Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Margaret Phipps. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Margaret, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

It does cross my mind often whether or not I should have started my creative career sooner. I know when I went to school for acting, each year I wondered- am I good enough to make it Right Now? And the honest answer was no. I can be really impatient sometimes especially when I am looking at my future. I wanted to badly to quit school and just go for it, but the reality is, I didn’t have the skills or professionalism or knowledge I needed yet. Now, I also started my career at the very beginning of Covid-19. I was the first graduating class of the zoom graduates in May of 2020. Now, 3.5 years later I sometimes feel myself regret not trying to be a professional in my field sooner, but even if I had, the world would have still played out the same way. Did it delay what maybe could have been earlier success? I really don’t know. What I do know is that I am far more prepared now at almost 26 years old than I was at 22 years old. So whenever life decides to give me my shot, it will be the right time. Everyone I’m sure thinks about the “what if’s” often, especially in a creative field, but the reality is that everything will happen when you’re ready. And as frustrating as that may sound, it really is true. Every opportunity I have had in the last 3 years since graduating has happened at the exact right moment in my life where I knew I could handle it. So as frustrated as I may get sometimes that 4 years ago I didn’t have to worry about a social media presence, or that I looked younger, or whatever frustration I’m feeling that day, I just remember- back then I wasn’t ready. I have learned so much over the last 4 years and if I had tried to make my career happen sooner, I don’t think I would have learned any of those things and who knows, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to understand them. I really do believe things happen for a reason. Since graduating we have dealt with a 3 year long pandemic and two strikes in my industry. Just now do I feel like things are falling into place with my career. Maybe waiting was all I needed in order to set myself up for future success. Take the risks, learn what you can, but know that the universe has its own timing and success will find you when you are truly ready for it!

Margaret, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began my journey as a creative later than most. I didn’t start acting until I was 15 years old, and I didn’t start photography until I was 19. I do both now professionally and have managed to make a living off of both! I grew up in Houston, Texas and currently live in Austin, Texas. Growing up I lived in a very academic and sports based household. Good grades and winning games was the focus and so I was always an academic brain and played many sports growing up, but I always had a creative side to me. I liked to sing, draw, and was according to my parents-Very dramatic. But I was incredibly shy. I moved to a different school for high school and knew pretty much no one. I took a choir class knowing I liked to sing, but was so shy that I was advised to also take a drama class. That was really where I found my circle of friends. I never had any big roles, but LOVED being on stage. I decided when I was around 17 that I wanted to be an actor. So, with having never had a line in a play, a solo in choir, or a front row spot on the dance team I auditioned for colleges. I could not tell you how in the world I found the confidence to do that having never really been front and center, but man did I just love it. I think that has what has lead me 8 years later into the career I have. I love what I do.
My parents supported me but definitely had their apprehensions. When I was in college I was in a whole new environment, 1500 miles away from home, and was starting from scratch. I really struggled to make friends and find my footing. The classes were long, the homework was extensive, and it was a lot more of a commitment than I was used to. It felt more like work and I struggled to love it as much as I had earlier in my life. But, a few months into college I began to experience seasons for the first time-something we majorly lack in the state of Texas. I decided to get a camera and start taking photos around campus and found an amazing creative outlet. I documented Pennsylvania change from summer to fall, to winter and spring. I then found that I had a knack for photography, but it really was just a personal creative outlet.
I struggled in my major. I had a hard time keeping up with the workload and matching my classmates on memorization capabilities. Considering I had never had any lines before it was a huge change. year after year I was sat down and told “maybe this isn’t the path for you”. It was heartbreaking. I had no plan B and still loved acting, but I still just couldn’t manage to work the theatre the way others could. I pushed through school, finding theatre clubs around me where students from other majors did theatre for fun, and I found my spark again. I acted, directed, did SFX makeup, and remembered why I loved acting. I got better in my classes and graduated on the deans list. Throughout all of this time though, I was still taking photos of the seasons. When I studied abroad in London, I traveled everywhere I could and found the most amazing landscapes across Europe. This is where A Travelers Lens really began.
From then on I have had an itch for travel. Since starting college I have been to over 15 countries and 3 continents. I love being able to find beauty in a place most people just walk through in their daily lives. Photography has always been 50/50 with acting. I love it and find so much joy when I take a photo where the light is just right, or a bird flies through my lens at just the right height. There is something very ethereal about capturing the perfect landscape. It almost feels like it’s not real. As I kept taking photos, I would share them with my friends and family and they were really the ones to encourage me to sell the photos. I didn’t think it was something I was good enough to be able to do and I know your family should be your biggest cheerleaders so I honestly didn’t believe them! But, one month I decided to create the website and within a week someone bought a photo. I didn’t expect it at all.
Since college I have pushed through people telling me no or that I am not good enough. In a creative field-or in my case two- it’s just a given. What you do with that pushback is how you figure out if this life is right for you. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been told I’m not good enough and by SO many people. The biggest difference between hearing that and being hurt by that is what you do after. People want you to fail so they can step ahead of you. Creative industries are incredibly competitive and will test you every step of the way. I think what has made me find success in these industries is that I genuinely love what I do. I can’t imagine doing anything else, and I don’t have a plan B. This is what I want to do in my life so no matter what anyone says or how much they dig at my insecurities or how much they try to push me down, I remember how much joy it brings me to make someone laugh, or that magical feeling when you take a photo that is just right. That is what I’m here to do every day, and if this life is something you want to pursue remember: love what you do and you won’t work a day in your life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I have had to unlearn is a quality that I know a lot of people have had to unlearn over their lifetimes and that’s perfectionism. People pleasers raise your hands! I have spent almost a decade trying to break out of trying to be perfect for other people. Two things are important here: perfect doesn’t exist, and you are also amazing just the way you are regardless of what other people want from you. I feel that a lot of growing up and becoming a young adult is learning these two lessons. Learning how to say no to people because a project doesn’t align with you or even just taking time for yourself if you are feeling burnt out is SO important. Maybe you will upset others by doing those things, but you can walk into the office or on set and be better for it, rested or doing a project you love instead of one that doesn’t align with your values or career projection. In addition to that, being perfect is so overrated. We are all full of flaws and mistakes are how we learn and that is also what makes us US! I have made more than enough mistakes in my life already and I’m only 25. Once I used those mistakes to learn instead of feeling like I’ve failed in some way, I started to grow into the person I want to be. Growing up with the perfectionist mindset or trying to make others happy before you make yourself happy can really take a toll on someone. It took a huge toll on me. I really don’t think I started learning these two important things until I was well into my 20’s. So if you’re just at the beginning of your journey and want to just figure everything out, don’t worry… I am too! Take your time, make your mistakes, put yourself first when you need to, and remember- we are all perfect the way we are, flaws and all.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh the amount of times I’ve started over in this life already at my age seems insane. New schools, new states, selling our family home and moving to a new city, leaving a theatre school and doing film, quitting my job to sell photography… and more I can’t even recall at the moment. I’ll touch on moving to a new place. I moved 1500 miles away from home for college. College is a hard transition to begin with, but being half a country away from your friends and family at 18 is honestly insane. I left Texas for a few reasons: I wanted seasons, I wanted to start over, and I wanted to be somewhere totally different from where I grew up. College was by far the toughest four years of my life personally and professionally. I grew up really fast. I was away from my family when I needed them the most, but I also started my career while I was still in school. Moving to a new place is hard for anyone. Maybe right now you’re thinking of moving, or scared to make the big jump to Los Angeles or NYC or wherever your career-center is. The fear and uncertainty may be clouding your judgement but let me tell you, every time I took the risk, I was glad I did. I am a homebody at heart and an introvert. I am very close to my family and get homesick easily, but luckily I had people around me that pushed me out of my comfort zone no matter how scared I was to do so. And some really amazing advice my mom gave me was “if you’re scared, it means you care.” If the risk didn’t scare you, it probably doesn’t matter to you enough. Take. The, Risk. Worst case scenario you just do something different if you don’t like it! If I hadn’t pivoted in the ways I have in the last 10 years, I really don’t know where I would be in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atravelerslens.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phippsie16/?hl=en
• Other: Acting website: https://margaretphipps.net Photography instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atravelerslensphotography/?hl=en