Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Chechi.
Hi Maria, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started photography around 2007 while I was still in high school. Back then, we still had film so my beginnings are rooted in shooting with film, in black and white, and developing my work in a dark room. Of course, life happens after high school and I went on a hiatus for a few years, got a “real job” that paid the bills, we know how the story goes… it’s called tending to responsibilities. I didn’t get my own digital camera until the year 2015 when my son was 1-yr old and it has truly been a non-stop journey since then. My style of work is ever-changing. I don’t like to stay still and I don’t like limitations. One year I’ll shoot families and the next year, I want to dive into wedding photography, and why not conceptual photography, why not shoot with vintage lenses? Why limit myself to just natural light? So I’ll learn and start shooting with artificial light — which is where I’m currently at.
I’m also super inspired by colors, movement, moods, the elements (water, wind, etc.), exploring. Whatever is moving me at the moment is what I try to incorporate into my work.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been all the opposite of a smooth road and that’s okay! I’ve come to accept that this is how it is in this industry. Like I mentioned, I took a hiatus for a couple of years because life circumstances forced me to get a job that gave me a steady paycheck. I held on to that job for 11 years all while I watched my fellow photographers be constantly booked with their own sessions or weddings. I struggled so much with this internally because I wanted to do it all: provide for my family with my safe desk job while also fulfill my dream of being this photographer who could be booked every single weekend with her own dream sessions. At some point, I realized how truly unhappy I was making myself by sticking to a safe job all while making myself unavailable for photo jobs that were coming my way; because, here’s the other thing: not everything happens outside your 9-5 or during the weekends!
I had to have an anxiety attack at my desk for me to realize I couldn’t hold on to my desk job any longer and that’s when I decided to go full-time with photography. Being a business owner has been a whole beast of its own, I have to admit. There’s so much I’ve had to learn full-speed but it has also been incredibly rewarding and liberating.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
With the wedding boom that’s happening thanks to Covid, my focus has shifted heavily on the wedding side. I still do shoot families! Which is where my career started so every month I take a certain number of family sessions still.
I am most proud of my conceptual and experimental work, it feels like a daring adventure and helps me recharge my creativity because there are no limits as to how to approach this style of work. What sets me apart from others is I don’t care about aesthetics or a perfectly curated social media feed, I don’t like things looking the same year after year, project after project, client after client. We change and grow as people so why shouldn’t our work reflect that?
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I’ve learned you can always pivot. No matter what. You can always reinvent yourself. Will it be easy peasy? Uh, NO. But can you do it? Absolutely.
Contact Info:
- Email: clickinmarphoto@gmail.com
- Website: www.clickinmarphoto.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/clickinmar
