In the spirit of celebrating creativity, we wish to highlight some of the game changers and trend-setters on this year's panel. We spoke with some of our judges to get their insights into the advertising industry, their personal philosophies on the creative process, and much more. We are delighted to bring this forthcoming series of interviews to our community - we hope you find it insightful and inspiring!
We are delighted to introduce Marcela Ferri, a Senior Producer at Netflix and judge of the People & Lifestyle Photography and Travel, Documentary & Landscape Photography categories! Her expertise in photography and production, coupled with her numerous collaborations with iconic brands, makes her a great addition to this year’s jury panel. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Marcela. We discuss creatives’ lifelong commitment to learning, and perseverance in creative careers.
You have a wealth of experience working as a producer and photographer with various iconic brands. How has your work prepared you to join the judge's panel at this year's Spotlight Awards?
Being exposed to such a variety of clients and brands on top of my own fine arts work is very beneficial as it helps me to better understand the business and, with that background knowledge in mind, to be able to analyze the work in a more informed way and not just based on taste.
Can you tell us about a career milestone, and its lasting impact on your journey?
Is hard to talk about one specific milestone as there are so many different experiences and people who I came across along the way who I consider equally important. In my point of view, there’s always something valuable that you can learn from each situation or people you come across and I’ve been lucky enough to meet and work with a wealth of extremely talented people globally, which I’m very grateful for.
What is the single most important thing you learned at the beginning of your career, and how did it shape and/or influence your career trajectory thereafter?
Be curious. As a maker and storyteller this is such an important aspect that sometimes people forget about. Look around, talk to strangers, ask questions, read articles that have nothing to do with your profession, there’s something to learn everywhere and you also never know where a conversation can take you to.
When working as a freelance producer and photographer, did you have a specific set of criteria to be met before accepting projects? If so, what were they?
Respect is a number one thing for me, like in any partnership, being a creative, professional, friendships, etc that should be the basis otherwise it becomes unbalanced.
What balance should photographers and/or creatives strike between capitalizing on industry trends, and staying true to their unique visions?
Hm that’s a tricky question because trends are important but they also turn into volume and fade at some point. As a creative it’s very important to have your point of view and also be adaptable, that’s something very important to make you stand out from the crowd. When you look at people like Nadia Lee Cohen, she’s doing her own thing and is absolutely brilliant at what she does. It’s her world, her aesthetics not another trend and that’s super valuable.
Whether you're a freelancer or a salaried employee, collaboration is inevitable in creative work. What you consider to be the mark of a good collaborative effort, and why?
I’ve had so many incredible collaborations with artists, clients and so on. It’s so nice when we are all open to understand the other’s expertise and trust, that’s when true synergy happens and when we make the best work, that’s when we truly elevate one another.
It's said that if you're not failing, you're not trying. in your opinion, what role does failure play in the journey to success in any creative role and/or industry?
Maybe I’m being cynical but, don’t you think that, if you’re always doing “everything right” there’s a chance that actually something is wrong? Failure is part of life, we won’t win every time, as soon as we learn from our experiences and use that to propel ourselves forward it’s all valid.
As you know, success in any creative field takes a timeless and steadfast dedication to one's craft. What should photographers, and creatives in general, remember on their journeys to realizing their full potential?
To keep learning, stay interested, understand that a creative journey is never a straight line as there will be ups, downs and bumps here and there, still remain focused and allow yourself to also do other things and take breaks. Space is important.
The Spotlight Awards, though a competition, is at its core a celebration of photography and creativity. As a judge, what value do you think our Awards offer participating photographers and judges?
It’s so strange to think about what kind of value I can bring haha. I guess all of us in this panel bring different experiences, personalities and an overall perspective of what a winning work can look like.
We thank Marcela for joining this year's jury panel and for engaging in such a thoughtful discussion. If you enjoyed this conversation, we invite you to join us over the coming weeks for more discussions with many of our talented judges!
