We recently connected with Maria Ryan and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

In the photography industry, trends are ever-changing. We have such a saturated industry filled with so many amazing artists and storytellers that sometimes, it feels hard to keep up with. Currently, the trend is to capture photos in a documentary style; story telling and nostalgic are a few other trendy words that we see a lot right now. Photographers, such as myself, are moving towards an approach where you do not pose or manipulate your subject to display authenticity rather, allow the moment to happen in real time. I’ve always strived to accomplish this style from the beginning as I have never felt motivated to put my subjects in an uncomfortable or unnatural pose. So this is something I have worked on and continue to perfect in my work!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Maria, I have resided in Michigan my whole life. I’m married to my high school sweetheart, and we have four kiddos together ages 6, 4, 3 and 1. Our life is consumed in chaos but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I started my photography journey shortly after I became a Mom. I would take photos on my phone & edit them in Adobe Lightroom to post on social media. I loved the art of editing – it always interested me. I finally decided to save up to buy a starter camera & would just take test shots on my family. It was so fun documenting their every moment & being able to keep those photos as memories to look back on. Once I felt comfortable in my skill, I upgraded to a professional camera & started offering my services professionally, mostly to friends and family at first for a very small fee. From there, my business grew so much & it’s been amazing to experience! In my first year, I photographed 2 births, 4 weddings, and countless family/maternity sessions. I attended several content days that have also helped with my growth and learning. While my work has definitely evolved since the beginning, my mission & values have stayed consistent. I want my clients to look back at their photos and feel nothing but gratitude. That the photos capture them just as they are.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I really wish I had known about the different resources available out there for photographers to learn about things such as basic equipment functions, camera settings, and lighting to name a few. If I were starting from scratch again, I would spend some time and invest in some education to fully understand the basics of photography.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My ultimate goal is to take photography on full-time, to provide for my family solely on my business. I am still in the early stages (3 years this year) and not quite ready to risk it yet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariachristinephoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariachristinephoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariachristinephoto/