Natalia Seth (@EscapingYouth) is a 20-year-old self-taught photographer and multimedia artist on a mission to transform the everyday into a visual playground. Not only is her content absolutely one-of-a-kind… it’s intentional. Natalia uses her creativity and her influence to inspire and inform.
Natalia has completed numerous campaigns for Popular Pays, and we wanted to spend some time with her to learn more about her creative process when she’s conceptualizing, creating and sharing her work.
Popular Pays: How did this adventure begin for you?
Seth: I was thirteen and in middle school with a lot of free time, so I downloaded Instagram on my mom’s iPhone. I used her phone to take self-portraits with a 10 second timer. I started sharing the work on Instagram and people seemed to enjoy it.
Popular Pays: How would you describe your style?
Seth: Overall, I would say surreal and magical realism. I love playing off ordinary life and introducing elements that are totally wacky. My mom is a painter, and she has a very surrealistic style, so a lot of my inspiration comes from her.
I started working with brands in 2015 when I was 15 and I would email hundreds of companies a week. I didn’t care about money, I just wanted clothes and stuff.
Popular Pays: Why do you create?
Seth: I think the main reason is expression. I also just like to have fun and evoke emotions in other people while raising awareness about issues.
I want to challenge people to think about things differently in a lot of different ways. It’s okay to be weird, to try new things, nobody is going to be like “don’t do that” or if they do, don’t listen.
Now that you know more about Natalia, we think her work speaks for itself. We invited her to share some of her inspiration behind some of her work. Check it out!
Behind the Content: “On earth day I walked around my neighborhood to collect trash. Honestly, I didn’t think I would find much because my neighborhood is usually really clean. I actually found a lot of plastic and it only took an hour for me to have a full bag of trash. I used an exercise ball, went to a field, and surrounded myself with the trash. In the caption I encouraged people to contribute and be more conscious about what they can do to help the earth. I tried to list a few ways that weren’t super obvious.”
Behind the Content: “When I was visiting Taiwan, I came across these stairs. I like things in multiples, for example, multiples of one thing in different colors. I wanted to use my photo to share with people that Taiwan was the first Asian country to allow same-sex marriage, and I was there during that. I wanted people to know that I’m half Taiwanese and connected something personal that I wanted to share.”
Behind the Content: “I always try to radiate positivity but also focus on acknowledging my insecurities. I liked the idea of being vulnerable and writing on my skin to showcase different issues. Writing on skin is a very vulnerable way of expression. It was very raw and vulnerable but seemed to connect with a lot of people. Even if this photo helps one person or has them thinking differently, that’s impactful. In the copy I asked what I valued most about themselves and it was humbling to see how people shared.”
Influencers aren’t all about just promoting products. They are creating art, sharing their perspectives, and challenging their audience to reflect. Tap into our growing creator community of skilled artists, like Natalia. Partner with the right Popular Pays creators to create custom content for your brand and invite our creators to think outside of the box for your brand.