We were lucky to catch up with Renée Lopez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Renée , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
This is a tough one, you get caught up in what other people might think, is my work good enough is someone already doing what I am doing? I had to learn that none of that matters, if I am doing something I love and I am proud of it that’s the most important thing. Whenever that imposter syndrome feeling comes up it also tells me might be a time to take a break and just reflect on the work I am doing. I’ve learned I just gotta keep going no matter what because everyone’s art is important and it’s important to be creative, whether you get millions of people who like your art or 20, keep making art no matter what!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My favorite photography to capture is street photography, documentary style photos or anything culture related, my photography style isn’t perfect for me it’s all about capturing the moment a feeling of a photo. Capturing the Cali Lowrider scene, Bay Area culture and anything else that’s important to me, activism, Mommas, (I’m a single mom) Black Brown and Indigenous small owned businesses. Anyway I can help push the culture forward is what I’m all about. Currently I am working on a series called Alters 444 Mommas and it’s about highlighting and honoring the Matriarchs of families. This one is super special to me because I am a Mom myself. I’m starting off with Mom’s I know and then hope to capture Moms from all walks of life. I also want to show how Multi demential we are. nI hope to help Mom’s out in the world to not feel alone and connect with other Moms.
Another very exciting event happening is one of my photo’s I took of an all Women’s lowrider club The Dueñas is going up in the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC for a exhibit they’re putting together for the history of lowrider culture! To say I am honored is an understatement. The exhibit is supposed to be going up this year 2024 or 2025. They will also be taking it on a tour around the country as well.
Lastly I’ve got some gallery shows in the works first one coming up that’s been confirmed will be a Miss Lopez Media + Homies gallery show in San Jose, CA March 9th in Japan town.
I’m always blown away and honored when I get asked to do any of these things because I’m originally from Yakima, WA and what sparked my love for Lowrider’s was in the summertime we used to have cruises, that’s when I feel in love, making the move to Cali one of the goals was to get back into the lowrider scene. I hope my work inspires other woman and girls to take out their camera and capture whatever they may love or whatever is going on in their city. Don’t worry about it being perfect if it tells a story and it’s meaningful to you that’s what matters most.
“Create to share energy, create to express experiences , create to help people feel heard and understood”
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Find a mentor, someone who’s already doing what you’re doing. Lots of people are open to sharing how they got to where they are at! Ask if you can shadow them, be a student and take in as much as you can. Mentor other people once you get to a place where you can share your skills and tips. Sharing all the knowledge I’ve gained so far is super important to me. Believe in yourself, if you don’t believe in yourself no one else will, take leaps of faith ask for what you want, I’ve learned the worst they’ll say is no and that just means a redirection. Make sure to take time to rest, make sure to take care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally, burn out is real and can cause your art to suffer I know its hard in this capitalist society to make that time but it’s super important you don’t always have to be creating something and even if you take time off of your art it doesn’t mean you aren’t still an artist.
Lastly you can always start over as an artist if something isn’t working try something else. Switch up what you’ve been doing try a different art medium, you don’t have to be just this one type of artist. I don’t like being boxed in, in my photography I like to shoot everything and anything. Practice all the time, in my case, I made myself go shoot all the time I am self taught and the only way to learn is to make mistakes, but don’t give up mistakes are how you learn to do something better!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
I would have to say my community I’ve been able to build through photography! Every time something hard happens to me for example I just got my car stolen. I posted about needing community support on my social media and my community came through for me big time! I believe being a good person, and leaving a positive impact on someone especially strangers brings good karma your way. My gift is being able to connect with people pretty quickly, and that’s how I look at it in my photography an opportunity to connect with someone to hear their story. When people feel heard and understood I think that’s when they truly up in a photoshoot and I’m able to capture that moment. Same goes for my lowrider photography I love being in the streets with mi gente, getting to connect with my culture, getting to hear their stories of how they got the car etc. I love capturing the pride, the community, the familias, the OGs, the Ladies, the youth and everything in between.
Contact Info:
- Website: misslopezmedia.com
- Instagram: @misslopezmedia
