Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Castillo.
Hi Mary, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My photography journey started in 2018. I was a new stay at home mom-going a bit too stir crazy not having a job outside of the home. I hadn’t really worked or studied for any long term careers at the time so I was completely starting fresh. My husband had done photography for fun and so we had all the camera equipment and I had a teacher to show me the basics! I had started family photography just for some extra income and it really blew up from there! About a year into my photography work, I had someone reach out asking if I would do a boudoir shoot and I was completely honest that I had never done one before, but I was willing to try! Seeing how empowered and great in their skin my client was…. I was hooked!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think starting any business on your own is always a smooth ride. I had never taken photos professionally ever so I had a TON to learn. I feel like I spent my first two years just learning how to use light, edit, pose well and there were lots of tears shed when I felt like I didn’t deliver my best work. After I finally had felt like I got the creative side down, it was time to really grow the business side of it which has all of it’s own different challenges! Learning how to run a business is still something I feel like I am truly working on. I then signed a lease for my very own photo studio at the end of 2019, right at before the pandemic hit. I took on the biggest financial risk and really had to remind myself that it would pay off in the end. We spent most of the pandemic renovating and I spent my downtime perfecting my editing skills. I am thankful for the “downtime” in 2020 but it was defiantly scary!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I honestly love just making other feel great in their own skin! I am a photographer specializing in boudoir photography. Boudoir has many different styles to it and with my editing and photo studio, I like to it very clean and bright so that the client is the star of every photos, rather then the pretty room they are taking the photos in! I think that really sets me apart from others because dark and moody, or loads of plants/decor, and different props are big in the boudoir world right now and I really love to make it more casual and “realistic” so my client is the star of the photo and the part that draws your eye in!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My husband deserves a ton of credit for not only teaching me everything on how to work a camera and edit, but always supporting every decision I have made in furthering my career. Signing for a studio was a huge decision for us and he never doubted for a second that I could thrive with it! I would also have to give a big thanks to Ashley Jackson- who is another boudoir photographer up in Canada, who I have made a great relationship with and she has taught me so much form editing tricks, to working with clients, and raising my prices in the boudoir world!
Contact Info:
- Email: marycastillophotography@gmail.com
- Website: marycastillophotography.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/marycastillophotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marycastillophotography/
Image Credits
Mary Castillo Photography
