Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariah Johnson.
Hi Mariah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m Mariah Johnson. I’m 23 years young and was born and raised in Mesquite Texas. Growing up I always wondered what my passion in life would be and I finally found it in 2015, my junior year of high school. I fell in love with everything about photography as soon as I was introduced to it in my journalism class. Everything about photography fascinated me. Concepts for photoshoots, working with people, getting every angle possible, and most importantly to see others happy with what I created during the editing process. I was always drawn to portrait photography. I was never a confident person, just very timid but real sweet. I know how to hype others up. I’ll call you beautiful or handsome all day long but sadly I don’t do that for myself. I’ve battled anxiety since my early teen years and depression for a few years now but ever since I started going to church my life has turned around in the best way possible. I’ve gotten out of my shell a lot more. If someone were to come up to talk to me, I’ll actually talk back. I’ll probably be red in the face the entire time but I’ll continue with the conversation. Before going to church I hadn’t picked up my camera in a year. It was sitting in my room collecting dust and not fulfilling its purpose. Now, I am currently the photographer for my church and I have fell in love with praise and worship photography. The raw emotion, the tears, and the pure joy I see my church family get when they worship God is truly inspiring. I’ve done all kinds of photography; weddings, maternity, portrait, and baby showers but nothing beats praise and worship. It’s at the top of my list and portrait being second and so on. I’ve been on and off with photography and I blame depression for that. I’m back though, I’m consistent with it and have many photoshoots in mind. I can’t wait to see what God has planned for me. It’s only up from here!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been smooth. There’s going to be some bumps but I know I’ll get through them every time. The bumps in the road being anxiety, depression, and now social anxiety.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a photographer. I would say I specialize in portraits but as of now, it’s praise and worship photography. I am most proud of being the photographer for my church and definitely advancing with my editing skills. I love color, and the vibrant look, so in all my photos you will see lots of it! My praise and worship photos are a little different. To bring out the emotion, to make it all the more intense I use a black and white edit but with a blue tint to it. It brings out the true beauty of my church, I think.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory would have to be the late nights with my family, eating lots of delicious food, singing Selena Quintanilla, and dancing to Kumbia Kings
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emjayyphotos/
Image Credits
EmJay Photography
