. Greg’s wife had recently died and he had nothing but time and patience. He basically taught me how to think and to solve predictable problems. He taught me how to use the 8×10 view camera, how electricity worked and how to use a string to measure distance. I learned so many things from Greg. One cold chicago night after work I approached me car and it was covered in ice. I couldn’t get my key in the car door, I remember standing there as the wind blew across lake Michigan and I thought what would Greg do. I used my unmittened palm to melt the ice on the door lock. I then realized I had no scrapper! WHAT COULD I DO ? I looked at old license plate in the back, nope that would scratch the window. I then used a plastic bank card to remove the ice from my Chevette windows. I had solved my problem. I thank Greg for helping me identify the problem and to solve it. Rest in Peace Joe Gregorio.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a fashion photographer. I love developing creative new brands and up and coming designers. My father was a painter and I did not want to study painting. I loved photographer and 2 demensional design. It seemed to be a natural fit for me. I went to Ohio University and at the time they had a very good photo program. I graduated and went to Chicago, New York City, Paris, Madrid, Athens, Greece and back to NYC. I loved traveling and assisting other photographers. Technically I’m very astute and learned photography before photoshop was readily available. I’d say one of the best disciplines is to realize you can not fix everything in post, so try to fix it before you take the shot. I personally keep everything very simple. Simple lighting, small teams, and collaboration. I like an effortless flow on my sets. I work primarily on location so organization is key. I like to know where I’m shooting and what location looks like. I offer a wealth of experience and I collaborate with my clients on developing a look and brand feel. Their clothing reflects who the wearer will be. I try to create a look or character to represent their brand. Who is the wearer, What and who do they feel like in the designers clothes. Im proud of my old work with holga plastic cameras and being represented in the Michelle Bates book “Toying With Creativity” a handbook of plastic camera artists. I was extremely proud of being in American Photographer twice for my plastic camera work which can be seen on pauline-stdenis.format.com. In recent times I was delighted to be the recipient of the The Thomas Schroth Series at Kent State School of Fashion . I lectured and did 2 on campus workshops. It was an honor.
Photography has been oversaturated recently and print has struggled to survive. I loved seeing the album cover, turning a page and physically holding an image. I think image making still holds value and creativity. It takes a special facination with creativity to keep creating and learning. I invent projects for myself and self finance many editorials so the teams and I can remain revelent and follow new fashion trends. Basically good design is good design and it will stand out. It helps to be relentless in your own goals. The more you work with intention the better you become. Love of the medium helps. I still get excited when I see a truly great image appear!

Any advice for managing a team?

My advice for managing a team is let them know your expectations and allow them to express their personal creativity through collaboration. I am not a micromanager. I explain the project, share a story board or images of the vibe I’m looking for. I then basically let the team create the experience. For me the most vital person is the stylist. The stylist and I have to agree on tone we are setting. This again is based on location, clothing and casting. The stylist and I decide what direction we are going to take to tell the story of the clothing we are shooting. The support team is hair and makeup and assistants.
I always thank me team after the shoot and during the experience. If an artist is taking a direction that I feel is not what I’d like, I let them know on the side. I never embarrass an individual on set. I hated photographers who yelled on set. It make the team look unprofessional. I think heartt felt appreciation goes along way. Im grateful for the artists I work with.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I had a heinous experience with an editor who wanted me to invest my time and energy into elevating his brand and magazine. At the time I thought this could be a great opportunity. He appreciated my creativity and wanted basically to control my every waking hour. He got up at 5 am, he wanted to have lengthy business meetings at 5;30 am. He would call me from 5:30 am till 10:30pm at night. He wanted my contacts and my clients. I was developing workshops with another photographer for him, nothing I did was right in his eyes. I gave 1 free workshop for him and was reprimanded because I gave the other photographer credit who helped develop the workshop. He loved Barefoot Chardonnay. I once purchased Barefoot Pinot Grigio for him and he lectured me on why the Chardonnay was better. Me, whose surname is one of the finest vineyards in Burgundy. That should have been a sign. Our business venture ended after he called me at 8:00 pm demanding I speak with him. My husband said text him you’re having dinner with your husband. The return text was quite rude so I then blocked him on every platform. I think This experience taught me you cannot please everybody, you have to be yourself and be proud of your accomplishments, Did I lose time and some invested interests? Yes, and luckily very little money. I like people, I like helping people. As a woman I sometimes found it difficult to stand up for myself, I no longer have that issue. I think some people can be partners and some individuals do not mesh well. I’d be exceptionally leary of going into business with another in the future. The 1 percent more than the other is an issue. If the controlling partner has even one percent more than you it’s not equal. My feelings were hurt and I felt sad, I also went out and shot for many other magazines and felt better being validated by people who appreciated my efforts. I’ve gone on to participate in other workshop venues. The lesson here was you cannot please everybody or even work with everybody. I should have had the conviction to call him out the first moment he disparaged me. I learned. I didn’t stop shooting or teaching.

Contact Info:

• Website: paulinestdenis.com, pauline-stdenis.format.com
• Instagram: pauline_st.denis
• Linkedin: Pauline St.Denis

Image Credits

Photo: Pauline St.Denis @pauline_st.denis
Styling: Rudy Reed NYC @rudyreednyc
mua: Ford Page @fordpagemua
Hair: Jonaise Pickette @ jonaiseonhair blue toned images ( a147.jpeg and A0302)
Hair: on all other images Ezel M @ezelm