Meet Faith Peralta of Margot Photography in Far North Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Peralta.

Faith, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been in love with portrait photography since I was a middle-schooler. I used to pour over photography books that I would check out from the Richardson Public Library. I studied photography in high school and college, but after graduation, it just wasn’t possible to continue in a real way. That was 16 years ago. Since then, I’ve worked hard to build a career in the healthcare technology industry and I love being a technical writer, as I also studied English composition. Yet my love for portrait photography and subsequent lack of meaningful engagement with it, have been heavy thoughts throughout the years. I just kept telling myself, “One day, Peralta…” Then, in 2018, I lost my first dog, Margot, who was truly my soulmate. The grief of losing her sparked action in my life in a lot of ways. And starting a part-time photography business was one of those actions. So, I just did it one weekend earlier this year. I got a website, digital camera, and started telling all my friends and family of my new endeavor. It’s a way of honoring her, and honoring who I was made to be, and creating something beautiful while learning about people. I’ve also started doing real estate photography which, it turns out, is really fun! There are a lot of talented builders in this metroplex!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest struggle has been to harness the worry. I’m an analyzer by nature and I can catastrophize myself into inertia. But what I’ve learned is that if I just make the preparations I need to and go out there and do what I know to do, it’s usually fine. And when I’m done with a project and I’m looking at images that I created and edited, it’s the same joy I felt when watching an image appear in the darkroom.

Margot Photography – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The specialty at Margot Photography is environmental portraiture. Our tagline is “What’s your story?” I really like to work with clients to create images that combine my eye and style with whatever it is they want to convey about themselves. I don’t have a studio. Rather, I go locations picked by clients, with the idea that the location is meaningful to the story we’re telling. It could be a place of work, a kitchen, a car, a lake – anywhere clients feel that a place is a part of them somehow. The clothes, objects, pets, etc., that they choose to include in the photos are all a part of the story as well. The goal is that clients look at their photographs and really feel their uniqueness expressed in an artistic way at this particular time in their lives. We all have stories to tell!! This also applies to real estate photography. Houses are waiting for their stories to develop! I love capturing images that showcase those possibilities!

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is so many things. In my life, I’ve experienced that success is sometimes just keeping a roof over your head and food on your plate. Other times, it’s the culmination of working hard and making something that you know is in you to make. I think of my maternal grandfather who passed away in 2018. He didn’t come from very much, but he built a life for himself wherein he was a successful dentist in Dallas and a successful artist in his off-time. My home is filled with just a fraction of his paintings. He painted every day until he got to the point where he couldn’t. Having artistic propensities myself, I kinda go, success to me is having a lifetime portfolio of images that I created that has made people feel special. Because they are special. My favorite quote about success comes from a late songwriter, Rich Mullins: “You don’t write because the world needs your music; you write because you have a need to make an order, to organize things. If you’re a musician, you express that very human, very common need by making music. If you’re a baker, you do it by making bread. It’s all the same goodness, it just expresses itself in different areas.”

Pricing:

• Portrait sessions are $175
• Real Estate sessions are $200

Contact Info:

• Website: www.margotphotography.com
• Phone: 214-587-5349
• Email: faithperalta@margotphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margot_fotos/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margotfotos/

Image Credit:
All images by Margot Photography

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