Today we’d like to introduce you to Sally Matak.
Hi Sally, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always been a creative. I loved all kinds of art from drawing to painting to sculpture to photography
I was always looking for ways to express myself. I embraced that love of art through my education where I earned a degree in Fine Art in a small program called Arts Administration that was a unique blend of an art major (mine was art history) and business with a focus on running non-profit art institutes such as art galleries, theatres, etc. My original goal was to go to Europe to restore Old Masters artwork, but then I met my husband, and our lives took a different turn.
It’s then I became fascinated with interior design. I liked how I could use both sides of my brain and still was creative. So I decided to pivot and focus my efforts on interior design where I worked for several high-end interior design firms including my own successful interior design firm, winning multiple design awards and servicing clients for over 20 years.
After many years of designing beautiful environments, I felt pulled to my first passion: photography. I decided to dedicate myself to that love and use my experience as an interior designer to launch MATAKphotography to provide photography services to interior designers, landscape designers, and architects. It felt like a natural evolution.
With photography I have a creative freedom to express myself that I don’t have with other mediums. Fully embracing my creativity, I started to pursue personal projects. This is where I photograph architecture not in a documentary way that I do with client work, but in an artistic way by highlighting details or creating abstract images by isolating certain elements of the built structure (like focusing on patterns, textures, reflections, color, shadows, light, contrasts, etc.).
Eventually, I decided to open my own fine art print shop. This was a bit nerve wracking as it’s my personal work – still architecturally based – but it’s how I see the built environment around me. I offer a small, curated selection of prints for sale on my website, but I have an extensive portfolio which I can have printed in all types of mediums – from archival paper, to acrylic, to metal. Much of my artwork has been sold to interior designers who use my artwork to decorate their clients’ spaces.
Alright, 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?
Thankfully when I decided to pivot my career and shift away from interior design to photography, I had the full and complete support of my family. It’s challenging to juggle family with being an entrepreneur but knowing they have my back and are my biggest cheerleaders and biggest supporters, it means the world to me.
Also, with creative endeavors there are always challenges. Does the world see things the way I do, are the images I’m capturing really representing the design aesthetic that was intended, are there perspectives that are missing? Creative endeavors are not a science and require strong collaboration with those you work with to get to a successful outcome.
While these challenges are always top of mind during every photo shoot, I trust my years of experience, my honed eye for composition, my understanding of the elements of design, as well as my understanding of art. When I combine all of these things, I am able to capture incredible images and provide my clients with a lasting view of the beautiful work that they have done.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about MATAKphotography?
I am an architectural, interior design, landscape design, and fine art photographer. My fine art is also architecturally based and expresses how I see the built environment around me – often focusing on isolated design elements or details.
What makes me different than other architectural and interior photographers? It’s my curatorial eye, attention to detail, and service-oriented focus that I honed over 20+ years in the high-end interior design industry. I bring decades of experience working in beautiful architecture and interiors. This experience allows me to look through my lens, compose, and create images documenting architectural, interior, and landscape details with a unique perspective and approach. And if THAT wasn’t enough, I find injecting humor and having a laugh or two and perhaps injecting a little happy dance makes the collaborative process that much more fun!
What am I most proud of brand wise? First, I am most proud that in every single year of being a professional photographer my images have been published in articles in regional and national magazines. The second thing I’m most proud of it that my clients submit their work and win design competitions using my imagery. I am the biggest cheerleader for my clients and seeing their work and talent showcased, acknowledged, and winning awards, it’s incredibly rewarding.
I’d like the readers to know that I understand what an investment professional photography is – both of time and finances – and that I understand the privilege and trust they’re placing in me to capture their work. I also want them to know that having a previous career as an interior designer, I not only deeply appreciate the beautiful end result, but I understand all of the work, skill, human resources, and complexities that go into a project. My goal is to create imagery that my clients love.
And lastly, I want those readers, who perhaps are launching their 2.0 career that anything is possible. To go for it, especially if it’s your passion. It’s easy to stay where you are, especially if you’ve been in that industry for years. It takes a lot of bravery, courage, and determination but I have never been happier than I am as a photographer.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I work across the Metro Detroit and I love this area. There’s a tremendous amount of talent in the architecture, landscape, and interior design community in Michigan and the wide breadth types of environments, styles, and aesthetics is incredible. Every single project I photograph is unique and I love seeing the creativity and variety.
Challenges in my line of photography are usually site specific, but those challenges are merely an opportunity for creativity to solve for, how do you make a small city house with a small garden feel and spacious – it’s all
about perspective, thoughtful composition, and careful editing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.matakphotography.com
- Instagram: @matakphotography @matakphotography_fine_art
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallymatak
- Other: https://www.matakphotography.com/fine-art
