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With a decade of experience behind the lens, Oscar Matt approaches photography through a multidisciplinary eye shaped by design, space, and storytelling. Trained initially in graphic design and photography before studying interior design, his work carries a holistic sensibility that moves fluidly between fashion, architecture, and advertising.
Beginning his career shooting interiors, Matt gradually shifted his focus toward fashion photography, a field he has specialized in over the past five years. Alongside his independent practice, he serves as Art Director, at Spanish brand Pompeii, where he leads visual campaigns, advertising concepts, and photographic productions.
Based in Santpedor, a small town near Barcelona, Matt balances a close relationship with nature alongside an active professional life in Madrid, where he spends much of his time working across commercial and creative projects. This oscillation between environments continues to shape a visual language rooted in clarity, structure, and atmosphere.
Hi Oscar! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you. First question that I always ask: how does a regular day look like for you in Santpedor?
Oscar: I live in Santpedor, a small town near Barcelona. Life here is very calm. I have my own photo studio and a beautiful, cozy workspace where I spend long hours. Besides that, on a regular day I do pretty much what anyone else does, with the privilege of being in the middle of the forest in just two minutes.
A normal day is usually made up of work, either shooting or office work, plus indoor sports or time in nature. I’ve always lived here, but I’m very connected to the city. I travel a lot to Madrid and have Barcelona very close as well.
I’m curious — growing up, what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
Oscar: I was just a kid. Scraped knees from playing football with friends, mud on our sneakers in winter, and summers riding bikes to go swim in the river. The beautiful thing about growing up in a small town is that all my memories feel very close to nature.
So how did you get introduced to photography? And how did you first start out practicing with your camera?
Oscar: I started photography as a hobby when I was a teenager. I used to take my camera on surf and snow trips, and also to shoot outdoors when we went hiking with friends.
How important is authenticity in your work? And can a picture still be good if it doesn’t have any?
Oscar: Authenticity is undervalued in my field. There are a lot of people making money without it. For me, photography needs authenticity, soul, and sensitivity.
What makes photography and video your preferred medium of expressing yourself?
Oscar: Visual and audiovisual language is the way I express myself. It’s not that it’s my preferred medium, it’s the only one in which I can express myself comfortably and with pleasure.
So how did you get introduced to the fashion scene?
Oscar: My first paid job over ten years ago was with a sneaker brand. It’s a classic story in many professional lives: you start with something, and your life slowly becomes that. Ten years later, I work for a brand mainly dedicated to footwear design.
With that in mind, you’ve spent the last five years deeply focused on fashion photography. What drew you to that world specifically, and what keeps it interesting for you?
Oscar: Compared to other types of advertising, fashion campaigns are without a doubt the most demanding from an aesthetic and artistic point of view. Everything is more refined and crafted with much more care.
As Art Director at Pompeii, you’re both shaping the concept and executing it visually. How do you balance authorship with serving a brand identity?
Oscar: At Pompeii, I’m fully dedicated to the brand identity. My work starts when the design team’s work ends. Cosme Bergareche is the Creative Director and the one who defines the concept the design team works on: palettes, finishes, fitting, designs…
From there, together with the Art and Marketing teams, we decide how that collection will be communicated. The fun part is that I shoot the campaigns I conceptualize myself, so the whole journey of what I want to shoot is mostly internal. To put it simply, in these cases I am my own client.
So how did you end up working as the Art Director at Pompeii?
Oscar: They had seen my previous work as a photographer for brands that were performing very well in Spain, brands like Nude Project in fashion or Vicio in gastronomy, both national hits.
Do you ever feel tension between personal taste and commercial responsibility, and if so, how do you navigate it?
Oscar: It’s definitely an ongoing debate. I joined Pompeii five years ago to do a full rebranding, and today the brand really reflects my personality and sense of taste. Because of that, friction is minimal, my personal taste aligns closely with how Pompeii communicates.
Pompeii is a niche brand with a very curated but trend-aware aesthetic, often using a young visual language. Where friction appears more is in how commercial versus how artistic a campaign should be. It needs to be aesthetic, visually powerful, and distinctive, but we also need to respect the design proposal and show the product clearly.
How much of your work happens before the shoot — in planning, references, spatial thinking — versus in the moment behind the camera?
Oscar: A large part of my work happens before I even pick up the camera. In fact, the most distinctive part of my work happens before that. Once the camera is in your hands, the rest is almost intuition. That’s when the magic happens, if everything before has been done right.
Long story short: first I work on the concept, being very clear about the need and purpose of the campaign. Then I do extensive research to gather inputs and move forward with the art direction. From there, I close casting, set design, lighting needs, and so on.
Do you think your eye is closer to that of a photographer, a designer, or an architect — or does it shift depending on the project?
Oscar: I’d say I understand my work in a holistic way. I’m just myself doing my job, nothing more. Neither I nor my work would be the same if I hadn’t trained as a graphic designer and interior designer, in addition to being a photographer.
As a photographer, people often tell me I have a strong sense of composition, something designers and architects are obsessed with. But I truly feel I’m somewhere in between all of it.
What visual themes or instincts do you notice recurring in your work?
Oscar: Honestly, I don’t really know. I’m much better at analyzing other people’s work than my own. I simply try to make things aesthetically pleasing to me and functional for my purpose. I just try to shoot with soul.
How important are architecture, light, and spatial relationships in your images — especially given your interior design background?
Oscar: Where my interior design background has helped me the most is in developing sensitivity for finding locations and designing sets that add value to what I want to show.
Do you think fashion photography today is more about fantasy, realism, or somewhere in between?
Oscar: The world is too big, and there are too many people in this industry. There’s everything everywhere; more or less realistic, more or less fantastical. I don’t really have a clear answer to that.
Having worked professionally for a decade, how has your relationship to the camera changed — technically, emotionally, or conceptually?
Oscar: I’m definitely more technical than I was back then, although I wouldn’t define myself as a technical photographer. What I do know is that my obsession with light and composition is much stronger today than it was ten years ago. I feel I shoot in a more mature way in those aspects.
Do you see yourself moving deeper into creative direction, or does photography still feel like the core language you return to?
Oscar: I see myself going deeper into both. Still, in the future I’d love to direct longer pieces that don’t need to be commercial, projects far from the rush of advertising and social media.
Ok Oscar, now to something totally different. In a parallel universe, who would you be and what would you be doing?
Oscar: An Icelandic man who takes great care of his horses.
Outside of photography, what’s something you’re obsessed with right now — maybe a hobby, a show, or even a food — that keeps you grounded or inspired?
Oscar: Self-publishing my own photography books, cooking Catalan dishes, and independent cinema.
What qualities do you find most important in the people you choose to spend time with?
Oscar: Real people, who relate to others in a real way.
Anybody you look up to?
Oscar: My wife, Fiona.
What motivates you?
Oscar: Growing professionally. Creating global projects from my small town. Continuing to do what I do and staying excited about it.
How would you describe a perfect day?
Oscar: A shooting day where everything goes well, everything runs on time, you like what you see, and you’re confident the result will be exactly what you were aiming for.
Alright Oscar, I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is: what are your favorite movie(s) and why?
Oscar: Right now, at the top of my Letterboxd are, The Hateful Eight by Tarantino, Paths of Glory by Kubrick, and The Great Beauty by Sorrentino.
And the second: what song(s) are you currently listening to the most?
Oscar: My playlist from the last three weeks has been the Parthenope soundtrack.