Not So Still.
Marissa is a portrait, movement, and still life photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. She taps into her background in modern dance and gender studies to build a visceral and raw connection with her subjects. While Marissa has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood (think: Florence Pugh, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Travolta — to name a few), she is an extremely humble and down-to-earth human. A professional, no less.
Ana (Design Toast): You didn’t actually study photography in college, is that right?
Marissa: That’s right. Photography was never something that was on my radar–in college, I was studying modern dance and gender studies. My first year in college, my dad got me a nice digital camera as a gift. To be honest, I felt sort of guilty about him spending the money on something I had never used…so I started walking around my neighborhood and took bad still life photos for 2 hours at a time, every day. I ended up taking an introductory photography class at the end of college. That’s the only formal training I’ve had.
Ana: What happened between those (allegedly) bad still life photos and the incredible portraits that grace my instagram feed almost daily?
Marissa: I first started by taking portraits of the dancers I worked with in the dance department which made me fall in love with portraiture. I found that choreography in dance and structuring a subject in a photo had many parallels. When I moved to LA, I took a lot of self-portraits. This was a particularly tough time for me emotionally and self-portraits were a way of coping. I didn’t stop photographing–it became an artistic outlet, and I loved the intimacy it allowed me to get with myself and people I didn’t know. All of that has informed the portrait work I do today — I’m drawn to the connection between movement, intimacy and expression, and creating images out of that space.
I photograph almost every day, research things I don’t know all the time, and am not afraid to ask questions. I think having a growth mindset helps a lot. But really, I think, my trajectory has been non-linear and I’m changing all the time. I’m sure I still take some bad photos — you just don’t see them all.
Ana: Was there a “breakthrough” moment that you can clearly pinpoint or more of gradual escalation in the demand for your services?
Marissa: When I moved to Los Angeles (almost three years ago) I was solely dedicated to learning more about photography. I reached out to a ton of photo assistants, photographers, photo editors, and models to learn from them. I was lucky enough to find a photographer (and now friend), Shayan Asgharnia, that was willing to invest time and energy in helping me grow. He put me in touch with a couple publications and that got the ball rolling. I still have a long way to go. There’s so much I want to do and so many people I want to photograph. I don’t think I’ll ever “arrive”. My hope is that the demand for my work continues to grow.
Ana: How does your unique background feed into your shooting philosophy?
Marissa: I love moving with my subjects rather than dictating movements from the outside as an observer. I believe the awareness I have with my own body allows me to understand and direct movement and gesture in a nuanced way. My background in gender studies and experience as a professional birth doula allow me to connect with my subjects in a way that makes them feel safe, respected, and seen; I aim to help my subjects be presented in a way that feels true to who they are, without projection.
Ana: I think a lot of creatives feel drawn to a multitude of expressions and find it challenging, even frustrating, to choose the one. Yet, it seems you have been able to keep up with both your passions — you continue to travel for dance on a regular basis. How did you achieve a balance? (Did you?)
Marissa: I’m always trying to find balance and I don’t know that I’ll ever get there completely. It wasn’t until this past year that I even allowed myself to fully dive into my two primary passions (dance and photography) simultaneously. For a long time I thought I had to choose. I decided I couldn’t sever parts of my identity — to feel fulfilled I had to allow myself to live in both of those worlds. Luckily, I feel fully supported by the dance collective (Molly Heller, Heartland Collective) I’m in to invest in both performance and photography equally. We’re finding ways to make scheduling work.
Ana: What are the differences (or similarities) in how you tap into your creativity whilst on stage (dancing) versus behind the camera?
Marissa: I believe performance and photography both require full presence, intimacy, and seeing/listening. Being successful in either requires vulnerability and sincerity. Creatively, for both performance and photography, I am inspired by personal experiences, those I’m working with, and cultivating a specific environment. As far as differences go, performance requires bigness and allowing myself to be seen. Photography, I think, requires more listening.
Ana: What makes it easy or difficult to shoot someone’s portrait?
Marissa: Management of expectations. The most smooth shoots I’ve had happened because I entered the space with open-mindedness and a willingness to let the experience flow in the way it needed to. If I come into the space with rigid ideas, I often leave feeling unsettled. Shoots are easiest when everyone is open, has a good attitude, trusts others to do their thing, and is willing to connect authentically. Easy photoshoots are a team effort!
Ana: We’ve talked before about the challenges of feeling inspired during the current climate. Have you discovered any new/unexpected ways to feel creative during this time?
Marissa: This time is rough and I’ve gone through waves of feeling inspired and feeling detached and unmotivated. Something that’s motivated me creatively is returning to old ways of shooting. I have spent more time shooting still life photos, self portraits, and trying to spend time every day improvising and moving my body. It feels nourishing coming back to myself creatively.
Ana: Fill in the gap: “_______ is everything in portrait photography.”
Marissa: Sincerity.
Follow Marissa on Instagram.
Ana is a Multi-Disciplinary Designer and Art Director living in Los Angeles, California. She is a co-founder of an international digital studio GRIDDL , where freelancers come together to work on web-based projects.
