Interview With Marisa
Hello, Marisa
owner of Marisa Stone Photography
I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Marisa through The Motherhood Anthology and am continually impressed with her talent! Seriously, check out her work and fall in love with me.
Hi Marisa! Can you introduce yourself for us?
Hi! I’m Marisa, the creator and owner of Marisa Stone Photography. I’m a Motherhood and Family photographer that captures the beauty in simplistic moments that are so often overlooked. I’m the wife to my college sweetheart (and my biggest cheerleader), mama to my sweet girl Elliott, with another baby on the way! I believe that family is everything, and that there is nothing more valuable than a printed photograph.
What was your initial inspiration to get into photography?
To me photography has always been about moments, these slivers of time we hold in our hands but we relive in our hearts, they’re memories we capture and hope to hold on to. The moment my daughter was born it became even more. My passion grew and my desire to freeze time became a mission. I grew up flipping through albums, swapping out frames of old family photos, reliving moments with family members who were no longer here, and I knew in my heart that I wanted more than pictures on my cell phone or a computer of my children and grandchildren. They deserved more, they deserve the same heirlooms that I was given. A huge part of what I do is driven by emotion, to capture true authentic moments, to slow down in a world that is constantly moving. I am a story teller and lover of emotion based imagery. I tell stories through the lens of camera using a combination of digital and film photography.
I can really see that in your images! Would you mind sharing your first “professional” photo and share some thoughts on it now?
Oh good Lord, how far back should we travel? I began shooting film at 15 in high school, spending a lot of time in the dark room, truly cultivating myself as an artist, and let me just say, I am so incredibly thankful for growth.
I’ll spare you all my high school film shots and send in an image from my first paid family session. I’ve learned a lot over the past 1.5 years, the biggest one for me was to stop being afraid of adjusting temperature when I was editing. When I first started out I was editing SO cool, overtime I’ve learned that warmth is not the enemy, it’s quite the opposite actually, it creates beautiful skin tones and that “homey” feel I want my work to have. I will also say this, from the beginning I’ve also vowed that my work would convey emotion, and I’ll take pure emotion over perfection any day of the week.
Aw! Such a sweet moment captured! If you could go back to when you first started, what advice would you give yourself?
Get it right in camera, and to slow down and be more intentional when I was shooting. I used to shoot 500+ pictures in a 1 hour session, culling was a nightmare, focus was a dime a dozen and I was flying through memory cards. I’m much more intentional with what I shoot now (I owe a lot of that to film), I typically shoot 125-250 MAX in a 1-2 hour session!
What would you say has been the biggest business lesson you’ve learned so far?
To value myself as an artist, to stop giving my work away and to stop saying yes to things that don’t bring me fulfillment. Definitely more than one lesson there!
That is so true and words we should all live by more often. Can you tell me what you’ve implemented in the business that’s made the most impact so far?
Prints and products! The moment I moved away from an in-inclusive digital model, was the moment my business grew and I started feeling fulfilled in my work again. Photography is about so much than posting a picture on Facebook or Instagram, and it’s our job to educate our clients on WHY it’s an important investment.
I love it! What’s your current goal for Maris Stone Photography?
To go fully IPS in 2019, move into a commercial studio space and be focusing on my business fulltime! It’ll happen ;)
Keep killin’ it and I know it will! What about some personal goals?
To give myself grace, accept I can’t do it all (although I like to think I can) and to ask for help when I need it (boy, that’s a tough one for this type A mama)
Can you share your absolute favorite images and explain why you love them so much?
Honestly, this is HARD. I have a favorite image from just about every session, and it’s always for the same reason, they convey emotion. You can look at the picture and feel love, joy, peace, answered prayers, and a lifetime of happiness. Here are two I know will be long time favorites (along with about 200 others haha!
Absolutely stunning! Thank you so much for chatting with me! To wrap it up, tell us what your absolute daily must is!
Dinner with my family, every single night. It’s something I had growing up, and it’s something I really value in my own family. And when I’m not pregnant? A glass of wine after the kids are asleep! Definitely looking forward to that again (10 weeks or less, but hey, who’s counting!)
It’s been a few weeks since Marisa and I interviewed and I’m sure she is happy to say she is closer to only a few weeks until that wine glass and her precious little baby’s arrival!