Image Credit: Nichole Reusser
Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Tran.
Mary, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out wanting to become a fashion designer. I’ve always loved to style my own outfits, design clothes and thought that becoming a fashion designer was my calling. Eventually, I took a photography class during junior year of high school and loved the process of developing film and seeing the outcome. By the time I entered college as a photography major, I thought I could be both a photographer and fashion designer. It wasn’t until one of my professors asked me at the beginning of the semester which one I would choose if I can only choose one.
I had no answer to that and had to think a lot about my answer the entire semester. I incorporated my own fashion design into my final project for that class, but I was unable to sew if I wasn’t in the mood for it. That made me realize that with fashion, I have to be in the mood to design and sew. However, I always want to pick up the camera and just shoot. It could be any subject and I’ll still feel like shooting. To me, photography and film is a form of art that I can use to express myself. I became who I am today as an artist because I randomly decided to take a photography class in high school and fell in love.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s definitely never been smooth. Even with time, I can keep improving the more I go out and shoot. In the beginning, as a freelancer, I’d do it either for free to build up my portfolio or do a session for really cheap. It’s also hard to get any clients when I just started out because my craft wasn’t the best, the pricing was STILL too expensive even if it’s really cheap, and not many people understand that photography is also a career that people rely on to make an income.
Back then, I meet a lot people who doesn’t understand the beauty of photography. Now with social media, aesthetically pleasing pictures are blasted everywhere online and more people want to hire photographers for that perfect shot to post. Social media, while it can be toxic if abused in a bad way, has really opened more doors for artist like me to share my craft and build connections with other people. Even now I still do TFP shoots with other artists to build relationships, to learn from others and to be creative without worrying about the money aspect of it.
Alright – so let’s talk business. What else should we know about your work?
My individual business is more along the lines of a fashion photographer. Since my childhood has always been about fashion, I still style my personal projects as well as sew a few things here and there to make my work unique. I tend to spend time crafting props, accessories and clothes even if it cost me a lot of money. I like to go above and beyond most of the time because for me, I can still live out my fashion designer dream through my photography. I never thought I would do this and I’ve told others that I would never step foot in this industry, but I just recently started a wedding photography and videography business with a friend I met in college. We meet in film classes and after working together a few times, we realized with click really well together. When we shoot together, what I lack, she makes up for it. What she lacks, I fill in that void.
Our opposite personality makes us a great team even without planning it. I believe I specialize in being able to create a world through both my photographs and my films. As a filmmaker, I want to build a new world for others to see. I love to do my own production design, write my own stories and even go as far as creating my own music for my films. I think what draws me and my business partner apart is that we really do put in our best efforts to collaborate with not just artists, but with local businesses too. Just recently we produced a mock wedding shoot to film a “private elope wedding” to showcase our vision as filmmakers in the wedding industry. We worked our butt off pitching to business for sponsorship for the production and within just a week, we were able to get a sponsored dress from Terry Costa as well as florals for the wedding from The Botanical Mix.
It makes me really proud to see businesses believing in our vision and trusting us to create art. Terry Costa and The Botanical Mix was really kind and generous to help our business grow even when we just newly established Embracing You Weddings. I think that really sets me and my friend apart as photographers/filmmakers because we never give up on trying our best to bring our vision to life. There will be a lot of obstacles to pass to reach our goals, but we never once thought of backing down because we love our craft too much to give up.
What were you like growing up?
I have always been introverted and shy. I’m still somewhat introverted, but the camera really helped me break out of my shell. I thought of myself as an artist and because I was super shy as a kid, art really helped me express my thoughts and feelings. I love playing the piano, I love to draw and paint, and I especially love capturing photos with my camera now. I had to break out of my shell after I took up photography in order to connect with people I capture on camera. Since I was shy, it was hard at first trying to open up to others. Now I love meeting new faces and working with new people. It’s so interesting to see different types of people coming together to create art. You meet so many different personalities in this industry that really makes you view the world in a different way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maryhuong.com
- Email: maryhuongphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryhuong/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjHhwIesRcSPJDnGAw9kvog/videos?view_as=subscriber
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