Meet Michelle Sobel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Sobel.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been creative from a young age! I was drawn to theatre/acting growing up and out of high school, I moved to LA in hopes of breaking it into film and television. Like many, you move to LA and realize you’re a small fish in a big sea and no matter how talented you may be, the business has a lot to do with marketing (yourself) and just being at the right place at the right time. It was HARD. No matter how many acting classes I took, audition rooms I walked into, I was let down time and time again. When I realized I just didn’t want to live having my future in the hands of others (casting directors, agents, managers, etc.), I just stopped. It was a hard thing pill to swallow and I found myself healing just by staying creative in other ways – so I picked up a camera. It started with a Photo 1 class at Santa Monica College for fun and after many free shoots and shooting anything and everything, I found my niche in wedding photography and never looked back. I love what I do and I love that I run the show. I’m my own boss and no longer waiting for the approval of others. It’s a sweet place to be.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Photography has been the greatest success of my life (aside from having a daughter), and I believe anyone’s greatest success comes with hard work, determination and perseverance – no matter how gifted you may be at your craft already. The start of my career was fed by trial and error and free work. I didn’t exactly know what I was doing so I don’t believe I deserved to be paid anyways. But with that came doing lots of work that didn’t really light my fire and clients that expected so much for so little. But you grow and get bigger jobs, better clients and have struggles in new aspects. Like now, I struggle with booking more destination weddings and approved features in wedding magazines. I also still struggle with imposter syndrome on a day-to-day basis on Instagram 🙂 The struggles will always be there but you learn to let that drive you, not slow you down.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Southern CA-based photographer specializing in weddings, elopements, family and maternity. I am most proud of my ability to capture human connection, document one of the most important days in a person’s life (but at the same time, also the mundane ones) and preserve moments that will last way beyond our own years on this earth. There are many types of photographers out there that are gifted in their own ways but I do feel what sets me apart from others is being able to just connect with my clients on a level beyond “just doing business.” My clients become my friends and with that, I find they can become comfortable enough to be vulnerable – the key ingredient to making my art shine. In order to shoot real people with real emotions that trust between the photographer and client needs to be there and that’s what is most important to me when taking on any couple. We need to vibe in order for this to work.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Apple Calendar and my moleskin notebook get me pretty far in life! Beyond that, I use Honeybook on a DAILY basis to run my business (send contracts, collect payments, email clients, etc.), Pic-Time to deliver my galleries to clients, Kiss Books to print heirloom albums, and Showit to run my website. I am a member of MotherPhotographer, run by the amazingly talented Laurken Kendall and it’s from this subscription service that I listen to podcasts, draw inspo from other photographers and watch videos to continue to learn and grow. I also thoroughly enjoy listening to Cassidy Lynne’s Oh Shoot Podcast on the side.

Pricing:

• Weddings start at $3K
• Engagements, Family and Maternity $500

Contact Info:

• Website: www.michellesobelphoto.com
• Instagram: @michellesobelphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/michellesobelphoto
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/michellesobelphoto

Image Credits
Lisandra Vasquez