Suzanna Scott
Suzanna Scott
Photography
“I can’t remember who found who first, but I always liked Brit’s work,” photographer Suzanna Scott says of Studio PLOW’s founder. Eventually, the two began working together, simultaneously cementing their friendship on a large-scale workspace project for Faire and Faire at Potrero (featured in Interior Design Magazine) and then on the Cazadero Cabin (featured in Dwell).
Today, Scott’s photography remains a key part of the Studio PLOW visual aesthetic and brand…
“I was always very interested in the way people lived. When I was a student, I’d photograph people’s houses, their fences or even their trash. I was a total voyeur. I was fascinated by the color of their front doors, how they represented themselves, what was on the front windowsill. And now, of course, my whole career is based on the same thing.”
Photographer Suzanna Scott was born and educated in London, studying at Camberwell College of Art, where she developed the highly disciplined approach to still life photography that is a touchstone of her work today.
After graduating, feeling “burned out” from the intense pace of college, she temporarily abandoned photography to work as an image researcher for advertising agencies and archival companies.
However, nothing felt completely right until one day, after she had moved to LA and was working as an assistant to an interior designer, she met the established interiors photographer Sam Frost.
“I’d help him with whatever he needed and suggest angles, without realizing I was being a photo assistant,” says Scott now. “When I quit that job he called and offered me a job assisting him. He said I had a great eye, because I already had a background in photography. I thought I had just been having fun!”
After her time with Frost, Scott went solo and relocated to northern California with her husband.
Why is design or creativity important to you?
It’s about how I operate in the world. It’s my lifeblood, how I think and how I am. Whether I’m doing a shoot, or in my own house, or anywhere for an extended period of time, I have a visceral feeling about how things should feel or look. I’ll move things around or hide things that throw off the balance, even if I’m in an AirB&B.
I look at everything as if it’s a potential still life, even if I’m just walking around. I’m making what I look at into a story in my head to make it make sense to me.
What was your turning point as a creative person?
It happened when I was finally in a scenario where I wasn’t constantly being corrected. I function in the middle ground between ADHD and dyslexic, and until I started working in photography, it felt like nothing really worked for me. Although I never had a lot of reinforcement, I knew there must be something out there I was good at.
Things started to click when I got positive feedback about my own house. Friends used to come over and compliment my sofa or the art on the wall, and I didn’t understand what I had done that they couldn’t do. I didn’t understand why it was special. But people saying nice things gave me some positive reinforcement for how I naturally operate.
So, it was happening slowly before Sam asked me to assist for him. That’s when it came together. I didn’t even want to pick up a camera again at first, because I didn’t want to go digital — everything I had done had been medium format and on film to that point — but I bit the bullet and did it.
Which three values most inform your work?
Authenticity, collaboration and quality.
Firstly, authenticity. What I mean by that is that I’m very big on natural light and natural styling. Natural everything. I don’t like overtly flashy things, I prefer work that is understated and subtly aspirational. If you go into a house after I’ve photographed it, you would recognize it as the same house. I’m interested in keeping things real.
Secondly, collaboration: I love to work with people, bounce ideas off them. Nothing successful happens in a vacuum. I love working with designers, companies and brands who also work that way. I like keeping the process relaxed and comfortable that everyone is feeling heard; it’s a conversation.
And quality: I’m a big believer in less is more, a few beautiful pieces, a beautiful wood finish that speaks for itself. It’s not hard to elevate even the most simple location with just a few nice things, or even just have light coming into the room in an interesting way.
“I like keeping the process relaxed and comfortable that everyone is feeling heard; it’s a conversation.”
Do you have a memory of a space that has created a profound impact on you or your work?
The Case Study houses in Los Angeles, The ethos they brought to the design process is everything I believe in: low-cost construction, high-quality materials, simplicity, functionality, lots of windows and injections of color. I love that they were built for the post World War II family — it was important they were accessible to a large swathe of people.
But personally, what I get excited about isn’t just the architecture, but the styling. Take the Eames house for example — that house has really stuck with me. Each object is picked with such care and thought. It comes from a place of pure creativity and gut instinct, and that’s why it works. That approach has informed a lot of my work.
It’s not being scared to try a different way of styling something. Those case study houses gave me the confidence to take aesthetic risks in a way that I hadn’t before.
Where do you find inspiration?
Mostly from where we have traveled, and the people we’ve been around when we traveled.
We were in Southeast Asia for three months last year, and we stayed in a family home on the Mekong in Laos. The house had no running water or gas, it was rudimentary. But every single aspect of that house was beautiful and made with love by everyone in the village. They had just the right amount of rice steamers and pans that had been used for generations. They had the right amount of cushions for the seven people in the house.
It was just amazing to observe how they lived, and how they didn’t have too much of everything — they had the exact right amount, and it was all made from the environment they lived in, down to the handmade baby cots and hammocks that were made from the reeds from the Mekong.
So I try to bring that home to how we live, and even what we eat. That simplicity inspires me more than anything else on a base level.
How do you nurture creativity?
Usually by looking at books and magazines, off- or online, inspiring and innovative work that gives me a new approach to photography. I love looking at the European editions of magazines like Elle Decoration to see how their photographs are taken, or what they’re doing with lighting. It's good to know what’s permissible because I’m entirely self taught. Everything I do is born out of my own instincts. Also obviously nothing is better than being in the spaces themselves, being inspired by flawless design and architecture, and working with people who push me to see things differently.
What does being productive look like for you?
Getting things done without burning out, and uplifting others in the process. I would apply it holistically. I find more and more that I feel most fulfilled at the end of the day when I look back and feel full of love and passion, and aligned with what my purpose is; and that I wasn’t too hard on myself in the process.
What are your three favorite objects and why?
I have a 14th century ring from the medieval era I got from Grays Antiques in London. I used to go there all the time and could never afford anything. We didn’t have rings when we got married, but afterwards we went back there and I found this ring. It’s an amalgamation of a Bishop’s ring and Stirrup ring, a mixture of different styles from the era. It was for a merchant’s wife to wear over her glove to signify that she had wealth — but not too much wealth. I liked that about it.
The second is a Hans Olsen TV 161 modular sofa from the Alameda Flea Market in the Bay Area. The caning was all broken — that’s how I learned to cane. I was doing a ton of research because it would have cost $900 for each chair. Turns out, one of the best caners in the US lives in Berkeley, so I went to see him. I didn’t want to be rude and trade him but I asked tons of questions, and he eventually said, “Would you like to learn?”
So for two years, I learned how to cane, using these chairs. It’s extremely organic, with no nails, all bound by the cane. Amazing.
And lastly, there’s this great big dragon tree that we’ve had since we moved here. It’s gotten so tall and sculptural and works in whatever location you put it in. It just adds to our home.
What’s your hidden superpower?
My ability to work with light. A lot of the time clients will be worried the place is too dark, but I do multiple exposures which means I’m able to get a good well-lit image out of most locations. That’s why I have my timetable. I get people to send a floor plan and I look at a compass and I know where the sun will hit every space. The sun runs the shoot, not me!
I believe so strongly in natural light, it’s so superior to artificial light. Everything looks better illuminated by the sun.
When I’m editing, I’m basically painting with 15 images on one layer in PhotoShop. I know what the image should look like, and I can create that out of the multiple exposures. It’s a long and arduous process but I actually love it once I’m in the zone.
How are you leveraging design or creativity to create change?
I am so lucky to get to collaborate with and showcase work by a new wave of designers who are shaping the world of interior design and architecture and bring it to the world. Right now [with the pandemic], people are spending so much more time in their homes and thinking about those environments differently. They’re not just a place to eat and sleep, but an expression of who you are. I think the work I do hopefully helps people understand that so much more is possible with their surroundings if they step back and give them thoughtful attention.
Connecting with Suzanna…
Check out her photography online / Follow Suzanna Scott on Instagram