Kelly - Maternity & Family

 Meet Kelly.

Momma to one with one on the way. She's a beautiful, strong, intelligent woman and I was honored that she asked me to do her photographs. She wanted a more urban type feel and so I thought the downtown Kannapolis location would be perfect for her. It would give a subtle feel of city with a beautiful mix of country. The location was perfect for her family.

Kelly is also gorgeous (pregnant or not). Throughout our shoot I talked to her about possibly doing some modeling after she had her baby. I meant every word. Her facial features and natural slim physique is exactly what I am looking for in my newest female model.

Her husband was so patient. He is one of the best male clients I've ever worked with. He didn't fuss at his wife or daughter and let me pose him or did anything I asked. Because I specialize in lifestyle he was comfortable just being himself, walking with his expectant wife and his sweet daughter and letting me snap away.

I'm exited to announce that Jase has arrived, is healthy and ready for his first professional photographs. I will be photographing him within this week. I am so excited to see this precious little boy! Thank you Kelly for this amazing experience!

Meet the Model: Michael

Michael, Michael, Michael. This is often what I'm thinking in my head while I am on a modeling shoot with this amazing model. I met Michael back in the Spring when I instantly connected with his amazing mother, Patty. I first noticed his potential in modeling at his mothers cancer shaving party. He had a certain look I was going for especially as a more "serious" model and had a gorgeous face. He can pull off both the "clean shaving" look and also the scruffy look which makes each of our shoot possibilities endless.

Michael is also one of my most difficult models. He would be the first of all of them to grab my camera and start snapping pictures of random things or myself. My shoots with him seem to take double the time - but we always end up with extremely awesome and successful photographs.

Check out some of Michael's answers:

1. Have you ever modeled before working with Meg Martino Photography?

A little. I had people that would ask me to do a shoot here or there. 

2. Were you surprised that you were asked to model with me? What were you expecting?

I was a little surprised and I'm not sure what I was expecting. Weirdness, because you are weird. 

3. What has been the most challenging experience? 

Meeting your expectations. 

4. What have you learned from modeling? Would you recommend someone else model, even just for fun, if they were asked?

Yes, I would recommend it and I learned to just have fun with it. Meg is fun. And life is short. No need to be serious all the time. I feel like when people are so serious all the time life becomes boring. 

5. What has been your favorite experience/shoot with Meg?

Definitely the night shooting. I'm looking forward to more of that. The colors are so bright and it's my style for sure. 

Michael has since become one of my best friends. He's a great model and is open to new ideas and creative props and locations. He's also an amazing tattoo artist (if you are interested in his information for work please private message me on my facebook page).

I have high expectations for Michael and look forward to what the future holds as far as his modeling and the portraits take both of us. I use him for a lot of creative face shots and plan to add more creative ideas to our shoots.

I'm also grateful for the few shots that Michael has capture of me by being just himself. He's one of the most genuine people I've met. He doesn't always show his sensitive side but it's there and it's one of the things I love most about him. Make sure you hit him up with a comment or two on how awesome he is and check out his full portrait rolls over on the Meg Martino Photography facebook page. You will be sure to enjoy them!

Happy Four Months

Wow. I'm here. It's here. Four months into this wild, crazy, adventurous story of becoming a photographer. A legit photographer. The kind that actually makes, ((gulp)), money. But that's not just it. There is a certain high I get when I take a good photograph. There is a high that I get when I work with a model, and I'm posing them and they feel good about themselves because even though they may not feel like they are good looking or attractive, they see the photograph and they see themselves in a new life.

That's just it. I can take good photographs all day. But it's the people behind the lens that makes those photographs come to life. Not kidding. I don't just say that to be humble, I say that because it's true. My subjects, the people I get to meet, they are wonderful. They make my job so fun, even in the stressful times.

So here we are. Here I am. Four months since I've started this business and I've never been happier. There have been so many bumps in the road. So many scary moments and times where I wanted to give up. I wanted to share just a few short snippets of what I've learned on this journey of following my dream. That's what I am doing and you can do it too.

Lesson 1: Don't doubt yourself.

The minute I hit "go" on my facebook page for Meg Martino Photography I started to doubt. "My work isn't good enough. Look at the coloring. I can't do this. It's too much." Stop. Just stop. If you don't push yourself, IF YOU don't encourage yourself, no one else will.

I had people tell me that what I was doing wasn't a "real job." That because I wasn't bringing in a certain amount of money on a regular basis (yet) that I needed to get a full-time job. I needed to do "my part" in bringing in an income for my family. This was my dream and I was doubting what I could be with it, what I could do, because of others opinions.

Don't doubt. Push yourself. You will need to grow, but growth is part of the process.

Lesson 2: Pass it along

Don't hoard your knowledge. I'm always taking interns. Currently Grace, my baby sister/baby bear of our family, is my intern. If I were to die tomorrow could my legacy go on? Could the knowledge and ideas in my head be put into action? If not, you aren't doing your part as a leader.

Lesson 3: Step outside of your comfort zone

I am so comfortable behind the camera. Like I said earlier, I get this feeling. I feel so happy, so content. I see the world differently. I see colors differently. I feel free. NO one judges me behind the camera. No one laughs at me, no one asks me to be different. They see me as an artist, as a working woman, as a mom, as an independent and beautifully creative woman.

But sometimes, we have to step out of our comfort zone. I had to do this when I got out from behind the lens and stepped in front of it. I have to grow.

Lesson 4: Be unique. Create your own style. Be You.

Why do I photograph people of all ages, races, and sizes? Because I don't want to be the same. Sorry, not sorry, to say that the "fake" look doesn't appeal to me. I don't just want woman who are skinny with perfect breasts and butts. I don't want just men with perfectly shaved beards and a six pack. I want real. I want life. I want relate ability.

I have my own style. I have my own ideas and my own thoughts and because I don't want to be a photographer who just snaps portraits, I will create and develop my own style. Do the same for you. Whatever you are doing right now, whatever dream you are pursuing, be you.

---

So where is Meg Martino Photography at right now? I'm working on two big projects. One is a creative piece where I will re-create at least a dozen of the Grimm Fairy Tales. Throughout the fall and even into the winter I will photograph different models in these stories adding my own personal style.

I'm also now doing Humans Of Charlotte. This is a spin off the famous Humans of New York and will feature dozens of stories each week of people in and around the Charlotte area. Why? Because I love people. I have no fear and I'm bold and I want to use my talents.

Follow me? Come with me? This journey rocks.

Where I Started

I really felt compelled to share how I started in photography many, many years ago. I've always had a creative and artistic mind. I started writing in a journal when I was 10 years old. I kept many journals for years. I would always get annoyed because my mother would find them but it never stopped me from writing.

My writings were very dark. As a teenager despite my outward appearance of being joy filled I was very depressed. I also was a dark thinker. I had a lot of anger towards a lot of people and let it fester within which caused most of my writings/poetry to be geared towards hate, anger, depression or sadness.

From there, I picked up a camera. I continued to write but wanted a new and fresh way to express myself and my inner thoughts/pain. I started with my camera phone. Than I graduated to a cheap DSLR. Like really cheap. It was border line disposable. I did simple shoots, nothing serious, and took photographs as a hobby for years before even considering I had any sort of talent to do it professional. (Still debating that to this day.)

A lot of my photographs where simple. I took a lot of pictures of my sisters and my children because they were consistent subjects in my life that were willing to let me pose them, work with them, or let me shoot lifestyle shots of. I had no idea what I was doing with lighting or anything technical. I just knew what I wanted on the screen, what theme I wanted, and went with it. Easy as that.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted each photograph to represent a season of my life, my child's life (I was a single mom at the time that I started getting really serious about my hobby) and/or to represent a struggle that someone faced. My sister and I got together one time she visited and did a shoot on depression in teens. We knew it was a very relevant issue and wanted to bring it to life.

I also took lots of film of my daughter. I wanted to capture sweet and even rough moments of our life together when it was just the two of us. I rarely spent time at home during the year I was a single mom and so every moment we had together meant more to me than anything. She was always so easy to capture because she is just like me and doesn't mind openly expressing herself.

I also did lots of self-portraits. I've lived a rough life and I used my photography as a therapy piece. I believe in art. I believe that participating in art in any way whether painting on a canvas or taking a photograph can help you rid yourself of certain pain and thoughts. It's at least a tool.

Some of my previous work is too "dark" too share. Some of it I shot for myself. Some of it I shot for a purpose. I did a lot of it for practice.

I wanted to share all this because I know a lot of people give up on their dreams and passions. Starting out I never thought I'd do anything further with photography. It was a serious passion and love of mine but I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd be decent enough or skilled enough to start a business. Nor did I believe that anyone would support me.

I learned quickly however that you always have room to grow. You won't always be the best and that's OK. You just need the passion and drive to move forward despite that fact. I also realized quickly that I didn't need anyone else to support me. I just need to know that this is where God is wanting me. This is where God is desiring for me to go.

My goal is to one day host workshops for men and woman wanting to use their photography as a means to express themselves. With art, there is no limit. And when you press on through the challenges and into your dream you change not just your own life but many others around you. I also believe that if more people who feel inclined to be an artists in any way would pursue that dream than art would be more alive today than it ever has. Creativity would be revived. I see it coming back and my prayer is that many more artists will embrace it.

I also hope that those who are holding on by a thread to a dream will live it. Sometimes you just have to take the first step. It won't be easy, but if you fail while trying, you aren't really failing. Because so many people never even start.