Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria McCray.
Alexandria, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
So, how my journey began all starts with the love and passion for anything that can be artfully expressed. I’ve always had a deep passion for music and singing. Any music makes me stop and listen to what the artist is trying to convey. I then went on to explore a new art when my mom had me dancing at 5, and I grew to teach Hip Hop at 15. I enjoy drawing and coloring. Reading and poetry. Old movies and musicals. But it was when my husband and I went to San Francisco that I knew photography was going to become my next artful exploration. While trying to take pictures of the city, I started becoming frustrated that the “point and shoot” camera wasn’t capturing what I wanted. When we got home, I BEGGED my husband for a professional camera. Like cried and begged! That Christmas of 2011, Santa Brought me my first professional camera body. I. Was. In. Love. For a while, I mainly just shot here and there. It was more of a new release to explore and play with. I didn’t think I would build a huge career out of it or anything. I just loved capturing for me. Two babes later and a move to Temecula, CA I decided I wanted to see just how far I could take this. It was just put on my heart to go for it. It’s been 2 1/2 years in, and I am still in awe of how much growth has become of this. I’m in love all over again. I truly believe that everything has a time and place. And I truly truly believe that this IS the perfect time and place in my life to see how far I can make this go. It has my heart. It’s so incredible to know that I get to meet new faces and hear new stories and see new places all from this. It’s an honor to be a part of so many chapters of peoples lives. Like…I just feel blessed. My heart is full….
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
So in the industry I would describe myself as a lifestyle wedding, boudoir, and portrait photographer. I love capturing people in their zone. I’ll “set you up” at first. But then I’ll turn on some music, talk to you, ask you to tell me about your “story”, tell me your jokes, or have you guys play games…. and that’s when the magic starts to happen. I start to see the tension and awkwardness go away. Real smiles and playful banter back and forth. It’s something else when you see the real person start to come out and trust you to do your thing. It’s an honor really. Strangers becoming vulnerable with one another. I love to focus on little details. Like the way her eyelashes curl, or the way he’s gripping her back as he pulls her in close for a kiss, or the way they looked at one another while talking about their love story. Then I have some couples who aren’t about that “mushy” stuff and we play games and dance and tell dirty jokes, lol! No matter what, I’m attempting to capture YOU! The real YOU! To show you YOU and how beautiful YOU are. That’s my ultimate goal. Not only do I want you to have memorable beautiful pictures, I want you to have a memorable experience. Not just a, here’s my money, pose, cheese, and bye! I then carefully choose the images that I feel are clean, crisp, or focused on what I wanted to capture and convey within that image. I then edit each one individually making sure to pay attention to detail and my signature editing style. It’s hours and days of work. But man the result is so so worth it!
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
I haven’t really seen a challenge yet on my end. In fact, I feel like there is so much unity within the arts. Artists love helping one another and supporting one another. I’ve met some pretty incredible fellow artists that took me under their wing and showed me the way. I’ve made some pretty incredible friendships. I can’t say THANK YOU enough to those that have helped me on my journey and growth. You have no clue how that makes me feel. If you’re a fellow artist reading this and are facing challenges with no one to ask for help, hit me up! I gotcha! #communityovercompetition
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
How you can see my work and show your love and support is by following me at the links below and sharing my work with your friends and family. How I extend my services and grow is all solely based upon you beautiful people.
Contact Info:
- Address: Temecula, CA
- Website: www.AlexandriaMichellePhotography.com
- Email: AlexandriaMichellePhotography@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/alexandriamichellephoto
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/alexandriamichellephoto
Image Credit:
Alexandria McCray at AlexandriaMichelle Photography
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
