Interview by Leah Morris and Anais Read.
Photograph by Garry Moore.
Hair & Makeup by Narelle Hall.
We were thrilled to sit down and enjoy some expensive cheeses with Creative Services Manager of Miss Bossy Boots, Sophie Leuschke. Before Mavens launched our first print magazine, Sophie saw the potential in what we were doing and reached out for a coffee. She’s now the maven behind both of our magazine cover shoots, and continues to back us and advocate for our work. As humble as she is bubbly (though, she’ll never admit it), Sophie gives us a behind-the-scenes take on the photography production business, the wildest shoot stories, and why a career in our industry is never linear. If you’ve ever had doubts about your path, this is a must-read.
Tell us about your background. What drew you to the world of photography production and how did you get into the industry?
When I studied photography, there was never any discussion that you could actually do production. I think I've always loved organising things, so I started out working with a florist. Then I got to work with a landscape designer doing events and I got to do my own photography – even producing my own flower shoots for the books I worked on.
When I lived in New Zealand, I also worked on a couple of books: ‘100 Best Native Plants for New Zealand gardens’ (Godwit) and ‘The Natural Garden’ (Random House). I had to organise all the shoots and find all the gardens and natives, without realising that I was producing! It was really cool.
I've always enjoyed the whole process: events, organising, talking to people. I didn't realise producing was a job until I went to London and worked with animal photographer Tim Flach on ‘Endangered’ – a two-year photographic conservation project. That was a dream job and a massive operation where I got to work with top producer Jo Niklas and support her in organising all the endangered animal shoots for the book.
So, everything from choosing the animals, locating the animals, finding the location, getting the photographer to the location, getting all the equipment, and talking to people – which I love. I always just assumed it was the photographer’s job!
Networking and people skills are key as a relationship manager. How do you approach this part of your job?
Sometimes my title freaks me out. I try to think of it like, "Who's another amazing person I can meet?" I think I just love people. I cold called everyone for work after finishing uni. Cold call. Cold email. Get on shoots. Get on jobs. It’s always, “What experience can I have? Who can I meet? Who can I make friends with?”
Same with finding you, Leah. I thought, "She's amazing. Can we have coffee?" I'm always surprised who’ll say yes to you. I got this job at Miss Bossy Boots because I cold called a whole year before. The amount of wild experiences I've had in life because I've asked is pretty amazing.
Tell us the strangest thing that’s ever happened on a shoot.
We photographed vultures once, and one was called Bernard (which I love). We turned our backs on Bernard – which you're not meant to do – and caught him sidling up behind us… I think he was going to eat us. Another time, we photographed baby crocodiles and they tried to eat our shoes. It was super cute.
I've also caught someone peeing in the garden on a shoot before – not the talent, just a lady who owned the garden. Apparently it's good for your flowers…
What’s the coolest location you’ve travelled for a shoot?
When I first started shooting, just getting paid to photograph a garden was pretty amazing.
The coolest one was probably in Norway where I assisted Tim Flach in photographing snow leopards. It was beautiful; we got to photograph endangered animals all around Europe. Another was when I photographed flower show gardens at Huis Ten Bosch, Japan and of course the Chelsea Flower Show in London.
Can you share a bit more about the travel and work that went into ‘Endangered’ publication. How did this experience challenge your perspective?
It was my dream job, and while it was confronting – it was absolutely incredible! We did all this research to find these amazing endangered animals. You wouldn’t even consider some of them to be endangered because they're in your storybooks as a kid.
It sadly always comes back to humans and greed. I understand if you're hungry and need to feed your family, but if you need to kill this animal for its tusks or scales to get another million dollars, then fuck you.
Craft-wise, it was incredible to go from New Zealand to a project where we went and photographed these animals around the world. I loved seeing the scale at which everyone honed their craft.
You worked in London and New Zealand before coming to Australia. Do you think the AU and NZ markets differ much when it comes to photography production?
Not really.
In New Zealand, I was lucky to work with Christina Force, an incredible photo consultant who was all about nurturing the photographers. I learned what makes each photographer special!
When you’re shooting gardens, New Zealand light can be difficult. Sometimes you only get an hour of perfect light – so you’ve got to get up really early, drive when everything's dark, and start setting up.
There’s more people here in Australia, but I feel like everyone loves and respects the craft the same. We’ve photographed all around Victoria with Miss Bossy Boots. When we went to Falls Creek and watched the stars from the lake, I remember thinking, "Gosh, I love Australian shoots,".
Before that, I was always employed by the photographer or artist, and now I’m on the other side, helping this whole amazing collective of artists talk to agencies. Previously, I’d never worked directly with the advertising industry, like we do at Miss Bossy Boots but I’ve enjoyed learning more about negotiation, marketing and the business side.
Looking back, I've been lucky enough to go from direct, to looking at both sides, to shooting, to seeing the whole picture. It’s been really fascinating.
What’s the trickiest part of your job?
Saying no.
It used to be a people-pleasing thing, but I'm getting better at boundaries – a few really good friends have taught me that.
It’s wanting to do a good job, but in order to do a good job, you have to say no. Think of saying no because it isn’t going to work, rather than because you don't want to do it.
Who are your greatest role models and/or mentors?
I've actually worked for badass women most of my career. There's so many who had a big impact on me. Firstly, Xanthe White who was the landscape designer I got to shoot for. I graduated Fine Arts but but couldn't get any experience – even voluntary. She took me on as a junior, where I got to help her organise all the big flower shows and events.
And Christina Force – I know if I called her, she'd be there. Working for such a strong woman and to help her build an online mentoring program was truly empowering.
Veronica and Garry Moore who are truly kind, amazing, empowering people, who let me be me. They were like, "You work for us, but we actually want you to be happy as a person. Hey, you illustrate? Cool, let's talk about that. You photograph gardens? Cool, let's talk about that." They really foster people being themselves.
Plus all the photographers, artists, and people I work with at Miss Bossy Boots are amazingly kind. I’ve stopped believing if you're a creative, you can be an asshole.
My Dad is pretty amazing for running his own business, but currently it's my contemporaries! Seeing what everyone else is achieving is amazing.
You can connect with Sophie on LinkedIn or reach out via sophie@missbossyboots.com.au. With thanks to Garry Moore from Miss Bossy Boots, the photographer for this story.
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