Exploring the Visual Harmony Between Place and Person With Mateo Soto
Exploring the Visual Harmony Between Place and Person With Mateo Soto
The architectural photographer on light, space, and story
Name:
Mateo Soto
Photography:
Mateo Soto
Words:
Erica Nichols
You don’t need to wander far to see the world — a glimpse through the lens of Mateo Soto will do. The Colombian-based photographer is often on the move, photographing landscapes and architecture that tell a story beyond the visual. With an expert eye for light and place, Soto’s work captures the harmony and unspoken relationship between people and the spaces they visit. Hear more from our conversation below, where Soto dives into what he hopes people see in his work and how he continues to challenge himself as an artist.
You photograph within a few different fields. What was your first foray into photography and how did you expand into the others?
Mateo Soto: My initial introduction to photography occurred during my architectural studies at university. I had a profound interest in images, light, and the ability to convey narratives through photographs. As a visual person, photography resonated with me, representing an artistic means of self-expression and a platform to share my unique perspective and emotions. This, I found, could not be conveyed in any other way than through images.
What are some of the most important qualities of a photo to you?
That it genuinely evokes some kind of emotion to the person who is viewing it.
What do you hope people see or feel in your work?
What I hope is for people to connect deeply with my pictures transporting them to these places, to get to know them and feel them through my eyes, as if they were there. I hope my images move them, creating sensations of calm and peace. It often happens that architecture students find my work useful and inspiring, a tool for them to start innovating and involving in new trends used in the professional world. This is pretty rad.
How do you continue to challenge yourself in your work?
Constant change allows me to evolve and become better in essential tools as a photographer. New platforms, ways of showing content, and image consumption as a whole. Right now, a simple image is not enough to tell a story, now we use different strategies that compliment a picture: interviews, videos, key words, among others.
For me, being a photographer is not only to go to a place and shoot an amazing image, but to help generate ideas, walk hand to hand with my clients and go beyond just taking a picture.
What projects excite you the most?
The projects with which I connect the most are definitely the ones where the people who inhabit the homes or spaces I photograph, are in it. I deeply believe that architecture and design are the perfect match between the designer and the people who inhabit the spaces created.
When you need some inspiration, how do you find it?
My safe places are family time, sports, and meditation. They help me center, get inspired, and reconnect with what matters to me. Traveling is a useful tool to nurture my life’s view, and for sure just being present and observant of my surroundings. Not less important, something very useful too, is having real and profound conversations.
How do you strike the balance between planned and candid captures?
I believe it is important to have some things planned out but without being rigid about it at the moment of the execution. I am a person who lets things flow depending on the light, the space, and the people who inhabit them.
Why do you love photography?
I am a passionate photographer as a whole but also because it allows me to have the lifestyle I like. I get to have quality time with my loved ones, to do sports, meditation and traveling. Being a photographer allows me to be in constant movement getting to know different places and people.
What’s in the works for you next?
At the moment I am creating a line of work integrating photography, video, and space design.
