We were lucky to catch up with Macie Torres recently and have shared our conversation below.

Macie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Although there have been many projects I have had the honor to work on, the most meaningful one was a recent mother and daughter shoot. I have previously felt underqualified at these types of sessions because I am not a mother. Although I work with children and study their behaviors, how can I capture a mother, daughters bond? I typically do not do “model calls” unless I have someone in mind. I usually get connected with people who share a bit of their life story with me and then pick the session according to their needs. Back in October of last year, I was connected with a former friend. She asked for family pictures and the scheduling never matched up. I know this was all part of God’s plan. During June of this year, I had the perfect vision for a mother, daughters shoot. I immediately reached out to my friend and expressed my ideas. She was on board with the session and we got the ball rolling. The day of the shoot I hit heavy traffic, I was 30 minutes last, but my friend and her daughters were waiting for me with the best spirit. During the shoot, I saw a great mother. There was no tension, no second guessing my role as memory capturer, just pure love and grace. Her warmth and patience was inspiring. Not only was my friend all these wonderful things, she is still pushing through her own troubles. No matter how hard life gets, she still shows the world a great smile. This was the most meaningful project because we were both given what we needed that day. A mother got to experience a memorable moment with her child, and I got to see how my role as a photographer effects people in a positive way.

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 started taking photos back in 2016 for a local organization. I felt more connected with people when capturing their emotions. Finally, I had friends start asking if I would take pictures for them. I started with a Canon Rebel EOS T6. During high school, I took an intro to arts class. In this class, we used the Canon Rebel EOS T6 so I was fairly familiar. After many trial and errors, I understood my niche. This is maternity, couples, and portrait photography. To get to this point I asked so many people if I could photography them. I reached out to local photographers to learn hands on and I attended styled photoshoots (an event to build your portfolio where models are present). I also used different editing software. Back in 2016 to 2019 I used an app called VSCO. For the time, VSCO was an incredible source for beginner/ learners. Eventually I got Lightroom Mobile for editing and purchased my first preset. Now I use the desktop Lightroom Classic and own a Canon R6 with a 50mm lens. I have a polarized lens and a flash attachment. I slowly can see what could enhance my photos as my skill increases. Throughout this process, I have added a client closet so anyone and everyone can feel special. I want all potential clients to know that my photos are prompted poses to capture your story. There is always a story to tell with photos. By creating a look with golden tones, natural light, and timeless editing, you can look back and relive that moment again. Everyone deserves photos. No matter what you are going through, I will make it my priority to provide you with the best knowledge and information you need to capture your moments.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Getting into this business was not fun at the beginning. People are mean and people like to use new beginners for their own benefit. I had be told that my photos were “ugly”, “not good enough”, and that I did not know what I was doing. During my first major event, I was faced with a negative experience that wounded my self-esteem as a business owner.” As a 19 year old, that hurt so bad. I gave my all into my business, until the negativity became too much. The hurtful words were horrible and ate at me. I truly thought I was not good enough. My sister pushed me out of that darkness though. She encouraged me to keep going and create shoots for me to practice. I got better. After COVID lockdown, I was on a creative high. I had so many ideas to share. When I was being told my photography was not good and it was never going to be good, I kept going. I will be honest, there will be photoshoots that do not go as planned. The sun was too bright, the shadows covered half of someone’s face, or you cannot get the editing right, but you have to push forward. There is always room for growth. There is always someone ready to beat you down. Choose to grow and connect with others who will encourage your creative skill.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

As a person who can easily become consumed by social media, it was hard to make a healthy balance with my audience. After trying to make the perfect Instagram grid and be the trendiest person, I realized I needed to start from square one. This meant to delete everything and post what I wanted to sell. When creating a social media presence, you must realize what you post is what you will sell. Not every photoshoot will be posted. If there is a private location that you had a one time access to, you may not want to market that photo. On social media tag venues and befriend the vendors. You never know who might be in need of your services. Also, find your social media app that best suits your business. If you are great at short videos that are eye-catching, try TikTok. If your audience responds to pictures, try Instagram or Facebook. The best thing to do is study your audiences activity time. If most of my followers are active on Instagram at 9:00 AM and 10:00 PM, I need to schedule my post around those times. The last piece of advice would be to stay true to who you are. Social Media is a world of unreal. By keeping your online presence real, your audience will stay engaged.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://macieelizaphotos.my.canva.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macieelizaphotos/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/macieelizaphotography
• Other: https://macieelizaphotos.pixieset.com/