We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Monica Justesen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Monica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am a self-taught photographer of 17 years based in Maine. My education comes from hands-on experience and prioritizing growth throughout my career.

When I got my first ‘real’ camera in the early 2000s, I set a goal to learn one new thing a day until I knew every single thing about my camera. I ferociously studied each setting online, then I’d head to the forest with a notebook and my camera. I spent countless afternoons in the forest with my camera, taking hundreds of pictures and learning by doing until the sun would finally set. To this day, it’s still how I approach learning new things as a photographer and small business owner.

I worked in corporate America long enough to know the value of having solid business principles and practices. I learned the ins and outs of structural, admin, and back-end foundations. It taught me the benefits of utilizing systems and software to make life easier (and when it may not be worth it, especially as a solo entrepreneur).

Without a doubt, money and access to resources would have made a tangible difference in my learning experience. With that said, I know very little compares to what you learn when you get your hands dirty by being in the thick of it all.

The most essential skill to my learning and growth is maintaining a deeply open and curious mind. I want to always be expanding my capacity for what I believe I am capable of doing and creating. I want to maintain a childlike mindset and see what I can learn from every situation, interaction, photoshoot, etc.
Some of my greatest successes and relationships have come from challenging my comfort zone and learning to stay curious.
Maintaining that curiosity has been the greatest teacher I have ever known.

My biggest obstacle, to this day, is self-doubt. I’m my biggest cheerleader more often than I’m my biggest critic, but I still have moments where doubt starts to creep in. These days, one of my favorite ways to get past self-doubt is setting a goal to learn at least one new thing every week. It keeps me curious and helps me seek out ways to stretch myself and my creative capacity. It reminds me that we can find education and inspiration in so many unexpected places. Even if what I learn has no direct correlation to photography, I find myself weeks or even months later applying the lesson in my business or creative expression.

Monica, 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?

My name is Monica and I’m a photographer and videographer based in Maine. My customers are humans from all walks of life, based in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and beyond. I work primarily with women and femmes, as well as small business owners and entrepreneurs in wellness spaces. My mission is always to capture your magick through authentic, eye-catching imagery and video that celebrates your story.

I’ve been a photographer since 2007. When I first started, I was taking any work that came my way. My day job was working in a boutique fitness studio, so a lot of my first clients were in the wellness world.

My love for photography began a few years before through self-portraits. I spent my teenage years struggling with body dysmorphia and unable to recognize the person I saw in the mirror. I started taking self-portraits to try and learn to see myself more honestly. I’ll never forget the day that I looked at a photo of myself and felt like I actually saw myself reflected. With more time and more self-portrait practice, I finally looked in the mirror one day and felt like I saw myself truly reflected. And that is a moment that changed my life. That became my why.

I know what it’s like to feel disconnected from yourself, from your body, from the ‘you’ that you see in pictures. I also know what it’s like to have that shift, to let that narrative change, and to look at a photo of yourself and feel excited and proud to say ‘that’s me!’.

One of the most valuable lessons my mother taught me is there is magick all around us, all the time. Not only in the beauty and wonder of the external world but within each one of us. We all deserve to see our own magick, to have someone show that to us without any fake or fluff. We deserve to be seen in our magick, exactly as we are. We deserve to have someone remind us that we all shine from the inside out. And we deserve to be witnessed and celebrated in our unique fullness.

I do this work because I want to share with my clients the magick and the power of truly being seen.

I am so proud to create spaces, experiences, and images that hold a sense of trust, authenticity, and magick. I am proud to create work that celebrates each of my clients and what makes them unique. I am proud to be a woman of colour thriving in an industry often dominated by white men. I am proud of creating work that leaves me inspired and moved to tears almost every time I am behind the lens.

I want people to know that a photoshoot doesn’t have to be pretentious and stuffy. It doesn’t require that you show up and perform a perfect version of yourself. Your session is a chance for you to shine, to take up space, and to embrace the fullest expression of you. It’s your moment to be fully seen in your magick, whatever that authentically means, and for you.

You deserve to have someone hold space for you to show up and be fully seen, in all of your wild, beautiful, messy, perfectly imperfect magick. You are worthy and deserving, exactly as you are. And you deserve images that capture that. You deserve moments and memories that capture your brilliance, right now. Empowering memories that you can look back on with fondness for years to come.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The things that inspire me as a creative inspire me as a human. I’m driven by connection, healing, and magick.

My mission in this life is to help people see the beauty and magick that already exists within them. It’s vital to me as a woman of colour, who often does see myself reflected in many creative spaces, to ensure my work feels accessible and open to everyone. I want anyone to be able to see and feel themselves reflected in my images and my work.

I aim to be the friend, guide, mentor, leader, and community that I so desperately needed in my youth. I want to help remind folks that caring for yourself doesn’t have to look fancy or expensive or thin or any of the things we’ve been conditioned to believe. Your healing doesn’t require that you buy expensive clothes or tons of fancy crystals or all the latest gadgets. It can be as simple as drinking your favorite tea from an old spaghetti sauce jar and taking deep breaths until you come back home to yourself.

I want everyone to know and remember that healing is possible for them. That they are deserving of peace, confidence, and pride in themselves and who they are. And they deserve to see their own magick as brightly as the rest of the world sees it.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

These days, it’s less about uncovering new resources and more about taking advantage of *quality* resources. There’s an abundance of information, inspiration, and education out there. The trick is to discern what is worth ingesting and what isn’t.

When I got started, I relied heavily on photo blogs, Facebook groups, and my local library. Now, education can come from so many places, including social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. If you can parse through all the noise on TikTok to find quality educational resources that resonate with you, go for it! There’s also a lot of value in learning to invest your time and energy utilizing FREE resources before spending your hard-earned money.

And never underestimate the importance of finding inspiration outside of your craft! When I need creative inspiration, I often look at everything BUT other photographers’ work. Finding inspiration in movies, fine art, history, books, and even cartoons – you may be surprised at how much you can absorb through other mediums.

Last: lean into community! It may take some trial and error to find your people and the folks you truly feel at home with, but don’t stop searching until you find them. I promise they’re out there. Having a community of like-minded creatives to connect and grow with has completely transformed my career. They don’t even have to be in the same industry or profession as you, as long as you connect in a way that leaves everyone feeling supported, inspired, and lit up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.monicajustesen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicajustesen
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/monica-justesen-photography-lowell

Image Credits
Photos of Monica taken by Jessica LaFleur All other photos were taken by me 🙂