Meet Mirelle Carmichael | Professional Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mirelle Carmichael and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mirelle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I had been working at a private investment firm when the market started to take a turn for the worse. I always knew that I wanted to pursue photography, so although I worked in the finance industry, I spent my weekends photographing families and weddings. I suppose it was my way of creating a backup plan, learning the craft over time and gaining knowledge about an industry unrelated to the one I was in.

After my daughter was born in the fall of 2009, I decided to pursue professional photography full time. It was a risky move with a newborn, but still I found the idea attractive. It was a career in which I could follow my passion and create art for my choice of clientele, where I could take control of my own schedule with a growing family, have the opportunity to travel the world, and start a business with a fairly low startup cost with high income potential. It was worth the risk, and I feel very lucky with where my career has taken me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a fine art wedding and portrait photographer based in San Diego. The majority of my work is in Southern California, but I also travel around the world for my clients. Professional photography has been my full time job for 12 years.

To me, every wedding has an exclusive story, with fleeting moments, and beauty that is enduring. My intention is to document an overall sense of celebration, moments of joy, and romantic imagery for each of my clients. My photographs are full of light, color, and emotion. My photography services are seen as an investment for my clients.

My experience with medium format film is an appreciation and love for a fine art, timeless feel in photographs. I have learned to truly consider every image I take – to really look at the composition of a photo before I press the shutter. Shooting digital mixed with film-editing allows me to truly capture a wedding from all angles, at a pace that matches an event’s demands. In the end, my clients will have a collection of timeless, heirloom quality photographs.

I’m proud to say my work is frequently published with many print magazines and online publications, but getting to this point definitely had its challenges.

I found starting my own business to be incredibly intimidating, especially as a minority woman. I am the 1st generation daughter of Filipino immigrants, and up until I established my business, my career focus had been to make a steady income, and to ‘play it safe’. When I started, I found it hard to network in the industry. I know firsthand how hard it is to stand out in a sea of artists, especially among a group of people who are already established. Not everyone was super welcoming to questions or inquiries about their art.

I felt a little embarrassed that I could not say I was a photographer that came from an art school, or an art career. Therefore, I felt like I had much to prove, Even though my photography education isn’t technically formal, I’m proud to say I have been able to pull from other aspects of my education and work background in terms of successfully running my own business. In the beginning, I also felt a little lost in figuring out my style. Every photographer has a different approach and look to their craft, and it took a while to find my comfort zone. Once I got there though, it was smooth sailing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Diego has so much to offer! I live in Vista, so here in North County we love eating at Shaks Mediterranean Bistro (hello, neighbors!) and Dog Haus. While my kids surf at the Oceanside Pier I love grabbing breakfast and getting some computer work done at High/Low (at the Mission Pacific Hotel). As a family we also love packing a picnic and hanging out in Del Mar by Seagrove Park or on Coronado Island on the city side (then heading over to the Del to play at the dunes). We also love collecting sand dollars at Silver Strand beach. I also love visiting what I think are the San Diego classics: Balboa Park and La Jolla.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In my case, it truly took a village to get me here. I’d like to shoutout my husband, Patrick Carmichael for his unconditional love and support, particularly in the early years of building my business. My sister Cheryl, who has been in the business with me since the beginning. She has continually supported my growth as an artist and been my sounding board as I fine-tuned both the creative and administrative sides of our work. My parents and my in-laws, who have always lovingly offered to babysit my kids when I have been working. And my community of industry friends, who have been open and loving the past 12 years of this journey.

Website: www.mirellecarmichael.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirellecarmichaelphoto/