Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monnyca Gammel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Monnyca, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
The journey I’ve had to believe in myself has come a long way to say the least. Quite honestly, confidence and self-esteem have never come easy for me. Until recently, I never fully thought about myself as being enough for anything or having a true purpose in this world. Since 2012, I consistently felt lost and my mindset just worsened as I started to lose control. I personally was at the lowest point in my life about 2 years ago and was ready to give up on life. My light inside was just about burnt out, but my boyfriend, Andrew, of almost 10 years being together and my passion for photography, showed me a reason to stay.
I never would listen to myself, my wants, my needs and my goals in my life. I would normally go about asking what others thought I should do for almost every decision, listen to every hateful comment a person would tell me and it became more problematic for myself because I never felt happy with my life or with myself. I realized I was never doing what I wanted to do and be who I wanted to be. I was scared to be myself and that fear led to questions I’d ask myself like “what if I’m not accepted? What if people start to dislike me? What if what makes me happy doesn’t work out?” and other questions like this would fill my mind. I realized I didn’t need approval from others and what they want. I needed to start asking myself what I wanted in life. All of these thoughts was fear just creeping up, making me overthink, not trusting my intuition and not listening to what I wanted for myself. Andrew helped me to see that to take control of my own life, I needed to start to think about myself, to stop comparing myself to other’s and to think about what I want. Everyone has their own journey and I needed to figure out what my path in life was. This is where I learned to keep going with my business and see where it leads. I saw that it is okay to take risks and find what your heart desires or else you’ll never truly be happy. Andrew and my passion for photography both gave me a chance to see that we are all individually unique in our own ways. I found a way to see the light in myself, be who I wanted to be and it’s okay to. I have now come to a point in my life where my light is glistening because I choose to be me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a 25 year-old professional freelance portrait and event photographer. While I create timeless memories for my clients, I am a full time student and will be graduating this year from the University of Houston-Downtown with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication Studies, Media and Public Communication, and a minor in Digital Media. As a photographer based in Houston, TX and anywhere else my clients desire, I shoot almost anything! In my line of work, I shoot newborns, children, couples, maternity, birthdays, seniors, families, small to large event, quincearena’s, sweet 16’s, elopements, small weddings, and so much more. Besides the regular work I shoot, I have separate pages consisting of a more intensely, dark aesthetic for my Boudoir Portraits and Cover Art Portraits for Artists. I love to try new ways to shoot, create new kinds of work for my clients, and create a relationship between my clients to have the best experience possible.
Portraits are not the stopping point for FMP in my line of work. I would like to progress my work further into becoming a videographer in 2024 so that my clients have both options when booking with me. Not only will my work consist of photography and videography, but Flash Moments Photography will add a chic and trendy clothing line full of merchandise created by me. I want to use my clothing designs to emphasize the moments in life, motivate others to achieve success and have a touch of mental health inspiration to help anyone to see that life is worth living.
As I create for my clients, the most special part about FMP is that we take into account that these are your moments you come to me to create. I take every piece of your session/event and create your images to the best of my ability while emphasizing every single image in its own way. Not every moment is the same. When creating and capturing moments, I take these timeless images and give them their own little spin. When capturing images for my clients on their special day, I create photos that shape each and every moment in their own way. I personally do not always like to edit each photo exactly the same because some photos can be a different moment so I want to emphasize those moments when editing. Taking a look at my work, I go for a certain style that not only aesthetically tells a story, but comes out looking mystical, dreamy, colorful, moody and sets a special tone for my clients special day. Every individual, couple or family has there own preference for there images and I take that into account when I edit the photos.
Furthermore, at the end of my sessions, I ask my clients how they would like their photos to be edited. I have my way of creating and editing there special moments, but I want to make sure of any do’s and don’t’s that they’d prefer to add when I edit there images. In addition, ever since I started to grow my love for photography when I first started, I had a polaroid camera for a couple years before putting it down for my company camera. Besides giving my clients there digital images, I have wanted to give something special to my clients that will represent their special day. Now, I interpret polaroid film photos into each session/event so that each of my clients have a film photo from the very day of their session/event. Overtime, this small film photo can become a cherished momento for my clients from their special day to last a lifetime.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Picking my journey piece by piece, a couple impactful parts of my journey I have come to realize overtime is for one, growth can take some time. Not everything can grow over night, but trust the process. In times when you want to give up, those are the moments you keep going. I promise it’s 100% worth the risk and worth your time. At times, I have felt like my company just is not going anywhere or I don’t have what it takes, but those are all just negative thoughts. Turn those negatives into a positive and you’ll end up seeing what you can really do with your business.
Secondly, a great quality to have would be to not be afraid to do something or create something out of your comfort zone. It is completely normal and understandable to be afraid because it’s something that is very new to you, but what if you never try? You will never know what could become that something that you have your mind set on, but you’re scared it will not work. Just go for it! It will always be worth the shot and worth a try. This is what got me into starting my business. I could think of a million different reasons to stop myself from taking a risk, but now, almost 7 years later I have captured so many memories, met so many wonderful people and created so many timeless memories for my clients to hold forever. This would have never happened if I didn’t take a risk in turning my dream into reality.
Lastly, many of us may feel like we are burnt out. There may be daily struggles you may be going through, you may be tired of the same thing over and over again, you try and stay consistent but things are slowing down instead of progressing. Take a step back and refresh yourself. Take a walk, step away from the computer for a day, go on a little getaway, go for a small walk to clear your mind, get into a good book, or anything else that takes your mind away from your daily responsibilities. Last year, in 2023 I struggled with figuring out time management which led me to feel burnt out. I realized that those little 15 minute breaks, a small coffee run or just a small getaway could help to reset myself and find my groove again within my work. Ever since I started doing these little breaks, I feel more energized, my editing styles come easier to me instead of being indecisive about a photo, and mental state is more refreshed than ever.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m more than happy to collaborate or partner up with anyone that would like to. I am always ready and wanting to create! I’m always open to mostly any ideas. I do have some personal interests I have and people/companies I would like to collaborate with such as models, small business owners or large corporations, magazine companies, and real estate companies for property photos.
I have a huge heart for magazine companies and would love to collaborate with companies who are looking for a photographer. In addition, I have many ideas in store for my company and am always looking for models to collaborate with. I am about to take on my clothing line and have been looking for models to showcase my clothing for my website and social media platforms.
Overall, I am always up for any task, challenge or idea you may have! I would be honored to work with you and create ideas for your special project/event/session. There are multiple ways to contact me! You are able to easily contact me via email, phone number, social media platforms or my website on the “Contact” page. You are able to view my work on my social media platforms and my website that is attached at the bottom of my story.
Contact information:
(832) 655-3621
[email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://flashmomentsphotography.mypixieset.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flashmomentsphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flashmomentsphotography.mymoments
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@flashmomentsphotography?_t=8jkcdHY94hv&_r=1
Image Credits
Profile Photo: Jessica Nguyen Photography
