Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadja Langer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Nadja. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was always creative, from sewing bags as a three-year-old, taking pictures with my first camera that my mum got me when I was five, to studying art after school, but then changing career paths. I moved to San Diego while in a university where I found my love for this best city there is, my “home away from home.” Years later, back in Munich, I was gifted an analog camera and within seconds found my biggest passion for photography. That was in 2010. It took me two years until I started making money off of my passion. I prefer analog since in the fast-paced digital world I still enjoy the permanence and the element of surprise of it. On top of that, I just love the aesthetics of the film grain. I started to experiment a lot, with different cameras, different film, double exposures, always trying to capture moments, lived by people or given by nature. There is nothing that soothes and inspires me more than nature, North County’s cliffs, the ocean, the Sierra Mountains, the desert skies. Nature is my place to level out.
After a while, a model agent that I’m friends with asked me to do test shoots on new faces, which is how I started commercial work. Since then, I have expanded in commissioned portraits, pregnancy shootings, regular test shoots for model agencies as well as taking portraits of refugees for their résumés, this, of course, charitable/at no charge. What is most important to me still though, is the photography that I take for no one but myself, and if I’m lucky enough to sell a photo here and there, and then see it hanging in people’s homes or being exhibited in a café or shop, this is the best feeling still.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has not been smooth nor is it now. Self-doubt as an artist is something I struggled with a lot when I was younger, one reason why I discontinued my art studies. I still sometimes struggle with it and am almost never satisfied with any picture I take. But I think that is an important feeling in order to keep on improving. But believing in oneself and not giving up because of the doubts is very important as well and something I learned over the years. Besides this, I think any creative profession is never easy. You have your ideas, that may not match up with your client’s ideas. The advise that I would give to any woman out there is to never let anyone tell you, that you can’t do everything, to keep chasing your dreams and not selling out, even if that means having to take on a second job for a while to afford to pay all bills, and to always make sure you ask for the same stipulations (money, etc.) that your male counterparts make. It’s not always easy, but you will be respected more if you don’t sell yourself short. Find what you love, what makes your heart tingly, and put your energy into that. It may be hard, but it’s worth it.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I specialize in portrait photography in nature and am known for shooting analog. I mostly shoot 35mm film or polaroid. I am also known for landscapes, often foggy landscapes, which I love because of the mysterious feeling fog gives me, one reason why I also love San Francisco and those hazy mornings in San Diego. I only recently got featured with an exclusive editorial I shot at Blacks Beach on the San Diego based magazine Nakid, one of my favorite magazines there are, so something I’m proud of and that can be seen here: https://nakid.online/2019/01/03/free-by-olivia-ausrine-nadja-langer-nsfw-duos-exclusive-editorial/
I like capturing the real you, so oftentimes people don’t laugh or smile on my pictures, as I believe one can really see someone when the face is calm. That’s also why I often look serious on pictures myself, something that makes people think I’m very different from how I am actually am. A happy go lucky person, even though painfully sensitive at times and often feeling, “Weltschmerz”, meaning I am aware of how privileged I am and feel the pain of those who aren’t. 🙂 This is something that sets me apart from others, there is no acting in my photography. I also rarely edit any pictures I take, as I think beauty is not perfection, but realness. And once people get their pictures from shooting, they understand what I meant when I said: Analog doesn’t need editing. 🙂
Who have you been inspired by?
My biggest inspiration is my mother, a feminist, environmentalist, self-employed conference interpreter, who raised two kids while working, in an equitable marriage with my dad. She showed me that you don’t need to depend on anyone but yourself, and taught me to always make sure to know my worth. And every day, I am inspired by my friends, who are all so different and in their own way teach me things all the time. Fellow female photographers, I meet on my travels, that I start creative projects with are creatively my biggest inspiration.
I’d like to mention two photographers that I adore and that impacted me when I started: Aëla Labbé and Alison Scarpulla. I think their work is deep and somewhat has a morbid charm.
Contact Info:
- Phone: +49/177/6088977
- Email: nadjalanger@gmx.de
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadjalanger/
- Other: http://calimerise.tumblr.com/
Image Credit:
Nadja Langer
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