Sophie Ebrard

Sophie Ebrard, a former advertising account exec, took her focus off figures, stuck her nose behind a lens and hasn’t looked back. Ryan Watson browses through a porfolio that smoulders with humanity.

No Smoke without fire...

Chances are that when your mother used to tell you that you were the best looking kid in school it meant absolutely nothing to you. It’s a bit like when London-based French photographer Sophie Ebrard was working as an account director a few years ago. Her friends had seen her photography, and told her she was good, but that just wasn’t enough to justify leaving her well-paid job in advertising and taking a leap into the unknown.

“There is a saying that goes ‘talent is not when your friends tell you they like your work, but when people who don’t like you have to admit it’s good,” says Ebrard, full of enthusiasm. She’s referring to when, two years ago, she was working with a renowned Argentinean director. “He probably hated me from the start for being an account person,” she reflects, “I was on set taking pictures and I could sense he was thinking ‘what is she doing?” That was until the results emerged and he couldn’t deny his surprise, suggesting she take up photography full-time, “From that day on I thought I should probably give it a go.”

Looking through her portfolio, one could easily assume that the decade she spent in advertising was actually in photography. There’s a great use of natural light, which validates her belief that “the sun is the most beautiful source of light you can ever find”. In fact, Ebrard only made the transition into photography a year and a half ago and is now represented by Rokkit.

Her immaculately presented book of work includes commissions for Match.com, Stella Artois and Butlins, but her personal series projects demonstrate an ability to seamlessly adapt between artistic expression and shooting for commercial purposes.

Smoke and Mirrors, set in the Alps, where she was born in 1976, is a series close to Ebrard’s heart, as well as My Nine-to-Five, which presents portraits capturing the inhabitants of Cape Verde (the archipelago off Western Africa) going about their business. “I’ve been going to Cape Verde for eight years and have built a special relationship with the people,” she explains.

Work in progress

Like her portfolio, which is constantly being rearranged, no project is ever complete. She intends to develop her portrait of a young pilot, for example, by eventually adding an aeroplane into the background. Turning the concept of My Nine-to-Five back to her, it would be impossible to capture Ebrard in her own surroundings, as they are always changing. “I like being in another country, it makes you look at things differently and pay attention more than you would in your day-to-day life.” Last year, the Icelandic volcano eruption saw her stranded in Lisbon, where she knew nobody and so tried to make friends by hanging around taking pictures. The experience resulted in her Belem series.

For Ebrard, social interaction is instrumental in achieving her creative potential. She talks of having “tenderness with the subject” and admits that being a woman works in her favour. “People don’t see me as a threat and invite me easily into their homes.” If I was a man, there are pictures that I wouldn’t have been able to capture,” like her bra project, which is currently being negotiated for a campaign through a leading agency and involved a lot of persuasion with the women who feature in it.

It’s probably true to say that Ebrard’s time in advertising has contributed to a deeper understanding of the creative process than other photographers may have developed. “I think storytelling got drilled into my brain,” she says. “I worked with the most talented people in their field, and with top agencies on award-winning campaigns.” She credits winning three Cannes Lions with Erik Vervroegen at TBWA Paris (now CD at Goodby) as one of the best achievements in her accounting career. “This gave me really high standards as to what I expect from an image.” Other agencies she worked with include Euro RSCG, JWT, and Mother, which she’s especially proud of.

Making the connection

“I was never the usual account person. I’ve always been obsessed with doing great creative work and am always looking for the story, the thread and the idea,” she says. By assigning herself with the responsibility of being socially and culturally relevant beyond the aesthetics, Ebrard develops a relationship of trust and a true connection with her subjects.

Technically, she enjoys the thrill of shooting on film and not knowing what she’s captured until later, but she concedes that the immediacy that digital affords is necessary in commercial work, so she won’t limit herself to a fixed medium.

Having moved to London six years ago, Ebrard describes the city as a home away from home, and loves its pace and energy. She’s full of passion and life and could offer a story behind every image she’s ever captured. As she says, “I’m there and involved, but I don’t try to control what is happening. I try to make myself almost invisible, that’s when magical moments happen.”