Claudia Paul, Photographer
German-born photographer Claudia Paul has been calling New York her home for more than a decade. With a photography degree in hand she first started as a photo assistant, learning the ropes from established fashion and portrait photographers throughout the City.
Claudia’s work has always been about people — and the deep bonds she creates with human beings through photography and video, whether they are a CEO, an artist or an orphaned child in Africa.
She currently focuses her photography business on commercial, non-profit and editorial work as well as headshots via Claudia’s other venture, Doppelganger Photos. Claudia also recently co-founded a small video production company called Doppelganger Motion, offering promotional videos for Start-Ups, Non-Profits and Small Businesses.
Moving from Germany to New York a few years after 9/11 can be an adventure on its own. What made you decide to go?
This might sound a bit cliché, but I had no clue what to do with my life when I finished the German version of High School (almost 20 years ago!).
While my friends all went straight to college to study something really smart, I took off to New York to be a nanny for a year. Long story short, I absolutely irrevocably fell in love with New York and its people. Had a rude awakening when I had to return to Germany after a year and quite a miserable time (sorry, German friends). But then I pulled myself together and pursued a photography degree in Stuttgart (because it was free). As soon as that was done and some money saved, I moved back to New York with big dreams and 2 suitcases in hand.
To be honest, 9/11 didn’t change my desire to live in New York. Sure, it didn’t seem like the smartest of all choices, but you either fall in love with New York or you don’t… And I saw the unity and bond that New Yorkers had after the attacks, which made me love the City even more. However, the visa process has definitely become stricter since, so I had to be persistent and make sure that I was extremely prepared when it came to all the paperwork.
One of the project you’ve done, when you moved to New York, is Wednesday Portraits. Can you tell us a bit more about it?
As a creative freelancer we have to wear many hats — we run our own business, we create, we do the books, hire crew, market ourselves, and the list goes on… Sometimes all this work makes it hard to find time to really tap into our creativity and pursue projects or photographs we want to create simply because.
A while back I felt like I was in a creative slump and couldn’t quite get myself out of it. So I decided to challenge myself to a portrait a week — with no monetary incentive, just a way to get out there and photograph people that I was interested in. So the Wednesday Portraits were born. You can find them on my website.
I held myself accountable by posting each portrait on Social Media weekly, so there was some pressure to deliver rather than skip a week. I learned a lot during this time and I am proud of a lot of the images that I created during the project. Some came very easy, some felt like pulling teeth. But the bottom line is that we have to train our creativity like a muscle. If we don’t use it, it will get weak and we will feel stuck.
So sometimes planning a personal shoot and getting out the door is the first step and everything else will fall into place. With that said — it’s been a while that I did a purely personal project, because I’ve been so busy trying to run multiple businesses. Feel free to call me out on this one if I don’t deliver!
Back in 2012, you started a collaboration with the organization “Artists for World Peace”. Can you tell us more about this experience?
I was doing a personal project documenting a woman with breast cancer a couple of years back when I got introduced to the founder of AFWP, Wendy Black-Nasta. We talked, she told me about the humanitarian work they are doing in Africa and other parts of the world and I was sold.
To this point I have done 3 trips to Tanzania, documenting for the Non-Profit and it was an amazing experience each time around. AFWP works closely with an orphanage in a small village on the foothills of Kilimanjaro. Over the years their collaboration has grown from simply sponsoring the children’s education and living expenses to opening a free health clinic for the village, issuing micro-loans to women and so much more. My job in Tanzania is to document all the projects and change through photography and video interviews, b-roll, etc. We then work with my video editor to create a short film that is used for fundraising extensively. Each trip to Tanzania has helped me grow so much — as a person and creator.
Out of curiosity, have you always been interested in doing photography in order to help others? What has been some of your strongest learnings?
I’ve always cared deeply about people and their stories (I’m an empath after all), so doing photojournalistic work seemed to be a natural fit. I find that the longer I work in the field, the more I find out about what really makes me happy when it comes to creating. Working with Non-Profits in Photography and Video is so rewarding to me — what could be better than using your skills to help a cause?
What really resonates with me is the excitement and passion I often get from Non-Profits, but also the people I photograph or film. The fact that you are interested in their personal story can sometimes change a person’s perspective completely.
It’s ultimately very grounding and so rewarding when you are using your skills to help a cause.
I personally learned a ton doing Non-Profit work. When you travel to a third-world country, you have to deal with a lot of problems and challenges that you can’t really fully prepare for. Africa taught me to accept imperfection and learn to be patient and just go with the flow sometimes. The folks in our village use this Swahili expression “Pole, pole!” which basically translates to “Take it easy, take it slow.” Needless to say, that took a while for a Germany perfectionist to embrace!
But even when working with Non-Profits in the US, there is always something to learn. I personally often donate my time or deeply discount my rates if I feel very connected to the work an organization does. The learning here was that once the Non-Profits see the benefit of having great quality content for their websites, brochures, fundraisers, etc. — they often adjust their budgets the next time around because they realize how crucial the visuals can be for them in order to get the word out.
So do what you love!
Being a photographer in New York can be overwhelming. What are your tips and tricks to keep you afloat?
Never stop moving! I think while New York is a rough place to survive in, it is also extremely motivating, because we are surrounded by thousands of entrepreneurs, freelancers and other hard working individuals. I always take that energy and push myself to work harder.
Times are tough so we have to stay current, add on new skills and really never rest on our achievements. That big client that you have one day could be gone tomorrow.
Right now I basically run 3 different ventures, my small video production company being the latest baby. I never saw that coming, but it’s a fast paced world and technology changes constantly.
Lastly, I wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for a strong support system in the creative community. So seek out other photographers and creatives, and make them your mentors and friends. It’s hard to fight this fight on your own.
One more — I’m a sucker for To Do Lists, they help me stay focused, keep my goals in mind and off social media (most of the time).
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