We were lucky to catch up with Monica De Anda recently and have shared our conversation below.

Monica, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero is my mom. She has always been so hard working, strong, and brave. I admire how she chose to better herself in classes to learn English, get her GED, work full time, and even got her Citizenship. I’m sure it was not easy for her but I’m so proud of her. In my eyes she is my hero, my cheerleader, my adviser, my role model, my friend, and my safe haven. My mom has always been so business driven. She taught me at an early age how to administer my allowance, followed by my first check, my college funds, and even my hobby funds. She always knew I loved photography, and she was my first paying customer. She hired me to photograph my brother’s friend’s wedding. He came to my parents asking if they could be sponsors in his wedding and she looked at me and said I’ll pay my daughter to be your photographer. My face must have looked like I saw a ghost because I had never taken on such a big responsibility like such and none the less get paid for it. I felt very nervous right away and she knew exactly what to tell me to encourage me, support me and cheer me on. The thought of my brother’s close friend not having memories of his wedding because they couldn’t afford a photographer made me feel sad knowing I could do it for free, but my mom insisted she rather give me the money to buy a new camera. I was about 18 years old and made $1200 on that wedding. My mom paid me $500, and the bride’s family bought extra photos from me. I’m 38 now and I’m very grateful for my mom giving me that push to pursue my passion. Photography is not just a talent or a fun activity; to me it is a blessing to be able to capture a moment of time to look back on and cherish.

Monica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Monica and I have been into photography since I was about 6-8 years old. My father bought me a keychain film camera that used 110mm film. I got addicted to it quickly, asking him to buy me more film at Eckerd drugstore and having him drop off and pick up my photos. I was amazed at capturing life on paper; how each photo had a story or a memory. Eventually I began learning more about photography at the local library. I would sit on the floor in the photography section and just read about it. My first paying job was by mom who hired me to be a wedding photographer. I gained experience working at Sears Portrait Studio in Houston. Fast forward with my life I met Alex Santiago, a wonderful, talented, amazing photographer that took me under his wing and mentored me these past 3 years. I have learned so much technique in lighting, rules, editing, and most importantly exploring new challenges to create art. From weddings and Quinceñers I am now focusing on maternity, dancers and artistic nudes. I love shooting with my Nikon D850 and favor my 200mm 2.8 lens. I like to make my clients feel comfortable from the moment they speak to me. I listen to what they are seeking to have as their memories. I can either go to their house, do outdoors, rent a studio or have even shot in my own living room if needed. As of now all my clients are word of mouth and will work on exposing my work to reach out to more in the near future. I am still growing; I am still learning and my passion for what I love to do is only embracing even more now than ever. Capturing a memory is my passion.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Since my very first paying job I used it to pay towards a Nikon D40x with kit lens from best buy and made payments to pay it off. I had no credit so my uncle Armando helped me out by putting it on his credit card. That was my first digital camera. After that first paying job many of the wedding guests began to contact me to hire me for family photos, baby photos, and birthday parties. I used all that money to pay off my camera. I continued to get clients from family members and friends and continued to invest in lights, props, ect. I saved enough money to open a business account with Chase and they helped me file for my first DBA. At the time I had the name Unforgettable Moments Photography. Up to today almost everything I have has been paid by my photography sessions and not out of pocket.

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

I have always been fascinated by low key lighting. Since I could remember when I was a teenager, I would cut out photos that I would absolutely love and would one day like to be able to know how to shoot like that. Not necessarily copy the exact photo but just have the knowledge of how it was created to create my own. The creativity that one can do with manipulating the light, shadows and what is in the light is what is so creative and amazing. I am currently learning how to master that technique thanks to my mentor Alex Santiago.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monicadeandaphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mdeandapics