Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Martinez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Monica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started falling in love with photography way before I ever picked up a camera! I really enjoyed reading as I was growing up, and I think some of those books slowly started shaping my interest.
I can’t remember most of them, except for the Cam Jansen series about a little girl who solves mysteries with the help of her photographic memory. Then when I was 11, I got my first Polaroid 600 camera for Christmas. I was so excited to start studying photography through a magnet program as a freshman in high school and remember walking into a dark room and seeing my images develop before my eyes with just some paper and chemicals, it felt magical.
After a couple of years, my parents gave me my first “real” camera, a Nikon DSLR. I took it with me to school every day and even have memories of meeting my husband while this camera was hanging around my neck. I continued on to receive my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Arlington, and just haven’t stopped loving and practicing it! It’s become a part of who I am.
A couple of years ago while watching a photo class on the education site CreativeLive, I stumbled across the phenomenal photographer Sue Bryce, who I am now proud to call my mentor. I quickly realized that I could do this, I could take beautiful portraits in a contemporary glamour style and show people how amazing they are.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been some struggles. When I graduated from college, I felt a bit lost about whether I wanted to make a career out of photography and which direction I would take it in if I did. I had been interested in fashion but felt like it wasn’t really the route for me.
I ended up working in retail for several years and even studied esthetics. Then, about six years ago, I moved with my husband to Southern California for a few years and that’s where I slowly started working towards building a business, while working in a camera store and lab, and finally figuring out what I really wanted to do with it.
Beautiful Exposure Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My business, Beautiful Exposure Photography, specializes in providing people with the experience of a magazine style photo shoot and creating legacy images. When a client comes in on the day of their shoot, they are pampered with professional hair and makeup, grooming for the guys, they can bring in up to 4-5 outfits for the day and I guide them through the whole photo shoot.
This includes styling, preparation and the perfect poses to complement them! Clients can dress as casual or glamorous as they’d like, I want to create images that truly represent them, their style, and how they dream of being photographed. Whether that’s in jeans, a beaded gown, or some of each, we discuss this and more while designing the photoshoot in their consultation.
I wanted to create a way that I can empower people by showing them their authentic beauty in photographs. I totally understand what it’s like to feel self-conscious and uncomfortable in front of the camera, especially in the image and video-driven world of social media and I love taking beautiful images that can change how they see themselves.
Often, they haven’t had their photo professionally taken since high school and the moment they come back into the studio and see their images for the first time is really powerful.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Seeing a wonderful confidence in my client’s eyes after they view their images is my favorite and proudest moment!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://beautifulexposurephotography.com/
- Phone: (972) 559-4798
- Email: monica@beautifulexposurephotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautifulexposurephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeautifulExposurePhotography/
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