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Beth Evans, 9th December, 2024
Maddie is a lens-based creative with an interest in documentary work. Their portfolio spans from story-led portrait photography to more dynamic documentary-style filmmaking, utilising both digital and analogue methods. They're also the Founder and Creative Director of Second Best Studios.
BE: Hi Maddie, thanks for catching up! For those who don't know, can you talk us through what Second Best Studios is and how you got started as a creative?
MH: Second Best is a Liverpool-based production company that I started working on full-time this year. We make social-first content for brands looking to build communities around whatever it is that they do.
The focus is on telling the stories that you wouldn’t know about just from interacting with a brand - the behind the scenes bits, the people and their why.
My creative journey’s been a bit of a winding one. I had a massive interest in film when I was younger but ended up studying psychology - a bit of a curveball but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
After graduation I gave myself more time to pursue photography and I started to get odd freelance jobs just because my friends knew I was interested in photo work. I met Laurie [Creative Lead at Second Best] at one of those shoots and then Second Best (SB) evolved very naturally from that. They totally understood my vision for all of this and ultimately just believed in the project, and now we’re working together on SB projects most days.
BE: That's super cool! How has your experience as a Queer individual shaped your creative journey and the work you do at Second Best Studios?
MH: A lot of the work that got me started was queer-led. It’s so great to work with more established queer artists that have already carved out their own path. Just knowing that there’s a market and an interest in queer art is super comforting.
Weirdly sometimes I do still feel nervous about putting they/them pronouns in my email footer. It’s a small thing but it feels oddly vulnerable - like I’m opening myself up in a way that could make some people decide not to work with us?
At the same time, I think it’s really important for me to be visible in that way. I know how reassuring it is as a queer person to see others be openly queer at work, and I wouldn’t want anyone working with SB to think twice about stuff like email footer pronouns. It’s such a priority for me to foster that kind of environment.
BE: Finding Queer communities is so important and building a safe space for queer folks is something you should be really proud of. What is the team culture like at Second Best Studios? How do you foster creativity and collaboration among your team members?
MH: Building out a really cool culture is honestly one of the most exciting parts of building a creative business for me. We’re still a pretty young company, and so I’m sure these will change a bit as we keep figuring things out. The main values we’re trying to live are:
Intentionality
We have loose but defined workflows that we follow to make sure we’re always aligned. Weekly team catchups and being incredibly anal on Asana are our secrets to a stress-free existence to be honest! We’re always on the same page, there’s low-to-no stress because everyone knows their part, and so the creative direction stays focused.
Agility
Learning and adapting and trying new things always. Encouraging each other to take creative risks (and being honest if it all turns out a bit shit). We learn something new on every project, and that’s a really positive thing! I guess this one also ties into the origin of the studio name, leaning into humility and recognising that you’re not going to be the best at every single thing (and that being second best is pretty good too).
And… it’s never that serious
I’m so so so big on work-life balance. It’s so important. Setting working hours and only working within them, not checking Slack after five. It’s super important to me that Second Best just kinda gently slots into the life of anyone working with us. Definitely the most important one for fostering a good team atmosphere.
BE: You recently worked with Dead Air Records—what drew you to this project, and what was your vision for the collaboration?
MH: We were trying out a new doc-style form of content and I wanted to offer it to local indie businesses to see if anyone was interested in that kind of thing. Dead Air has this real neighbourhood-record-store vibe, you can tell that it's run by people that have a real love for record collecting. Opening a record store just sounds so cool, I knew there’d be a story there. I feel like there aren’t many people that would be like - ‘hell yeah, let’s just open a record store’.
Jess & Marc designed the shop itself, the brand, it’s all them. We wanted to make a film that reintroduced them to their community as the core of Dead Air - a record shop run by record collectors. The film’s reaction showed that people have a real appreciation for Dead Air, but also for Jess & Marc too. People like people-led stories - this project was kind of a litmus test for our whole people-focused approach to content, so I’m glad it went well.
BE: Are there any Queer artists, movements, or cultural influences that have particularly inspired your work at Second Best Studios?
MH: Super specific, but Chappell Roan did an interview for Nylon last year that completely matched the kind of work I want to be making. Avery Stone wrote this gorgeous documentary-style piece about wandering around the LA club scene with Chappell, talking about her answers to questions but also about her mannerisms, things she’d add between questions, what she was like. It had this Didion vibe that I loved - honest, real, and focused on mundane details that some people wouldn’t think twice about.
Whether it's personal photography stuff or a brand film for Second Best, I’d love for my work to feel as personal, as real, and as subtly telling as that interview was. Photos were gorgeous too - absolutely worth a read if you have a sec.
BE: I think a lot of people are re-discovering the difference between content and art and how both can exist in places the other is more natuarally occuring. I'll definitely give it a read! You were recently shortlisted for Portrait of Britain, for a photograph you took of a Liverpool Trans and Enby FC player. Talk us through the image and why it means what it does.
MH: With that photo I really wanted to match the vibe of those old football portraits - the team in two rows, someone holding a ball, real old grainy film photos. All of the shots I’ve seen from that period are of men, and so I wanted to recreate that sort of thing with a non-binary footballer.
To illustrate how representation within football has progressed, but also as a comment on how as much as those men are part of football history, these folks are too. Queer people in sport have existed, it’s just that they have the space to openly exist now.
BE: You and Second Best have achieved a lot this year. What advice would you give to other creatives trying to get started with their artistic career?
MH: In terms of getting work in the beginning, the best piece of advice I was given was to ‘become known within your circle as a photographer’. Become known as the person with the camera, and then when people need someone with a camera they’ll think of you. Same applies for any artistic medium I’m sure!
I got my first few jobs that way, then met people through them that hired me in the future, as well as other creatives that I’ve gone on to have really great long-term working relationships with. Be super visible as an artist, post your work, talk about it every chance you get.
BE: This has been so great, thanks for taking the time Maddie! One last question... can you give us an Anti Burnout tip for managing a creative job full time?
MH: Give yourself weekends. Even if they’re not normal Saturday / Sunday weekends. It’s so easy to be like ‘I can work whenever I want!’ when you’re self-employed or freelance and then be mentally clocked-in all of the time. Define when you’re working and when you’re not - stick to those hours. Oh and meditate! I’m so big on that. Mental clarity is so important! It’s so much easier to make things when you’re at peace with what’s going on in your head.
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