We were lucky to catch up with Morgan Wright recently and have shared our conversation below.
Morgan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?
I had a client tell me I was her third try to build a commercial portfolio and change the course of her life from drab day job she could hardly stand, to actively living her creative dream and getting booked (AND PAID) for commercial projects…
This client had a dream of quitting her Monday through Friday desk job to pursue a modeling and acting career. A dream she’s had for a long time, and now felt ready to pursue. She didn’t want to just dream about it anymore, she wanted to make her dream life a reality.
This client was looking to get signed to local modeling and acting agency but first, she needed to update her commercial portfolio to land an agent.
The first time she submitted to work with this agency, she was rejected with feedback that they wanted to work with her, but her portfolio wasn’t high quality enough to seal the deal; she had taken selfies and hoped they would do the trick. Her selfies did not make the cut.
Determined to land this agency, she hired a photographer she found through her improv acting class. She submitted to the agency a second time, sure these photos would be what they wanted but to her surprise, they said the same thing- that she needed commercial headshots that were high quality and unfortunately, the photos she provided did not meet the professional standards of the agency.
Feeling discouraged, she desperately needed commercial headshots. Without a high quality portfolio, she couldn’t have the life that she always wanted. She couldn’t submit to this agency, land an agent, pursue her passions, get commercial bookings that pay handsome sums of money, and allow her to finally quit her day job of which she loathed. Serious road block.
She had to make a choice. She could stay in her feels and give up pursuing her dream for now, maybe come back to it later when she felt ready. Or, she could seize the moment, dust herself off, believe in herself and her dream, and try a third time.
Thus, she persisted. She followed the advice of the agency a third and final time, and invested in a photographer that specializes in commercial portraiture- enter Mewphotovideo, a Photographer for Creatives in Portland, Oregon.
This client reached out to book a professional photoshoot and shared about what she had been through. How she was having such a tough time landing this agency and pursuing her passions. She had found me through a referral, but wanted to be sure this time that she got what she needed from a photographer.
I was so happy she found me because I knew right away how aligned we were to work together. My immediate response was, “Absolutely I can do that for you, no problem :D”
Long story short, she found me, she hired me, we took amazing commercial headshots, she landed her agency, and now she’s getting booked for commercial projects. I’m so happy she didn’t give up on herself or her dream. She’s so talented and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Morgan, and I craft aesthetic digital media for artists and brands in Portland, Oregon.
Basically just a fancy way of saying I’m a photographer and videographer for creative business owners and personal brands.
WHAT I DO
I specialize in creative captures for creatives and small business owners that don’t want to fit in. The kinds of people that are living creatively, seeking financial independence, and are ready to see themselves like they’ve always wanted. I’m all about aesthetic visuals that are bold and tailored to you because when it comes to personal branding, I know that personalized imagery delivers the best results. I like to say visuals like these make marketing more fun so you can’t wait to post.
I LOVE what I do. I love empowering creative business owners to feel more confident and put themselves out there to hit really big goals personally and professionally. I love coming up with creative concepts that are unique to the person I am working with so no two photoshoots are ever the same.
The photoshoots I offer are strategic, detail oriented, and a lot of fun. It’s basically an opportunity to get glammed up and chat about you and your business with someone who wants to see you win. We could talk about business and branding all day if given the chance.
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT
I think what sets me apart from a lot of other photographers is my approach to business, artistry, and connection. For one, I don’t just take your photo. I’m invested in delivering a stand out experience so you feel well taken care of. I try to build a connection from our very first interaction; I get to know you first, plan a photoshoot second. The second reason I am different is I go bonkers about the details. Everything is planned beforehand from the outfits, to the gear I’m gonna use. It’s a fuse of artistic direction, project management, and photography in one. And the third, the business part of me is strategic and intentional so we can craft a set of images that makes sense for the brand you are building and the business you want to have.
I combine my bold and colorful style and my love of a good plan with your unique personality. The result us result is personalized photography for you and your audience to connect over so you can more easily grow your platform. You don’t need to be doing what everyone else is doing to grow an audience, you need to believe in yourself and develop a good strategy to market your business. That’s where I think personal branding really shines as a strategy because it encourages you to be yourself and promote that. When you’re confident in who you are and willing to invest in yourself, that’s how you’re going to stand out. So I try to foster a welcoming and friendly environment from the jump so my clients feel confident to be themselves and ready show up boldly when it’s time to take some photos.
I think photography is an amazing gift for how it empowers us well beyond the photoshoot itself. I take self portraits sometimes and I can think of one portrait in particular that I am so proud of- it represents the confident woman I feel I am. I took it years ago and I still love it so much. That’s powerful, to see yourself confidently in a society that fosters second guessing yourself. You don’t have to be an extroverted, tall, pilates sculpted model to have great looking photos. It just takes a little bit of courage to put yourself out there and wear that really cute outfit that you’ve always wanted to.
WHY I RUN A BUSINESS
I’m attracted to the entrepreneurial life because of the freedom to live how I want and become the person I want to be. It’s rewarding to work hard towards living more freely and to help people by doing what you love. The bonus is getting paid for it and also, it’s awesome that there is no ceiling on the amount of money you can make when you work for yourself.
I’ve always been driven by my creativity and I have an intense yearning to understand myself on a deep level. I’ve always felt like the black sheep in my family. I didn’t grow up with a lot of entrepreneurs as role models so I feel like I was a little late to the game in understanding that there’s more out there than the traditional path of choosing one career, getting a degree, working your whole life, and retiring in Florida until you die, haha. And that’s totally okay if that’s what you want! But, as a business owner, anything is possible and you get to be the Gucci designer of your own life. It’s hard, but worth it.
LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK
I recently became a new mom- my son is 8 months old as I write this. I am so eternally grateful that I have designed the sort of life that allows me to be there for my son as he takes in the world around him. My partner, Sean, and I are both creative business owners and because of it we are afforded the liberty of setting our own schedule to care for our son the way that we want to. Before I had a child though, my business was my baby so it’s definitely an adjustment having this tiny, impressionable human take so much love, effort, and patience throughout your day. But we wouldn’t trade it for anything. We spend a lot of time together as a family and I know how lucky that makes us. Now that I have been blessed with my sweet little guy, my goals have definitely changed and I’ve been forced to grow in a lot of ways.
I think having a family forces you to innovate because you have to get crafty with the resources you have. I don’t have as much time to work so I’ve changed the scope of my work to better fit my lifestyle. I’ve also had to face a lot of personal challenges that being a business owner and a mom inevitably brings to the surface. For example, I’ve been confronting my past to find safety and wholeness in being my authentic self, so that I too can have a personal brand that really shines. I’m also working very hard to overcome the disease to please by implementing sturdy boundaries for myself, my business, and my parenting. One thought that has been front of mind lately as I’ve made this mind altering shift into a creative entrepreneur who is also a mom is, “how can I run a more sustainable business that allows me to do what I love and be the mom I want to be?”
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is building both the resilience to be vulnerable and a compounding believe in yourself to keep pursuing your passion and do things your own way. Creativity is how we express ourselves, it’s therapeutic and intrinsically rewarding but it’s also a way of life for me. I don’t want to live a mediocre life. I don’t want to work a traditional 9-5. I want to live on my own terms, feel a deep sense of purpose, and have a lot of fun doing it.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
A brief history of what led me to starting my creative photography business, Mewphotovideo, and becoming an intentional designer of my own life.
My love for the creative arts started young. I played musical instruments since I was 10, performing in the marching and symphonic band throughout Middle School and High School. I had a Kodak point and shoot camera and took pictures often. I played around with a video camera amateurishly documenting silly moments with my friends. I started writing poetry in high school. I liked the way it felt to share my feelings. I transitioned my poetry into songwriting in college, and performed an original song 2 weeks after I wrote it. I felt amazing, like I had found ‘my thing.’ I was so enamored with the process of writing, recording, and performing as a solo music artist.
Songwriting became therapeutic for me as I fumbled in and out of relationships. I wrote and performed my own songs for a few years while I was intensely passionate about making it as an artist. Somewhere along the lines, I lost my voice in my writing and became unsure of what I wanted to represent in my artistry. I took a break and traveled abroad for 4 months in my mid twenties to discover more about myself but only found more questions…
Post college, around my late twenties, I was addicted to self development and ‘discovering myself.’ (Isn’t that what your twenties is all about?) I was working as a server bartender at a Japanese Restaurant making really great part time money and supporting myself financially. I paid off all of my credit card debt and lived alone, it was amazing. Life was good, except I wasn’t happy per say, just content. I didn’t feel very fulfilled bartending. I needed more. I wanted to pursue something more creative and entrepreneurial, and a little less ‘being an employee fulfilling someone else’s dream’ which is what bartending was for me.
Fast forward to the pivot. It’s the year 2020 and like so many of us, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands to think about what I wanted for my life. Working in the Food and Service Industry was no longer the stable job it was and I had to rethink all of the goals I wanted to achieve in 2020. ‘How I was going to support myself?’ The world really sent us the biggest curve ball.
I spent time visualizing my future. Thinking about what I wanted and who I wanted to be. I wanted to be financially independent. I wanted to embody creative living and set my own rules. I wanted to be the kind of person that builds a life they are truly proud of full of creativity and purpose.
“How can I use this free time to my advantage?” I wondered. This led me toward letting go of the self doubt and what others wanted for me and instead, I said, “eff it, I’m doing it.”
I decided to buy a camera again (after selling mine to go traveling) and finally put myself out there to start that photography business I had been putting off (out of fear).
Now here we are, over 3 and a half years into my business, building my empire and the life I have always wanted. <3
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mewphotovideo.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/mewphotovideo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mewphotovideo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-wright-088808261/
- Twitter: https://x.com/mewphotovideo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mewphotovideo3453
- Other: Linktree – https://linktr.ee/mewphotovideo
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/mewphotovideo
Threads – https://www.youtube.com/@mewphotovideo3453
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@mewphotovideo?_t=8XNm7CrH5fX&_r=1
Image Credits
Albrey McNeill
Demitra Olague
Kate Baugh
Mikala Jaquette
Rachel Mullen
Sean Hanagan
Xenia Owen
Bekah Joy (MUA)
Emily Claire (MUA)