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Mark







Sophie Jouvenaar


Each week we showcase a selection from a creative's body of work in the fields of graphic design, illustration, photography and video.

This week it's a collection from Leeds based photographer Sophie Jouvenaar.

*All work is chosen and supplied by the creative

 Allora, alt-rock trio

Hey! My name is Sophie Jouvenaar, 20 year old music and portrait photographer based in Leeds and working in the North of England with four years of experience.

I began working as a freelance music photographer at the age of 16, when I got my first (and only) digital camera. Having chosen not to study at a university, I am entirely self taught and driven purely by the love of music and image-making.

The process of becoming a photographer seemed entirely organic, looking back at it. At the time of producing my first photographic works, I was a student at Leeds Conservatoire working on the assignment of putting on and performing in a live event at a venue in the city. I was full of nerves and the thought of being on a stage terrified me, so I brought my camera along to the gig as a means to hide and document the performances of others to take my mind off of my own. I shared these images with my peers and about a week later I had local bands asking me for my rates - to which I thought “Rates? What are my rates?!”.

Joe by the Book, indie rock band

Fergus Quill and Friends performing Piano Piece No. 13 (Carpenter's Piece) by George Maciunas at Eiger Studios, Leeds

From there my confidence as a photographer began to grow; I’d find myself out on late nights at music events and after-parties handing out my business cards as if I were sowing seeds and chatting to as many people as possible. My camera allowed me into places I never thought I’d go and speak to people I never thought I’d know, giving me (probably too much) confidence for a 17-year-old.

Over the years I’d take on work for press photography, portraiture, live events, and much more, with the philosophy that I’d only ever work with the artists I truly believed in and loved as this translated beautifully in the final images.

I started to branch out in 2020, working with performance artists such as actors, comedians, theatre-makers and models both for personal and documentary projects which are taking me in new directions every month. I am continually surprised that my camera acts as “a passport into the arts” and I could not be more grateful for the path it has paved thus far.

Joshua Truscott, alt-rock and folk artist in Joshua Zero + Horspit

Rosie Miles, jazz-folk artist

I tend to describe photography as my one true love, a love that never dies and is always expanding, not only in my life but into the lives of others as I see the joy a photograph can bring someone. Still images hold a lot of power, sometimes saying more than the moving image can as it presents a person frozen in a moment with so much raw detail, emotion and character.

As time goes on, I begin to learn and understand more and more what photography means to me and how it can allow someone internally timid (like myself) to become the artist they’ve always dreamed of being, connecting with others the way they’ve always dreamed of connecting.

Spacey Basement Cult, wonk-pop band

Yusuf Yellow, conscious rapper

Ben Powling, saxophonist in Vipertime + World Service Project

Joe Kent-Walters, comedian + actor


@sophiejouvenaar
sophjouv.myportfolio.com/