We were lucky to catch up with Sophia Li recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sophia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As someone who has struggled with chronic health conditions since childhood, I’ve always been fascinated by the power of food as medicine. So, when my summer internship was canceled in 2020 due to COVID, I decided to move to a homestead in southern Vermont for three months to gain a deeper understanding of organic food and regenerative agriculture. I created my first photography project, Homegrown, as a means of documenting my journey.

The process was one of the sweatiest and most refreshing experiences of my life. Surrounded by rolling hills, wild blackberries, and the sound of sheep bleating nearby in the pasture, I had never felt so deeply connected to nature. From planting and harvesting carrots to picking strawberries and collecting eggs from chickens, I realized where our food really comes from and how it gets to our plates. Now, I am more passionate than ever about real food grown with love and care for the soil, earth, and its people. Through this project, I hope to spread awareness about the importance of local, sustainable farming and food systems in cultivating connection and resilience within communities.

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 discovered photography in elementary school when my dad bought me a hot pink, plastic Barbie film camera. As a shy introvert, making photos of my surroundings helped me break out of my shell. I cultivated this passion in high school and college through blogging, contributing to student publications, and occasional classes—all the while pursuing a career in neuroscience. Like many raised by Asian immigrant parents, I believed working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) was the only viable way to make a living.

However, after developing multiple chronic illnesses and hitting rock bottom in college, I decided I would rather pursue my dreams and risk total failure than succeed in a traditional job that I hated. This ultimately led me to take the leap from taking photos “just for fun” to pursuing photography professionally. Since finishing my neuroscience degree, I have done a complete 180 and dedicated most of my time and energy to learning the craft and business of photography through assisting other photographers, working at photo agencies, and shooting my own work around the Boston area where I currently live.

As a food, lifestyle, and travel photographer, my goal is to create images that inspire people to engage with their everyday environment in novel ways and discover wonder in the seemingly mundane. My passion projects explore the interplay between culture, environment, and sustainability across different communities. Ultimately, I strive to create images that cultivate compassion and empathy.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m constantly working on unlearning the notion that I am “behind” in my career and life. Growing up, I was conditioned to always compare myself to my peers, whether it was in academics, sports, or other extracurriculars. It’s the comparison trap most people know all too well.

Having changed careers from neuroscience to photography, I worried for a long time that I needed to “catch up” and work extra hard to make up for all the time I had “wasted” in school before I decided to pursue photography. However, I now know and am slowly learning to embody the fact that I am exactly where I need to be right now. There is no grand timeline that everyone must follow—rather, each person has his or her own path. Contrary to what hustle culture screams, there is actually enough time to do everything I want to do.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Transforming an intangible vision into a physical reality that makes viewers truly pause and examine—even for just a moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: sophialiphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svphia.li/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-li-352002147/

Image Credits
Sophia Li (Additional Photos) Amber Hakim (Personal Photo)