Today we’d like to introduce you to Marina Griffin.
Hi Marina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Marina Griffin, but I go by Rina Nicole. I am a photographer located in Fontana, CA. I always enjoyed taking photos ever since I was in Middle School. I was known for the girl who always had a disposal camera in her hand. I was given my first DSRL camera in college. I never saw myself turning photography into a career until my sophomore year in college. My career goal was to become a Speech Pathologist and as the years went by my love for photography began to grow more. I then decided to change my major at CBU to Photography.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
This journey has not been a smooth road. My first semester I didn’t really know what my style was. All I thought I wanted to do was to photograph weddings. It was not until the spring semester of 2020 when I really started to become obsessed with fine art and editorial photography. I started studying more artists and trying to understand the work they create and why. The more I studied it, the more it made me want to go out and try and create something just as dope. As I was just starting to get in the groove of things, COVID-19 hit. This made creating 10x more difficult, but in the long run also made me think smarter and harder to figure out how to be more creative with what I had around me. This is when I created my self-portrait image that received an International Photography Awards Honorable mention in 2021 and 2021 Communication Arts Photography Shortlist award.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The style of photography that I capture is fine art and editorial. My work consists of a lot of styling, acting, and color. My goal is for someone to look at my photographs and be gravitated to the message or emotion that I am trying to show and to really gravitate to all the styling I used to create the image I wanted to portray. My current project is called “Shades of Black.” Seeing mainly negative images of people who look like me can be damaging to one’s self-esteem and confidence. This is why I made the decision to photograph and display the beauty of Black people. My goal is to showcase our natural features, different skin complexions, hair textures, and physical characteristics. The objective is to demonstrate to the young black Americans and to the world that beauty comes in all colors, shapes and sizes. I am proud to exhibit the beauty and strength of my people. What I am most proud of is after all the long hours of prepping and putting my sets together really payed off. I have received 4 awards in 2021. Those 4 awards were 2021 American Photography 37, 2021 Communication Arts Photography Shortlist, American Photographic Artist San Diego and the IPA 2021 honorable Mention, Self Portrait. I am also extremely proud of being able to showcase my work in the SoLA Contemporary Exhibition and also have my work showcased in Hilltop Coffee shop on Slauson Ave, in Los Angeles. I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my parents, all the help from my little brother Gabriel, and my two amazing professors from CalBaptist University Christopher Kern, and Adrian White. What sets me apart from others is I feel as if while I’m photographing my models, I style them and photograph them in a way that makes them look powerful and strong.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is being able to put sets together wherever and create a dope photographs. I also love getting the reactions from my models when they see the photos for themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: RinaNicolePhoto.com
- Instagram: Rinanicolephoto
