Meet Faith Nguyen: Boston’s Coolest Concert Photographer
Written by Daphne Bryant
Image courtesy of Jesse Allen
Don’t sleep on boston! its’ live music scene is alive and well, and talented photographers are the ones capturing and preserving all of the magic. Earlier this week I had the pleasure of speaking with Faith Nguyen (@faithwinphotos), a 22-year old photographer whose stunning images shock and inspire. We talked about everything from Poc representation in the industry to the beauty of diy documentation, and i had an absolute blast. please enjoy this interview with faith <3
Daphne Bryant: Let’s talk about your origin story! How did you get started as a photographer?
Faith Nguyen: Sure! I'm currently based in Boston, but I am originally from a small town in Northern Virginia, where I started my photography. I was actually working at a wedding venue as a dishwasher. That was one of my first jobs. When I was in high school and working in the kitchen there I happened to meet some of the photographers working at the venue, and at that point in my life I had a pretty strong interest in all thing visual arts. Photography was always something that I was interested in, my parents had a family Costco camera that I would steal every chance that I could get.
I started talking with the venue photographers and just being like:“ I want to do this. Can I shadow you for a little bit? Can I bother you with questions?”, and they ended up being super, super welcome to me expressing interest in working with them. They happened to need some help in the studio, so I made it out of the kitchen, started working in the photography studio there, and that was a huge piece of my growth as a photographer. That was where I got my first mentors. That's where I learned all of the technical aspects of camera settings, design principles, software. I shot weddings for a long time, mostly weddings and portraits. I did senior photos, family photos kind of anything I could get my hands on for a while, but as a hobbyist musician myself, someone who loves live music in all forms, concert photography was always kind of a dream field for me to get into. When I came to Boston, started school at Northeastern and found some groups that were doing concert photography, I was like,“ Oh, my God! This is my dream! How do I sign up? How do I do this all the time?” I started working with Tastemakers Magazine, Northeastern's student run music magazine, and [have] kind of made that my entire personality ever since.
Image courtesy of Faith Nguyen
Daphne: What would you say is your favorite kind of photography to shoot?
Faith: It’s always involving people and storytelling. That’s kind of been the common thread in all [of] the things I've loved to do. I really, really enjoy live music. I mean, there's just so much energy, and it's like hard in a way that makes it really satisfying when you come away with good shots. You just have zero control over lighting or anything, so when you get the shot, it feels all that much better. I also love doing portrait shoots; I love the creative back and forth that can happen with a model, maybe a director, a stylist, photographer, and how all those things can come together [to make] a tangible, visual sort of product. That's something that really excites me, for sure.
Daphne: Yeah, I think storytelling is awesome, and anyone who can do it in a visual way is really impressive to me. I can definitely see that in the art that you put out! I feel like a lot of creatives have artists that they look up to, people that they really admire. Is there anyone that really inspires you as an artist?
Faith: Definitely! I think my first and like, most long-lasting inspiration is Deanie Chen. She’s a photographer based out of New York! I saw a set of her photos, I wanna say it was 2016 Doja Cat Coachella era, and they were so beautiful that it truly inspired me and made me want to become a concert photographer. I sent her this really embarrassing DM being like;“ you're living my dream life! How do I do that?” And she messaged me back, and just like made it seem like a very approachable thing, like a tangible thing that I could do. I took that and was like,“ Okay, maybe I [can] do this.” [Chen] is consistently putting out really unique work, she has a really unique eye, and I’ve always looked up to her as someone who is just, like a young, cool, POC woman in the industry.
Greg Noire is also a huge inspiration for me. He creates the most stunning and cinematic compositions, and every time he posts it makes you stop and look. He has such a incredible knack for storytelling. That's definitely something that I really draw inspiration from and want to replicate in my own work. He's also incredibly humble and a very down-to-earth human being for the level of work that he is at. There's a lot of people who are not humble by any means.
Daphne: Okay, interesting! Can we maybe talk about that, what's the photography scene like, especially also as a woman of color?
Faith: I mean, I feel like this kind of happens in any sort of creative field. There are a lot of really amazing people who are all about that creative community, and supporting each other's art. But you'll also find people who are very arrogant about it and view their art as very much central to them, rather than central to an idea or message.I’ve totally come across people who have given me me loads of unsolicited advice, because they happen to be older or more male or more white than I am, and I kind of live my life out of spite sometimes. I had this one photographer, he looked at my gear and was like,“ you need to upgrade your stuff if you're going to want to succeed in this.” And I was like,“ I am actually going to hold on to this really cheap lens that I've owned for as long as I possibly can, because I think it makes me a much more skilled artist if I can create high quality work with lesser gear!” So you run into things like that.
I [also] run into people who used to be super supportive and happy for me back when I was younger and less established and nowadays are not so friendly, which mostly tends to happen with older dudes.I swear, all of the young, college-aged girls that I meet in the scene are full of passion and vision; I see their work and there's something different about it, like there's something the girlies have. I’ve made some really incredible lifelong friends out of meeting other journalists and photographers, musicians, managers. DJs, whatever.
I don't mean to say that it's all bad, because I have only gotten as far as I have, because I've had such incredible people around me who have believed in me for a long time, too, who celebrate me really deeply. I'm very grateful.
Daphne: You’re so right, there’s two sides to every coin when you’re doing something creative like this. I’m really glad you have people around you that are supportive and uplift you, because that's so important!
Faith: Yeah, I think I also I take a lot of pride in oftentimes, especially in nightlife and in hip hop, being the only girl in these spaces. I've never once been scared of it. It's always been a“ hell, yeah! If anyone's gonna do it, it's gonna be me.” I've had people come up to me, and being like“ it's so cool, seeing like a Vietnamese person in the industry.” Or the other day I was shooting a nightlife event that was run by an Indian promoter, so it's mostly South Asians at this event. This woman came up to me and was like“ it is so cool seeing a female photographer back in India. I've met one other female photographer. Everyone else is male and seeing you working is like, even just at this nightclub, is so inspiring.” It was like so touching.
“I take a lot of pride in oftentimes, especially in nightlife and in hip hop, being the only girl in these spaces. I've never once been scared of it. It's always been a ‘hell, yeah! If anyone's gonna do it, it's gonna be me.’”
From Faith’s Photo Book, Growing Together
Daphne: It’s a flex! You should own that, it's so cool. So on to my next question: is there a project that you've done, that you feel like really encapsulates who you are, or your artistry as a photographer?
Faith: Maybe this is just at the top of my mind because I posted this today, but last semester I worked on a different style of project than my regular output. I was taking a photojournalism class, and for my final I had to go and seek out a story and bring it together as a photo story. I went and shot a show of a local artist here in Boston, Clark D, and I kind of used it as an opportunity to really dig into the deep, profound community that exists here in Boston, around the local music scene. It started as kind of just like me taking photos at this event, and it turned into this love letter to the Boston music scene. I interviewed one of the artists, Kei, who I've gotten to know over the past year and a half, and I spoke with her a lot about what it means to be an artist here in Boston, like what separates the scene here from other cities. She had a lot of really interesting things to say about that. In other cities, like maybe New York or Atlanta or LA, there's a ton of well established infrastructure around being a creative and especially a musician, and Boston does not really have that. It was clear from talking with [Kei] that she never has seen that as like an obstacle; she has taken that as an opportunity to build her own career and grow as an artist.She owes [a lot] of her success to so many people around her, and now she's in a position where she can give that that same support to other people.
It became this really, just, joyful project that I was working on. I submitted my final, and then I spent a lot of time after that designing this little photo book that I ended up printing out. I was able to celebrate my own creativity in this space because I had a physical piece of media that I could look at and be like,“ okay, I'm kind of a good photographer!” I ended up gifting that photo book to Kei and her manager, Sadiq, and Clark, who isn't in Boston right now, but really excited about all this. I had a really special moment with all of them where I got to see how much my photography was impacting them, and that is not something that I’ve gotten to do all that often. I’m a part of their history now, and it was so wholesome; I felt like that’s where I want to be as an artist. I definitely see myself as someone who can document things artfully.
Daphne: I love that! And I really like what you said about that kind of mutual exchange of respect and creativity. There’s a lot of really cool underlying things in there about empowerment, support and community! Okay, next question: how do you think your photography has evolved over the years?
Faith: I think nowadays I am incredibly confident in my unique style. When I first started out I did a lot of looking at aspirational work and trying to replicate that and experimenting. I think that's a very necessary process as an artist, but at this point I feel like I have not only a look, but a certain sort of feel to my work. That’s been a process of like genuinely four or five years to get to that point; I just have so much confidence in my work now that I used to not have. Recently I’ve been getting a lot of opportunities that I’ve truly dreamed of, and that sort of recognition has also really built up my confidence.
Daphne: That makes a lot of sense. I’m curious: what are some of your other passions outside of photography?
Faith: Oooh, okay, well, I am studying architecture in school, and that's what I'm working in full time right now. So that is definitely a passion of mine. Architecture is super cool because it touches every aspect of our lives. I love to nerd out about architecture things, and the power of public spaces and access to green spaces, and the Southwest Corridor; I could talk about the Southwest Corridor for like half an hour! I also have been playing volleyball since I was in sixth grade. I play on Northeastern’s club team, so that’s a fun thing that I like to do. I like to keep busy, if you haven’t been able to tell! Also, in a past life, back in high school, I was in a band. I love to sing, and I’m kind of working my way back into playing some more music.
Faith at All Things Go
Daphne: Oh, my gosh, well, I hope you do, cause I've been looking for some new artists to listen to! What are some of your biggest career aspirations?
Faith: Career wise, this year I want to start getting some more video experience and skills. I feel like last year was a huge year for growth in my photography, and now that I feel super solid in that, I need to push myself in other aspects. It’s been so uncomfortable for me to try something new, because videography is like crazy complicated, and it's kind of scary, but it feels like a whole new horizon for me. That’s also a goal that I hope will lead to a larger career goal, which is going on tour. That’s my big bucket list item right now, is to go on tour! I think I would do really well with like a poppy girl group and getting to photograph cute outfits, I don't know, I feel like that would work really well for me and my style, and that would work well for them! I’ve had some luck with festivals recently [too], and I’d love to spend my summers traveling around, being at these big events.
Daphne: Love! Last question...what would your advice be for someone who is an aspiring photographer?
Faith: Shoot as much as you can! It’s like any other skill. You have to practice it, and you have to experiment and try new things. Particularly in the music industry, you will get thrown into these really crazy conditions, and you just pick up all kinds of skills in every sort of scenario you end up in. And generally, something that is a sort of mantra to me is“ never be the one to tell yourself no.” Don’t not reach out to an artist or a publication or an agency because you think they'll tell you no, because then you're the one telling yourself no! Be okay with other people telling you no, because it's gonna happen a lot: it makes the yeses that much better.
Daphne: That's great advice. I feel like someone who might be reading this, who wants to get into that world, would definitely feel inspired by those words.
Faith: They inspired me so!
Daphne: AHHH, oh my gosh, thank you so much for doing this! It's so cool for me because we've actually never interviewed a photographer before.
Faith: Oooh! Thank you so much. It's so good to talk to you. I hope we will get to like hang out sometime.
Daphne: PLEASE, I will text you when I’m back in Boston <3
