Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuela Insixiengmay.
Hi Manuela, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Manuela Insixiengmay (Manny), and I’m a Seattle-based photographer. I was born in France and moved to the US when I was 4 and spent the next chunk of my life in Minneapolis, MN. I remember always being interested in photography and took as many classes available to me. However, I also grew up in an immigrant family, and seeing as I was a “good” student, I was encouraged to make the “practical” choice to pursue science as my career, while exploring my love for photography and art as my hobby. I graduated from Macalester College in 2006 with an undergrad in Neuroscience — my other love! I was so fortunate to find a job immediately after college in a research lab. During the subsequent year it became obviously clear that I wasn’t cut out for a research lab as a 22 year old kid. I’d been starting applications for graduate school as well but concluded that I could not handle doing someone else’s research for the coming years. So, I completely blew up my life, as you might when you’re 22 and you thought you’d found your “thing” but you realize you’re interested in it conceptually as a student but not interested in it as a research scientist going through the slog and minutiae of doing the actual research. On a whim, I moved to Seattle with no job, no friends (a couple acquaintances), and started my life over. I worked all kinds of jobs: the mall, the front desk at an acupuncture clinic, a server in restaurants and truly enjoyed settling into a new city. I still dreamt of becoming a photographer for my actual job, but had no contacts and no idea how to break into the world. I kept taking the classes I could afford, volunteering at photography programs for youth, assisting wedding photographers for a number of years but it still felt like I couldn’t make the jump into this line of work. In 2012, I started a 2-year Commercial Photography Program through Seattle Colleges and it was the point of a huge transition for me. There’s something about being immersed in the culture that allows your perspective to shift: I was no longer a scientist who explored photography, I was now a photographer with the curiosity of a neuroscientist. After I graduated in 2014, I was able to shift into making photography my job, finally. I spend the next years as a photography and production assistant, photographer, and business owner! I’ve been making my living as a freelance photographer for the last 10 years. In 2020, I became a parent which shifted my work towards more product and still-life photography. This last year I saw my work shift again to include people interacting with product — and I think that’s the best part of the job, it isn’t static, technology, areas of interest and expertise, and content is always evolving– it’s like being a student forever (my dream!)
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been anything but smooth. I feel like I have to do some serious introspection annually to make sure that this is still what I want to do, because it can be so brutal. Before I decided to pursue formal education for photography, I remember talking to my therapist about how I had been trying to shift into photography as a job but it wasn’t working, there were roadblocks, gatekeeping, finances that felt like huge immovable obstacles. Her advice, “do what you know,” (ie… stick to science, kid). I am glad that I was able to compartmentalize that advice and follow my instinct into this line of work. Some days, it doesn’t feel pragmatic. Jobs can be hard, there’s a lot of disappointment when you aren’t awarded a job you’ve pitched for, and there are some serious lulls and gaps in income. Additionally, you have to learn to run a business, it’s so much work. I think I’m used to things being variable at this point, but it doesn’t make it easy when you also have things like a mortgage, daycare cost, and eating to do. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always feel like the “responsible” thing to do, but I suppose I am stubborn, and this is what I want to do more than anything else, so here I am!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a photographer that specializes in editorial and product photography. I have a range of interests and skills acquired over 10 years of making my living in photography, but my true love is making images that inspire the feeling of a moment. I love the subtly of lighting, composition, and connection with subject matter. Teasing out emotion from someone you’re photographing is something that can elevate a portrait from basic to excellent. I also love capturing the in-between moments, (people in motion, not paying attention to me but rather, being within themselves). In my still-life work, I try to capture a moment where someone has just left the scene — “oh, I was doing this, and now I’m not here.” This is a combination of composition, camera angles, and lighting. I think the thing I love the most, is that I can create pretend worlds and bring them to life and share them. I get to tap into my imagination and share it with others. It really feels like I’m playing and I feel like that’s such an important part of good mental health for me, making time for play.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
(okay, there’s a list) My family, for the obvious reasons, and gratitude. Gratitude, because it opened my world to living a generous, curious, imaginative, inspired, and playful life. As far as I know, this is my one shot to be alive. The idea of gratitude has helped me shift my perspective through difficult and dark times. Gratitude has allowed me to find space to help others, to be generous with what I have, and feel fulfilled. I would say that earlier in my life, I was extremely goal-oriented. “I am working towards a degree, I want to be a photographer, I want to be a parent” But the wanting and list never ends, there’s always a next thing, which didn’t bring me the joy I thought these hard earned “goals” would. When my child was born on the eve of covid lockdowns in 2020, I was catapulted into having to sort out my mental health in a new way. I was facing pretty severe PTSD in the year that followed, and with the help of a couple amazing therapists and medication, I feel like I was able to find my way towards gratitude. Learning gratitude has opened up my life in ways that I felt like were being suppressed: being generous, creative, curious, and play. I’m still learning to apply some of this to my job as a photographer and I don’t claim to have anything figured out, but truly, I’m starting to enjoy the journey of it in a new way. There’s something lovely about being frustratingly bad at something and working at it to improve, but taking the focus off of the end product, and focusing on the “journey” is really more motivating and filled with a richness that’s hard to put into words. I hope that at the end of my life I can look back and say I made time for play.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.manuelainsixiengmay.com
- Instagram: @manuelainsixiengmay
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuela-insixiengmay
Image Credits
Manuela Insixiengmay