Hi! I am Paige Monet a South Florida Based Photographer.

I wanted to take so time to formally introduce myself so you can get to know me better. The photo is of my as a little on in my home town El Paso, TX. It is one of my favorite photos of myself because I feel like it captures who i am still today. I am so excited to let you peek into my life and tell you how I got here today and what inspires me most.

Origin Story

I was born in a town in West Texas called El Paso. Growing up in El Paso was great. My grandpa would take me hiking in the mountains and bring me to UTEP games on the weekends. My mom had a job that had her relocate a lot so we eventually moved to Las Cruises New Mexico and then Saint Simons Island and Lastly Florida (There was a few stops in Florida also Tampa, Fort Myers, and now Fort Lauderdale.) My dad Lived in Wisconsin, and his family is based in Minnesota. So I spent all my summers living the Minnesota Lake Life. We had an honest Cabin on Lake Clitheral. Most of my best memories were spent there. We had this slide right next to the dock that plopped you right into the lake and I would spend most of my days going down it over and over again. When night fell we would often make a fire and eat s'mores and once the fire went out my dad and I would stay up light looking at the stars and talking about space.

Growing up I was always into art in some capacity. I vividly remember the first time I realized that I was actually pretty good at drawing. I had this book with a horse on the cover of it and I used that as my inspiration for the drawing I remember looking down after I finished it and compering it to the book cover and being thrilled. I think it was the first time I ever realized that I was good at something - I struggled with self doubt a lot through my life. From there I just kept drawing and making art. Then came the myspace and youtube area. I got super into photoshop and digital art when myspace was in its prime, I made my own banners, coded all the fancy HTML and over photoshopped all of my photos as we all did. I also started my own youtube channel (Please don't look it up- It is SO embarrassing) where I got pretty creative and made a lot of silly videos. I look at that time as my first step into photography. When I got to High School I decided to take Film Photography and this is where I feel in love with the Art. We learned everything about photography the history, composition, how to use a camera, camera settings, and how to develop it. I remember how excited I was after shooting a roll of film and seeing what I created. Even though I loved photography I never considered it as something I could do as a career. I didn't even know that was something people got paid to do at that point.

How I became a photographer

Let's go all the back to what I thought I wanted to be when I grew up. I think my first pick was a meteorologist which in retrospect is an odd pick for me since I was also terrified of bad weather. I literally could not watch The Wizard of Oz because the tornado scene scared me so much. I eventually moved on to I want to be "Americas Next Top Model" like every girl who was influenced by the show ANTM in the early 2000's. I was next influenced by the show cake boss and was set on being a baker (my only experience was in the form of an easy bake oven) but I ran with that one for quite sometime. You will notice a trend here that TV had a lot of influence on what Job I thought I wanted to be. After the baker dream fizzled out I thought "Forensic Scientist " I'll pause for a moment for you to guess the show I was addicted to at the time - Did you guess it? - Yup, Forensic Files. I feel like I am really showing my age here with all of these references. Ok I think you get the gist of it now it took me along time to figure out what I actually wanted to do. By the time I graduated High School I still had no idea, the thing that inspired me the most at the time was film and cinematography but that career path just felt really scary. So I started college with no concept of "What will I be when I grow up." I hit a little bump in life and dropped out of college soon after starting. From there I was a little lost for sometime , kind of a long time to be honest. I continued working in the Hospitality Industry and gradually made my way up that ladder. By the time I was 20 I was promoted to a Manager of a restaurant and I thought maybe this is my path? I Felt like oh okay I have a career , this job has health insurance, a 401k all the bells and whistles you know. That Job slowly wore down on me though, It was draining my soul I had no passion for it I started feeling very unfulfilled. So I went back to the drawing board, I still was not 100% sure on what I want to be but I came up with Software Developer. So I quit that Manager Job, Enrolled back Into College and got a part time Bartending gig in the meantime. After my first programing class I feel in love. I finished my Associates in Science in Software Development after two years with a 3.7 gpa and was starting to look at University's to transfer to, to get my BS. Now at this same transition period is also where I started picking up photography. I started taking a lot of pictures of scenery and my friends. Realizing I had the Eye for it - still not quite realizing that this would soon be my career. All of my first photos were literally taken on my I-Phone. I was soon encouraged by my at the time Boyfriend to jump in. So I did, I bought my first camera, built a website, started a photography instagram and Booked my first client. I really was ballsy because my first paid photoshoot was a proposal. I am very proud of myself for just jumping in. I quickly realized that this was my passion and I had t give it all that I had. So I said goodbye to school and have been building my business over this past year. Its crazy to me that I have only been doing this for a year and I am filled with gratitude with how much I have grown as a Photographer. Im going to put some of my very first photos below just for a fun little trip down memory lane.

My Early Work

Learning to run a business

So I know being a photographer is running your own business. However, I did not realize all that goes into it. Like at all. It is basically pouring all of your income back into the business over and over. I have learned so much this past year but feel like I still have so much more to learn. There is so many sides of it. It's wild but the taking photos is probably only 10% of what I do. It's keeping up with all social platforms Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Pintrest. Taking time to write meaningful blogs unsure if anyone will actually ever read them. Building and maintaining a website, learning about SEO and Marketing?? Marketing is tricky for me and I am still trying to learn that area. I have never been the sales women type of person and I feel weird sometimes doing ads. I know it's the name of the game but man is it tricky. Then I have to tie it all together with a cohesive brand identity, from what I have learned taking pretty pictures is not enough. Like I said I am not an expert at any of this but I am consistently learning. All I know is I will keep pushing.

Gear List

Sony a7iii

My main squeeze, you will never see me at a photoshoot without her. I love this camera so much. My favorite thing about this Sony is the dual memory card slots for peace of mind. I always have a back up of all my photos.

Buy it : Here

Sony a7ii

My first born. This camera has a very special place in my heart. This is my very first digital camera and she did me so well. Anytime I am shooting a wedding you'll see her come along as my backup camera.

Buy it: Here

Godox v1s

The flash of my dreams. I love this flash so much. One of my favorite things about this flash is its rechargeable batteries and battery life in general such an upgrade from my first flash.

Buy it: Here

My creative process:

What inspires me? So much really. Lighting, Shadows, Architecture, movement, and emotions. I also really feed off energy so when the couple I am shooting is giving it their all I get more inspired throughout the photoshoot. I am always looking throughout the shoot for those little unposed moments the in-between posing to see how the couple interacts naturally and capturing those small moments.