In the creative heart of Los Angeles, Jeni Magaña stands out as a dynamic force in both music and photography. As a songwriter and composer, she crafts everything from ambient synth tracks to rock anthems. Her talent extends behind the lens, capturing evocative still life and candid portraits. In this interview, Jeni shares her journey from discovering piano and photography in her youth to balancing her dual passions today. Get insights into her creative process, her experience photographing Mitski, and how her roles as musician and photographer beautifully intersect.
Hey Jeni, can you please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself?
Sure! My name is Jeni Magaña and I’m currently living in Los Angeles. I am a songwriter and composer, and I love making ambient synth music and orchestral music and playing in a rock band. I’m also a photographer and I love still life and photojournalistic portraits.
So, when did you first discover your passion for music and photography, and which came first?
Music is my longest love. I was something like 8 years old when I started playing piano. Before that I was already singing all the time. I definitely fell in love with making music even more than listening to it. And then with photos, my mom was always taking photos with disposable cameras. It was for family trips and school events but the end of the roll was sort of just life stuff. I started taking photos of random stuff at home like any kid does. It wasn’t until college when my friend taught me how to use an slr film camera that I came to think of photography as a potential artform. When I moved to New York after college, I started wandering around the city and trying different settings and angles and that was sort of the real beginning.
And what is your focus in photography?
My favorite thing in the world to shoot (and view) is people candidly in their natural habitat. I think of them as moving portraits. Sam Abell is a photographer I really admire, and he says a successful portrait has three elements: setting, gesture, and expression. I love when you can so clearly see the movement in a still photo.
How do your experiences as a musician influence your approach to music photography?
In a live setting, it’s helpful to be able to sort of predict who is going to be lit well and who will interact in order to get the best photos. But also it’s helpful that I know what is distracting or annoying to me when I’m playing and someone is in the pit shooting. A lot of photographers are so focused on capturing that they aren’t paying attention to how they are affecting those around them, and it helps me stay on everyone’s good side when I am able to avoid causing a distraction.
And how do your photography skills help you with your stage presence and photo shoots for your own music project?
It has helped me get over my self consciousness (although it’s still a journey) because I spend so much time trying to get people comfortable so that they can just be, which I think will make the best photos. So when I am inevitably feeling like I would rather shrink than take up space, I think about how I would have coaxed the subject into opening up and I realize it’s just wasting my time and energy to be self conscious.
Who or what inspires your photography style?
A few photographers come to mind. Sam Abell, who I already mentioned, is one. I feel like his photos are powerful but quiet, which is what I aspire to make with photos and music. And Cig Harvey as well. I think she shoots with such emotion and it’s really inspiring. Also just like in music, I have a lot of friends that really inspire me. I try and copy them all the time.
I also get a lot of inspiration from paintings. I think a lot of my photography work is more about capturing a moment in time before it disappears forever. But with paintings, everything that is there is purposeful. It helps remind me to try and clear some of the background noise and be really meticulous about what I’m including in the frame.
How do you manage your time and mental health while juggling both of these demanding careers?
Back when I had a more 9-5 type job that I really didn’t like, it was very clear that this was work and everything else I did in the time I had left had to feel fun. Now most of my work comes at odd hours, or has no hours at all. And it all feels very much like what I did for “fun” before. I find myself excitedly saying “yes” to a ton of stuff with all the confidence in the world, only to realize that I’m living in a state of overwhelm. It’s harder for me to recognize because all of the individual tasks are so joyous, but it still affects my physical and mental well being. I’m working on building in official days off for myself and just taking the time for rest when I need it. But also all of this type of work is somewhat seasonal. So right now it’s the summer and I am feeling like I don’t have any time to myself with all of this work, but in four months I’ll be lamenting that no one wants to hire me and that I’m too stressed to do all those creative projects I didn’t have time for before. It’s helpful to have a little perspective.
Can you describe your experience photographing Mitski for the L'Officiel México campaign?
The experience was great and challenging as it was something I had never done before. I was shooting BTS for her music video “Stay Soft” and making portraits simultaneously. It happened because they were looking for someone and the MD mentioned my name. I talked about photography jobs while on tour and also I shoot a lot of personal bts while on tour, so he knew that was something I did. It pays to be open about your interests sometimes!
I was also shooting bts video and the director gave me a bunch of expired film to mess around with during the shoot and everyone was incredibly welcoming and kind. It was during COVID so the added challenge was that everyone, including Mitski, was masked as much as possible and weren’t allowed to be close to each other.
Was it particularly challenging or fun to photograph her, considering you normally play bass for her?
It was actually lovely because we already know each other. Building trust with your subject can take some time, but that wasn’t an issue at all. And I was already so familiar with her movements and other photos and knew what she was comfortable doing. It was a little strange being someone that directed her, but she put me at ease immediately. I think any photographer that has worked with her would agree that she is so easy to work with, which helps a lot.
Can you share some (maybe never seen before) outtakes or BTS from that shoot with us and tell us why you picked this image?
Sure! I chose some BTS from the video shoot because it highlights something I love about photos. It takes movement and freezes it into frame. So while these moments were being filmed and you can see them in the video, they pass by before the blink of an eye.
Can you tell us more about the creative process behind the visuals for your second album “Teeth”?
The album has a strong sonic landscape, and I wanted that to be reflected in the photos as much as possible. So I did some brainstorming on the themes that I felt were in the album and how I could translate them into visuals. I make a mood board for a lot of shoots and especially for album art, but it’s funny because I just checked out the one for this record and I basically didn’t use any of these concepts. It helped me get where I needed to go, though.
For the first shoot, I found a dress that reminded me of an image of the Salem witch trials, and a black veil which just felt sort of mystical. I used nature as my backdrop, because that’s a theme running through the record. That imagery was also used in the video for my first single Girl in Chains. My friend Glenn helped me with the camera for this, and I did the directing and editing. I chose one of these images for the cover of the album because it felt like a good blend of modern and dark with natural and mystical.
For the next shoot, I wanted to show a more modern look. I themed it around the next single Afraid of Everybody, which is more or less about having too much anxiety to go to a party. So the tiny disco ball necklace is the party, and I used starker lighting for some contrast. I worked with mirrors for this because it was a fun way to use a background and get some backlighting reflections. These are self portraits with a tripod and timer. Then Glenn helped me again by acting in the music video that I wrote and shot!
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