Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexia Haag.
Alexia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always had a love for art. This love first started with reading and writing as a child and then that love grew into drawing, painting, and then eventually into performance art, like singing, dancing, and acting. Throughout all the years of making art, somehow, I didn’t dive fully into my love of film and photography until college. As a kid, I made YouTube videos, which are now all private- thankfully, but aside from just recording videos on my webcam, the love I had for photo and video didn’t go beyond being an admirer.
Since going to college at Florida Atlantic University, I have really been able to explore my passion for film and photography. At FAU, I am majoring in Multimedia Studies- Film, Video, and New Media and minoring in Studio Art with a focus in Photography. Aside from my studies, I began working with Strike Magazine FAU as a photographer. Strike has given me the chance to learn from all different types of people and it gave me a glimpse into what working for a magazine will entail, this is something I value so much because one of my many goals as a photographer is to work in fashion and shoot editorials. Additionally, over the last year, I have been working hard to start my business, Alexia Studio, and this has been one of the most rewarding endeavors. Starting a business is not easy, but I have had so much fun learning the ins and outs of being a business owner. Over the last three years, I have grown so much as an artist and have started carving a path for myself to live life the way I intend to, but that is not without the help of so many supportive people around me.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has not always been smooth. For a while, I was not sure that being an artist of any kind was what I was meant to do. I always heard and was told that no one could make money as an artist and that you have a one-in-a-million chance to make it and as someone who has no connections what-so-ever and didn’t come from money that could put me in a position to “make it,” I just wrote my aspirations off as fever dreams that I could reminisce on when I was wrinkly and half-dead.
I had worked my whole high school ‘career’ readying myself to go to a four-year university. I thought what I needed to do to be successful was to keep my passion for creating a passion and focus on something I thought I could do that would be sustainable for a future. To me, that meant going into the medical field. I knew that what I wanted to do in life was to help and becoming a doctor was one of the ways I was guaranteed to do that, while it still being a reliable career path that would give me comfort in knowing I had a plan to follow. That was until college.
I went to FAU with the intent to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology so that I could eventually go to med school and work as an OB/GYN. In the first semester of my freshman year, I knew it was not right for me. I knew that what I had to do was go for what I always told myself was off-limits and just ignore the voice in my head that was keeping me from it. I’m not sure what it was that made the decision so easy for me, but I just credit it to something in me knowing I had to make the switch for me. I couldn’t fathom being wrinkly and half-dead, looking at what I did in life and although becoming a doctor is nothing to bat an eye at, it was not what would have brought me happiness. I would have been channeling all the drive and passion I have for creating art into a field that truly is not the right fit for me and I know that had I of continued to ignore the pull I was feeling towards film and photography, I would have continued to feel lost. Following my gut and changing my major is the best thing I did for myself. It not only showed that I have it in me to chase after what I want, but that I am also not going to let what others think and say hold me back. For me, I strive to make art that shares stories, evokes emotion, and helps move people to self-reflection and acceptance. Had I of continued to let worrying about “making it” or how much money I could potentially make hinder me, I would never of gotten to where I am today.
And even after the years of telling myself, and everyone around me, that what I wanted to do was go into medicine, when I finally allowed myself to fall back in love with art and change my major to go into film, my dad looked at me and said: “I always knew you would.” That was the moment I knew I was finally following my heart and not just my head.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Alexia Studio is the Multimedia Company I created to capture moments in time as well as create meaningful stories. Although it shares my namesake, this business is not about me and who I am, but instead what I can bring to people’s lives. This mission spans across all varieties of media content, whether it be classic portraiture, aiding in the production of a video concept or creating digital art, I work hard to make sure my clients wants and needs are exceeded while using what I know as an artist to help fully express their ideas.
What I specialize in is portrait photography, which includes family photography and individual portraits. Since starting my career in photography a few years ago, shooting portraits quickly became my specialty because I have the ability to create an environment that is comfortable for anyone who is modeling for me, whether they are professional or not. That is what I know sets me apart from others. I focus more on my interactions with those that I am creating with because I believe in the importance of comfortability and having a safe space for expression. That is what allows me to see the true personalities of everyone I work with, which in turn creates authentic art.
But that is not what I am limited too. At Alexia Studio, I have expanded passed portraiture and begun collaborating with other small businesses to help them create well-rounded images that express what their particular business model is, while still keeping the media content fun and engaging. Additionally, I have produced and directed a conceptual video called “If Insecurity was a Lover,” a photo book titled, “Spot,” and continue to create digital portraits.
This is all to say, I am proud of how much I am able to accomplish for a client and that what people find most notable about working with me, aside from the final product, is the way I make them feel welcomed and comfortable while we’re collaborating together.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career would be finishing my forty-two-page photo book, “Spot.” Spot is a collaborative project with a very close friend, Alissa, on learning to accept yourself for who you are. Alissa and I spent weeks taking photos and having really honest conversations about insecurities and what it’s like feeling like you don’t have control over your own appearance. What makes me the most proud about this accomplishment is that I was able to witness someone fully open up to not only me but to themselves. Alissa becoming more confident in herself and trusting me to share even just a portion of the process is so special to me. I can’t describe the feeling of hearing from someone how much what you have created has changed them. For so long, photography to me was something I loved, but I was struggling to find how I could use my voice and my abilities to make something meaningful, but through “Spot,” I was able to unlock that for myself. Creating and sharing “Spot” will always remain one of my proudest moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alexiastudio.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio.alexia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexiaStudioMedia
Image Credit:
Photographer: Alexia Haag
Models: Jessica Veilleux, Nya Williams, Samantha Hipp, Trevor Gardner, Brielle Smith, Devi Chandranie Parsram, Bailey-James Vallelunga , Sofia Marie Ojeda, and Alissa Sookdeo.
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