We recently connected with Mayra Perkins and have shared our conversation below.

Mayra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I went to school for Graphic design and worked in corporate settings until my first child was born. I felt really lucky I was able to stay home and raise my two boys. It definitely wasn’t an easy transition from working in corporate and knowing what is expected, being recognized for your work and having markers that guided your career path to blindly raising little humans with no instructions other than intuition and a heart full of love. But somehow at the end of a long day, a house scattered with toys and two little boys sound asleep, it felt like we were on the right track. When the boys left “mom’s full-time daycare” and went to preschool, I started to get excited about the outside world and the possibilities of what this new life could be. I was thrilled to get a little piece of my own life back and do the things I enjoyed again, like working, yoga and having a social life. Not knowing how all this was going to happen I just imagined how I wanted to feel and what that would look like. During that time, an old friend was opening up a restaurant and wanted me to help him with a small favor; convert an email campaign into a pdf. The email didn’t fit the restaurants’ elegance and sophistication, and so the designer in me did not hold back. I redesigned the communication and sent back my suggestion, it never crossed my mind that this was the beginning of my freelance career. They loved it and I have worked with them ever since they opened back in 2016. Soon they would need a food photographer for a marketing brochure I was designing for them. Knowing exactly what kind of images I was after and their looming deadline, I offered to take the pictures myself; they were delighted to forgo the search for a photographer. When I got home to see the pictures I had taken, my eyes twinkled, my stomach tickled with butterflies, I was excited about the possibilities this new medium had unleashed. I started to look into courses and classes that would teach me more about food photography, I followed people on instagram that I admired and soon I started to shoot for other restaurants and food businesses. Food photography feels like a perfect combination of my appreciation for food, culture, people, art and design rolled up into one. To this day, coming home to see what I have shot still feels exciting just, like Christmas morning, I can’t wait to see what I got.

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.

My name is Mayra, I am a food and restaurant photographer. I love to capture food, atmospheres and people. I work with restaurants and food businesses of all sizes to create impactful marketing
content through photography and short form video. As a long time graphic designer, I understand
both sides of the coin. The marketing needs for quality, on brand photography, and as a designer
and photographer, how to deliver those needs. Creating imagery that entices is always my top priority.
I love to see my clients delighted and empowered by what we have created for their business and
I am in constant pursuit of that happy client experience.

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

Through photography I get to collect snippets of culture and time like one collects cool looking rocks, for example (guilty). I have met so many great people and have had experiences that I couldn’t have imagined. Professionally I love to see how my work impacts my clients’ businesses. When my clients
are delighted by what we have created, all my stars have aligned. I have two boys and want them to
see firsthand that your work can be your passion and you can work towards the life you want to live.
I love to create, solve problems and make people happy and that is what most of my work entails.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love the whole process of creating something tangible from what sometimes is a vague idea. The research, the collaboration, planning and finally making something that serves and solves needs is a magical alignment of stars. Through food photography we can inspire curiosity, form bridges and even create community, It’s a full rounded and rewarding human experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.emcatalina.com
• Instagram: @emcatalina
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emcatalinaphotography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayrasolorio/