Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to  Renée aka Miss Lopez Media. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Renee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am a self taught photographer so it took discipline and consistency! I had to push myself to shoot all the time. I wanted to shoot live music, and in my opinion it’s one of the hardest lanes to shoot in photography. So I was shooting shows all the time as much as possible. Find a mentor with the skills you want and ask to shoot with them! who had the skills I was looking for would of pushed me forward more quickly. The obstacles that stood in my way we’re being shy about getting to the front of the show, or men stepping in front of me while  shooting. I had to learn to be more aggressive and speak up for myself. Because most of the time it was all men and me shooting a show.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I wanted to be a part of live music shows because I love watching live music performances but I don’t play instruments, I don’t dance or dj, so I thought I could be the photographer and capture the moments of the artist doing their thing! I also was really involved in activism so I was using my camera as a tool to document what was happening around me and in my community, (when Mike Brown was murdered I felt like I had to get involved)
I offer photoshoot sessions that are charged by the hour, I can come up with a concept or they can have their own ideas and we can capture whatever their ideas are.
I am camera shy so that’s one of my areas of expertise because I can understand how it feels to be awkward in front of a camera! I also am good and helping folks feel comfortable and safe in front of the camera. I have a conversation with the person while I’m shooting them to just make a connection what do they like/ love to do because it brings out the true them and I love capturing that and telling a story about them through the photo.
I’m most proud of choosing to highlight and only shoot Black Brown and Indigenous people, growing up I didn’t get to see that at all so it’s something that’s very dear to my heart and also sharing different cultures and experiences of Black Brown and Indigenous folks.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Consistency is super important just keep posting! Don’t worry about the numbers, it’s more important starting out that you love the art that you’re sharing. It should be special and important to you and has a story to tell. For me I’m not the perfect photographer, it’s more about capturing the moment, and sharing a story with the photo I’m taking. If I love it, then that’s what is most important to me!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2019 I moved to Oakland, CA when I first visited in 2015 I fell in love with the city! I finally took the leap of faith and moved and then the pandemic hit after only 6 months of living in Oakland.
So a lot of what I’ve been doing now is going out into the community and start building community and networking because during the pandemic that was really really hard to do and sometimes I was ready to move back to Portland, OR where I had been living before. (Some of my family is still there)
I didn’t give up a even though at times I wanted to, I’m glad I didn’t because things are picking back up and I’ve been able to have 2 gallery shows out here in the Bay Area. I feel really grateful that I’ve been so welcomed into the creative community out here!

Contact Info:

• Website: Misslopezmedia.com
• Instagram: @misslopezmedia