Tell us a little bit about yourself.
MM: I’m a visual artist, for those that don’t know what that means exactly… I basically take the photo, create the concepts and ideas, assist in the styling and the make up and create the ideas for the styling and the make up. I usually hire a team if I need to, but the times when I don’t I do the styling myself. Doing the make ups a bit of a reach though. With me, I like to create my image entirely from what is in my head. Obviously I like collaborating and it doesn’t mean I take from the stylist or the make up artist but I just know what I want in terms of how the image should look. For me a visual artist creates images – its not just photography, its not just clicking a button. I like working with colours, I like vibes from the 70’s. Thats my style and that sums me up in a nutshell.
What music do you work to?
MM: With music I usually listen to jazz and bossa nova when I’m editing. I don’t really like listening to words because it distracts me. Plus music puts me in a mood/vibe that ends up rubbing off on my work. When I’m shooting I usually like to let the model choose. I want them to feel some type of way, like Rihanna or Drake or Future, I want them to feel bossy, and do you know what I mean? So usually just that type of music, but it depends on the model.
I recently shot kids. It was like a bubblegum pop kind of thing and that was very different. If it was up to me, while I’m shooting I’d probably choose something that makes me feel tropical, you know, like island vibes. It so much better to have sounds and beats over words. I feel like the music helps me, especially when I’m listening to old school jazz and I’m editing a picture that’s got a 70’s thing going on, the music influences the images. That’s where I get a lot of my ideas from as well, listening to music.
You have worked with influencers and musicians from London to LA. What is your favourite city to work in and why?
MM: I used to love working in LA; they have the sun, every corner is amazing to shoot on and it was like there was never an issue… But now I feel like it lacks something, you know? I still love shooting there, the atmosphere is crazy, and I’m just in a different place creatively. With my work culture is fundamental. I always try to incorporate culture with the vibes I’m setting. Lately I’ve been more into tropical places. Portugal’s cool. I haven’t got a favourite place yet, *moment of realisation* India! India, India definitely.
What do you wish someone told you early on in your career? Wait how long have you been doing this?
MM: A fucking long time now! 8 years. Probably I’d say that I wish someone would have told me that social media was going to change the industry. I wish I’d known that. Then I would have prepared myself. I feel like social media has changed the game entirely. You know, you have a lot more people out there doing what you want to do and I didn’t have that when I started out. I literally had to grind without it, so for me I wish someone would have told me. Obviously that’s something that you can’t predict but I would have liked to have have known that was going to happen. *laughing* I probably would have prepared myself, tried to grind a little harder.
Lastly, what do we need to know about you that we don’t?
MM: I don’t drink… but that’s not really very fun. I would say people don’t know the attention to detail that I put in. If there’s a strand that I think needs to be in a models face, I will move that shit on to the models face! So yeah, attention to detail, but those who know that know that. Maybe more so that I don’t care about likes or followers or brand names, I do it for the passion of it.
You can see some of the work and get some more details about Misha here:
http://www.mishameghna.com
