Check out Megan Meza’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Meza.

Megan, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I started photography in high school. I didn’t really know what I wanted to get out of it. All I knew was I couldn’t draw, paint, or do anything else that required a bit of creativity. But immediately with photography, I found myself connecting to the world in ways I had never done before. I was taking photos of literally anything that was in my path. I had photos of my friends, flowers, my dog, self-portraits, more photos of my dog and so on. I was also dating a guy in a band at the time which gave me easy access to concerts and the ability to shoot other local bands. I then moved on to work for the school yearbook, taking photos of our sports teams, pep rallies, etc. My senior year I became editor of the school paper and got to expand my photography even further. I was still shooting all of the on-campus events, but now I was going to local restaurants, stores, and other unique places to highlight them in the school paper.

When I got to college, I regrettably put photography on the back burner. I always loved editing photos on my phone, but truthfully my camera was collecting dust. It wasn’t until my senior year my boyfriend Charlie wanted to learn about photography. Teaching him, I realized how much I had missed photography. I picked my camera back up again for a few concerts we had on campus. Around graduation, I started taking grad photos for a few friends. I was doing 2-hour shoots, in 100-degree weather, delivering 50+ photos, and charging only $50. But I had to start somewhere. I quickly realized that this wasn’t going to work long term. I made some adjustments to my process and formalized packages that I could then offer to my friends.

The opportunity to take photos of the people I love in the school I loved so much is what truly reignited this passion. Fast forward to today, I realized that it wasn’t the concerts or the events or even food photos that were bringing me joy (although they were great). It was capturing the emotion of my favorite people looking so incredibly happy, and even better was the reaction they had when they saw the photos. From here, I decided I wanted my focus to be on engagement and family sessions. These types of sessions began to feel the most rewarding and what inspired me to keep shooting.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I take photos! I love to capture love. As I touched upon before, no photo of a taco or bottle of shampoo for brand work was giving me the joy I needed in return. It paid good money, but it wasn’t rewarding. The most rewarding thing to me was seeing the reaction of my clients when they received their photos. My entire purpose is to capture the raw emotion and make those feelings last. And if I can make people feel so comfortable in front of the camera that they forget they’re being photographed, then I really have done my job right.

What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
Success to me is when I know my client loves the photos they receive. There are times I will finish editing a session, and I am so hard on myself. I think it’s my worst work yet. And then I deliver it, and someone tells me they have never felt this beautiful before and these are their favorite photos they have ever taken. That to me is success. How can it not be?

Personally, success has never been defined by how many sessions I book or how much money I make. For me, it’s really just making sure I am proud of my work and my clients are happy with the photos they receive. I think success is going to be different for everyone. So I don’t know if there is one characteristic that is essential to being successful. I think just loving what you do and having the motivation to do it well is really what makes someone successful in any work.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find me at the below!

Website: meganmeza.com

Instagram: @meganmezaphotography

Facebook: @MeganMezaPhotography

Or you can visit my parents house to see my work. They are my biggest fans and print everything! Just kidding. I don’t think they want me inviting the world over.

The best way to support my work (outside of the stereotypical “follow my page” answer) is honestly through word of mouth. Almost everyone I have had the chance to work with was a referral from someone I knew. So if you like me, and my work, all I ask is you help spread the good word!

Contact Info:

• Address: Los Angeles, CA
• Website: meganmeza.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/meganmezaphotography
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/meganmezaphotography
• Other: http://instagram.com/meggymeza

Image Credit:
Megan Meza

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.