Meet Morgan Lieberman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Lieberman.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a freelance photographer and filmmaker born, raised, and currently living in Los Angeles. My love for documenting people and places began when I was 12. I learned the importance of composition and color from my grandpa, a nationally recognized portrait artist that encouraged me to pick up a camera and pay attention to my surroundings. I was always a sensitive child, but I did not realize at the time that this would be a strength, rather than a weakness when translating to a visual medium. I started to see the world differently with my first newspaper job in high school, freelancing for a weekly publication on the weekends and trying to build my portfolio as my love for storytelling grew tremendously.

I attended the University of Missouri with the hopes that studying at a prestigious journalism school would open many doors for me in terms of contacts, internships, and inspiration for the kind of visual artistry I wanted to focus on. I had an incredible experience at Mizzou, discovering my love for documentary filmmaking and my passion for following stories of identity. I directed and shot my first short film about a Latina housekeeper in Calabasas and also captured the campus protests that gained national attention in 2015 and made the front cover of the Los Angeles Times.

Another exciting byline was the Huffington Post featuring my photos from my backpacking trip to Cuba that I took my senior year of college. I followed up graduation with a summer internship in Las Vegas, where I discovered the ins and outs of a large daily newspaper and was able to cover a variety of exciting events, including the Mayweather/McGregor “Money” Fight and spent a good portion of the summer working on personal projects about a trapeze artist looking to return to the circus and also the lion sanctuary where the retired lions of MGM Hotel live.

I returned home from Vegas in September of 2017 and began freelancing, taking on as many opportunities as I could to become a better visual storyteller, whether it was wedding, headshots, festivals, or even self-assigning myself fun spots in LA I hadn’t visited in a while and challenging myself to shoot my surroundings in a unique way.

With some spare free time in my schedule and my passion for long term storytelling, I began working on a project about the world’s first LGBT synagogue in January of 2018 and recently had the story published with BuzzFeed News. I also started freelance work with Getty Entertainment and have really enjoyed being able to witness such exclusive events on assignment! I’m looking forward to 2019 and hope it is a year of personal growth and more editorial opportunities, wherever the wind takes me!

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 certainly hasn’t been easy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The struggles of being your own boss and relying on yourself for your income, your motivation, and your inspiration to make good work is extremely challenging, but rewarding in the long run. I have learned to wake up with a mentality of gratitude, rather than anxiety about the future or the uncertainty of my success.

I walked into the freelance hustle almost directly after college, unaware of much of the business practices that are essential to economic freedom as an artist and also the amount of patience it takes to survive in this industry. I read that most people quit after five years, so I told myself that if I wanted to tenaciously pursue my passion, I need to slow down and remember that nothing worthwhile is going to happen overnight.

With the focus on being kinder to myself and the process of growing my visual voice and my business, opportunities serendipitously began to fall into place and the stress of “not making it” has dissipated. I truly believe there isn’t one right way to be a successful artist, so there was never a need to compare myself to others! I hope we can all support each other along the way, especially the women that are still pushing through the glass ceiling to have more opportunities in male-dominated industries.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Since I do a range of photo and video work, I can’t really pinpoint a niche quite yet! I would say that the most striking thing about my work is my ability to capture a feeling and to do it consistently and with fresh eyes. I treat every assignment, every gig, and every project with the same level of enthusiasm and respect, because at the end of the day if a photographer is not motivated to do their best, it is going to show up in the images.

In my spare time, I love to shoot details on the streets of LA and portraits of my friends and family. Since I work with a lot of non-editorial clients as well, the opportunity to do what I love feels endless. I love the word of mouth aspect I have developed in the last year with returning home to LA and hope that a strong referral basis continues with my business!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I hope to travel more outside of the US and potentially start working on a photo book and documentary film in the near future. I always want to have something to look forward to, so setting up some larger goals gives me hope that it is never too early to start chipping away. There are so many stories that have yet to be told, and I believe that with the right timing and positive intentions, beautiful, meaningful work will shine through when you least expect it.

I always feel inspired in LA, so it feels like only a matter of time before I have a conversation with someone or witness something intriguing that I will develop project ideas that can come to fruition. I’ve also had an interest in writing a screenplay! Besides creative ventures, I love snowboarding, rollerblading, and anything that keeps me moving and outside with the sun!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.morganliebermanphoto.com
• Phone: 3107297627
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momoliebz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganliebermanphotography/
• Other: https://morganliebermanvisuals.myportfolio.com

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.