“Believe in yourself even if you don’t really know what’s going on, work hard and trust the process.”
Meet Laura Vifer, a Barcelona-born, Berlin-based photographer and director, renowned for blending fashion-film aesthetics and music-video elements into her work. In our exclusive interview, she delves into her journey from styling in commercials to directing, driven by a deep-rooted passion for visual storytelling and constant creative evolution.
“My name is Laura Vifer. I am a photographer and director from Barcelona, based in Berlin.
I always had a camera with me since my teenage years, doing photoshoots with friends and submitting those photo editorials or films to magazines or exhibitions. Following that, I studied in film school while working as a stylist for commercials and music videos. Although I didn't want to be a stylist, my goal was to be on set and learn as much as possible. During my studies, all my short films always had a fashion-film and music-video aspect, which I guess set a direction for my career and style. Then, I began collaborating with a fashion magazine, investing the limited budget of the videos in an effort to bring out the best in them. Slowly, this led to bigger job opportunities. But as much as I can remember, I did a lot of work for free and a lot of personal projects with the aim of building a portfolio.”
“From my perspective, I am forever grateful to earn a living from a job that, at the same time, is my passion. Being a director/photographer means being in constant learning of new skills, having loads of creative inputs, meeting inspiring people, and living many beautiful experiences. Every shooting brings you something new; there’s a constant change and growth of yourself and your vision that feels very rewarding.”
“There’s no doubt the people that inspire me the most are my friends and family. Seeing them working hard on their careers and fighting for what they want to achieve is the biggest influence I could have. Having a creative job is often emotionally exhausting and brings about ups and downs. Being surrounded by people that support and trust your vision is, to me, the most inspiring aspect of it all.”
“At the start of the project, I really like to work on my own, creating mood boards and preparing a very detailed treatment to then send to the team so they understand my vision. Once that is done, I really like to have back-and-forth feedback with the creatives and the DOP. I believe that a good work team can make a greater film than just working alone with your ideas, so I like to work with people who get involved in the project and put effort into wanting to achieve the best.”
“The first thought that comes to my mind when I read that sentence is to say, shoot on film, because there is something in shooting on film that feels unique and special. However, every project is different, and it's important to understand what style will fit more for that specific story and visual idea. There are a lot of cool and interesting ways to shoot digitally nowadays too.”
“I can’t really say I have a favorite film or photo project because every project led me to the next. All have a footprint of mine that helps me shape my voice and vision as a director and photographer.”
“Doing non-commercial projects is crucial for my self-creative mind. As my job is my hobby, sometimes when I’m not working, I just want to disconnect and don’t take any camera with me, but the passion I have for it always pushes me to constantly do personal projects. I find joy in achieving something for myself, rather than in response to someone's request, and in some way, this positively influences my commercial work as well. Many brands approach me for jobs, using my non-commercial projects as a reference for what they like, so at the end, shooting personal projects helps to shape the direction of the style of commercial jobs you want to get.”
“I’ve been working for some time on a photo project with the purpose of doing a photo book and an exhibition. On a global level, and it’s something that I already do, as much as I can, I use my privilege and my industry position to have more FLINTA representation and help aspiring young people aiming to become directors or photographers.”
“Believe in yourself even if you don’t really know what’s going on, work hard and trust the process.”
“Having a unified to-do list within an app, accessible to everyone, could be a helpful solution to ensure that crucial information is tracked and considered by all involved parties.”
“My favorite photographer is Davide Sorrenti. I love Twin Peaks and all the movies from Hayao Miyazaki and Pedro Almodóvar.”
A big thanks to Laura for sharing his insights and experiences on his creative journey.
