Jan 21Paulina Paciorek
Fashion Photographer
10 minute readBy Natalie K. HaighPaulina is sitting comfortably on her office chair, focused on the screen of her phone. She’s about to order a clutch off Vinted that looks like a rolled-up magazine. “It’s only 10 euros,” she smiled, “and I can do a shoot with it.” Next to her, Polish pierogies are defrosting for lunch. The candles on her table are lit, and her room exhibits a cozy atmosphere for a day at home after having done a big shoot the day before. “It went perfectly,” she told me, “and the photos look amazing.”
Paulina currently studies at the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam and dedicates most of her time awake to exploring fashion photography. She moved to the Netherlands from Poland in 2023, but she says that she’s been working behind the lens for over five years. She’s only 20.
What drew you to the camera in the first place?
P: I think it’s the freedom that the camera gives me, and the opportunity to simply direct what I feel like. I grew up in the spotlight, because of a long childhood spent dancing, where I was mostly directed by other people. Even though the spotlight was on me, it wasn’t really a performance of my creative choices. But the camera gives me all the freedom I want, and I can do whatever I feel like. I’m the director.
So how would you define your creative work, and the world it exists in?
P: I think if I were to define my creative work, it would be digital, colourful, a bit avant-garde and fashion or beauty bound. And I’ve realized that my creative focus is always women, I don’t really like men. Creatively speaking.
That’s so funny. I have the exact same, so I totally get you.
P: I want to see the vision in men, but I struggle, you know? I only see the vision in my boyfriend, that’s all I can capture [laughs]. I want to be better though; I want to find those visions for men.
Well, that’s a good start, at least you want to find it.
P: Maybe I’ll find something where I’m like “yes, that’s it!”, but for now my creative focus is womanhood. I love how many concepts can fit within a woman. It’s so indescribable. And I love drama. I love contrast, movement, glam, all of that.
P: But I don’t really see my work as existing within a world, I see photography itself as a world, like how I see literature as a world. And I’m existing within that world. I don’t really see my own work as its own world, at least not for now. Maybe my world is still in creation, and all the strange things going on will come together.
Well, in the spirit of things coming together, you just had a very successful big shoot yesterday. How do you celebrate that and unwind from a hectic day?
P: The thing is, when I’m on a shoot, I’m just 200% in. I’m so emotional, in the sense that I’m just fully invested, my heart is laid out in front of everyone. Afterwards I’m so tired, not only physically, but also mentally. It’s just so draining, but in a good way. So normally when everything is done, I’ll just have a meal and take a nap [laughs]. Or lay in bed for an hour, scrolling on Instagram or watching a movie. And usually, the rest of the team have it the same way, so after a meal together or a short drink, we just go home. Then you sort of start to feel the celebration when you go through the pictures and send sneak-peaks to everyone, and they all just go crazy.
It’s important to recharge after a day like that, especially when in a director’s role. There’s a lot to keep your eye on, a lot rested on your shoulders. Do you feel that sense of relief when you’re done, that nothing went wrong?
P: It’s so funny because recently I’ve had so many situations where things have gone ‘wrong’. Yesterday’s shoot was supposed to be on analogue, but the camera completely malfunctioned both at the beginning and halfway through. And earlier this month, I had a shoot with a fashion designer in Amsterdam, where one of the light’s I brought didn’t work because of the cable. Luckily, I could switch to these other flashes that I brought, which I don’t like that much, but at least I had them with me. In those situations, you just have to adapt and hope that you prepared for worst-case scenarios so that you easily can.
What do you say to yourself in those moments? Do you panic?
P: I let myself have like 2 seconds of panic, and then I forget about panicking, and I switch my mindset quickly to “do something!” Otherwise, I’d just be laying on the floor, crying, and I can’t do that in front of people.
No, unfortunately. And it’s good that you don’t lie on the floor, because it always works out in the end. Like the shoot yesterday, as you said earlier, went perfectly. 
P: Yes, it was perfect in the end. The shoot was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but instead of looking at the main story, I wanted to focus on the concept of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. We had these beautiful girls who were identical twins modelling, and the styling and makeup was just so good. The location was also perfect, we shot it in this absurd hotel that had so many cool visual elements, like this massive chessboard outside! When I saw that, I was like “fuck off!”, because I didn’t even know about that part, and it turned out to be the most perfect setting.
This shoot, like most of your work, is fashion oriented. Would you say that you get your visual concepts in response to fashion designs and items, or that you have your ideas first and then fit the fashion into them?
P: It’s difficult to say, but usually its first the idea and second the outfit. Because most of the shoots that I’ve done have been directed by me, and I usually don’t get my ideas in response to fashion pieces. But if it’s a shoot where I’m joining a designer’s concept or shooting a collection, then the creative things I have control over usually revolve around the clothes.
Since you usually work as the art director on your shoots as well, do you still enjoy working as just the photographer within other people’s concepts?
P: Yes, I actually really like just being the photographer, because then I can just focus on bringing someone’s else vision to life with the skills that I have. For example, the fashion designer from the shoot earlier this month told me that after seeing the photos, she liked her designs even more. And it was so nice, I’ve never heard that before from anybody. It meant a lot.
Wow, I can imagine, that’s the best compliment to receive on your work.
P: But when it’s a shoot with my direction, the concept most likely comes to me right before going to sleep, or even in the shower [laughs].
Can you take us through the things that inspire your ideas and what leads up to that moment?
P: I think mostly my inspiration comes from seeing other people’s shoots, or even just the content on my feed, and thinking “wow that looks nice”, and wanting to do something like that, but obviously not copy-pasted. But the bigger inspirations I always have at the back of my mind are movies, art history, mythology, or even the bible [laughs]. I guess my process of inspiration is seeing something that I like and thinking “oh, I can take it in this direction!” 
Despite the colour in your visual work, conceptually there’s also this darkness that binds your style together. You often focus on fictional characters or alternative figures, such as aliens, vampires, or circus clowns. Or Tweeldledee and Dum. What draws you to these concepts?
P: It’s very much a subconscious process, but I’m realizing that this style has always been and might always be a part of my work. I just know when there is a theme or a character that I feel drawn to, but the reasoning behind it is subconscious. Often the story or concept starts with a place or an item that I’m inspired by, and then I find these characters as the concept develops. Somehow the work all comes together though into a ‘style’ I guess.
I like that phrase you said, ‘has always been and will always be’, to describe your style over time. So, I’d like to ask you, what recent work are you most proud of, and which old work do you think of most fondly?
P: Oh, I need to pull up my Instagram I think [laughs]. My problem is that on each shoot I have, I say to the models and to the team, “this is the best shoot I’ve ever done”, but then of course the next shoot comes and I’m also like “this is the best shoot I’ve ever done!” So, I’m proud of all my recent work. But if I had to choose one, I think it would be the Andromeda alien shoot I did. It was just such a milestone for me, I tried out so many new things. I did the set design and I also worked with a flower shop and a nail artist, and a designer made clothes specifically for the shoot. I’m so thankful for that day, I’d never felt that level of magic on a shoot before. And it paid off because it ended up being published in 17:23 magazine, so that’s definitely the proudest moment I’ve had recently. 
P: And when it comes to an old work that I’m fondest of, I really liked this portrait workshop that I attended back in Krakow, in 2022. It took place on this amazing location; it was like this huge unused but preserved building from the period when Poland was under Russian occupation. And there were these beautiful staircases and all these rooms filled with vintage things. It taught me the importance of a set and how it can elevate your photo. We also went to this other location during the workshop, to this beautiful cabaret bar that literally looked like the one from Cabaret with Liza Minelli. The photo I took there is one of my favourites, I recently posted it again [laughs]. The crazy thing is that afterwards, I also realized that the photo I took and the way I posed the model is exactly like this very famous Polish painting by Jan Matejko, of a royal court joker. It was the exact same, even the chair and the pose, and I was like “how did that happen?” I guess it was the subconscious working again, you know?
Wow, that really demonstrates how your inspirations work at the back of your mind. And you also majored in art history in high school, so you can clearly see the influence of that there. Do you see other ways in which your work is impacted by that education?
P: I think definitely when it comes to framing, as that’s really important for me to get that perfect shot, you know? I think maybe that priority comes from the art history experience, as when you paint you always have to plan out exactly what is going to be in the frame, and everything is intentional. I also think that my initial interest in art is what led me to an interest in photography. I often joke that I became a photographer because I couldn’t paint [laughs]. I’ve heard other people say that too, so it’s quite common. But when I was young, I was really into art, I was drawing all the time and I attended classes too, but I guess I just wasn’t gifted.
But that’s the interesting thing about photography though, in relation to your story, because I have yet to meet someone who dreamt of doing this as a child. We all got here somehow from other corners of creative interests, and it creates this amazing melting pot of different artistic visions, even though we are all photographers. It makes for such a diverse environment.
P: Yes exactly, and I think it’s so nice because those backgrounds never truly leave us, and they influence us subconsciously in the creative choices we make, such as the art history effecting my photo of the cabaret set, without me even knowing [laughs].
And even more than art history, you had extensive experience with dance growing up, as you did ballroom for several years. You recently made a really cool project about this, but similar to the last question, what are some more discreet ways you see your experience with that influence your work?
P: I think it’s a harder question to answer, because for so long, dance was me. So it’s hard to isolate and identify its influence over my work. I think I can safely say that it has hugely impacted my understanding of the body and the way it moves, which really helps me out when it comes to posing and directing models. I can tell when a pose could be nicer with slight adjustments, and sometimes I catch myself assuming that everyone knows how to move in a certain way. I had this moment back in Poland, where I wanted my subject to shift their weight onto the other leg and they didn’t really know what I meant or how to do it, and I was like “Oh, I’m sorry!” and I realized what was obvious to me might not be to someone else. But I’m glad that I have that experience to improve my photos with the poses, and I also love incorporating movement in my shots.
P: But I also love to dress up, which probably came from dance too. Maybe that’s why I turned to the field of fashion. But I can’t sew on a button, so that must be why I became a photographer [laughs]. But I’ve also always loved hair, makeup, and dresses, and I think that probably started with dance. Now I sort of incorporate those elements into my photos, and the understanding of how to actually do hair and makeup allows me to be more hands-on with that in my concepts.
I can definitely see the influence of movement and glam in your photos, and as a person I also think you really fit your creative aesthetic visually. Anyone who knows you, knows that you always look fantastic. How do you see your personal style and image connected to your work?
P: I’ve never thought of that actually, but I think I do see them as connected. Because to me, it’s important that I look nice every day, and I want to do my hair and makeup and have an interesting outfit. And I feel like I also want my photos to embrace that uniqueness and that glam. I usually focus a lot on the makeup when directing a shoot, it’s very important to me that in the pictures, the makeup enhances the features of the model and adds something elevated.
Whilst we are talking of all these influential traits, I want to ask if you feel like your polish roots are reflected through your work?
P: Definitely. I think conceptually more than stylistically though, however I do feel like I’m gradually getting closer to it stylistically too. I think I just had to get away from Poland to actually understand how much I miss it, and how close I actually am to my roots. I also recently made an audiovisual project about home, where I was inspired by a Polish movie called Nights and Days, a really beautiful period film that just reminds me of home. I used the main melody from the film too, which I’d always loved, so it just felt like a full circle moment.
That’s such a beautiful way to create a project about home.
P: Yeh, thank you. And my dream would be to shoot for some Polish designers. There are some that I really admire and love, like Chylak and Magda Butrym. Especially Magda Butrym. She’s made creations for so many celebrities, like Monica Belluci, and when I see it, I just get so happy. If I got to shoot for her then I’d cry.
I’m sure you’ll get the chance to. Alongside that dream, where else do you imagine the camera taking you and what does that “I made it” moment look like to you?
P: A dream come true would be to shoot for major fashion brands, I’d really love to do that. Also to get to the point where you have creative freedom. Of course, it doesn’t happen like that *clicks*, first you have to develop your style and sell it well, but to be hired and allowed creative freedom would be a huge milestone. And another dream is to shoot for major fashion magazines. I know a Vogue cover is kind of a basic ambition, but who wouldn’t want that? 
P: And I’d also like to remain able to create my own personal projects too, and to have a balance.
I get that, I think that’s a great way to sustain an artist with constant variety. In the spirit of personal projects, what are some things you’d like to develop and experiment with further?
P: I’d really love to get into videography for sure, I’d possibly take some future projects in that direction. Definitely set design too, but I think that will come naturally whilst doing a lot of shoots and working on different concepts. I did have fun taking on the role as a hair stylist for the Alice in Wonderland shoot, so that’s something I’d be open to trying out further. I know how to use gel and hairspray and a comb. Within photography though, I’d also like to experiment more with lighting set ups and colour gels, and to learn how to edit with AI. It’s going to become and remain an important part of our field and craft now, so I’d like to get comfortable with it, or even learn to like it.
That’s a really nice way to look at it, and I think that practical approach says a lot about you, and how as a person you are a very technically proficient photographer.
P: Yes, I like the technical stuff. The post-production part, the digital part, is as important to me as the creation of the shoot itself. Of course, doing stuff on set is important so that you take the best photo as possible in the camera, but then I also feel like the post-production part can improve your photos and bring them to the next level of professionalism. I really want to achieve that, I really want my photos to be on the level of the best photographers in the world.
That’s really admirable, I think I need a dose of that discipline. And on that note, to finish off this interview, I have one last question. Starting 2025 off strong, what are some goals you have for this year?
P: I definitely want to work more [laughs]. Honestly, I’m a hustler at the moment. I think this year I just somehow unlocked the skill of having lots of ideas and just going for them. I just feel like it’s the right time to do all this now. I’m debating doing some courses in the summer break too, back in Poland. Some courses for fashion photography or editing, just different things I can learn. I want to just go for it. So that’s my goal for this year right now. 
You can check out Paulina’s work in our gallery, and make sure to follow her on Instagram @_paulinapaciorek_ to stay in tune with her work and see her upcoming photos from Down the Rabbit Hole!
