As many of you know, inspiration is a huge facet in my business, as well as my life. Some of the smallest things have inspired and changed me in ways I never would have dreamed possible. A simple song, a scene in a movie, a picture in a magazine, two strangers we might pass in a park, or even the things my children say… these little moments that occur in my every day life provoke me. And it’s exciting! To nourish a small idea into an actuality is truly one of the greatest feelings in the world.
My hopes for the Be Inspired Interviews were small. What it has grown into is something much bigger than I ever imagined it would be. Words cannot begin to describe the level of gratitude I feel towards the amazing crew at Showit, without their unyielding support the Be Inspired Interviews likely would not have been nearly as successful in such a short amount of time. From the beginning, I decided to limit who would appear on Be Inspired to Showiteers, as they are more than my peers, they are my friends and in some ways an extended family. Having them share pieces of themselves with me, and you, is such an honor and I am so proud to share the stage (aka my blog) with them. :) So, to the Showit Crew & Showiteers, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
I am so excited about this week’s interview with the uber talented Children’s Photographer, Anita Matejka, based out of Bakersfield, California. If you have not checked out her website already, you must!! It is pure awesome! :) Happy Monday everybody, I hope on this day you are inspired. Enjoy!
My name is Anita Matejka (muhteekah) and I like long walks on the beach, puppy dogs, cupcakes and … Oh, wait, wrong interview.
What are 3 things we should know about you?
1. I believe that my business and life are not mine but God’s, so ultimately he is in control … trying not to take over the controls is something I am continually working on! One of the biggest lessons I am learning is how to balance hard work and trusting God to provide the business I need.
2. After God, my family means everything to me. Having a husband, 4 kids, 3 dogs, a guinea pig and a lizard, our house can be a bit chaotic at times (ok, all the time), especially to someone like me who isn’t very structured. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. While I love being the owner of my own business, I don’t ever want it to take priority over my family life and miss out on those everyday moments!
3. I may come off as shy, but once I’m comfortable, I can get a little obnoxious and crazy. I guess that’s probably why I love working with junior high kids at church … I can act like a 13-year-old and fit right in!
Define your style in 5 words:
Playful, simple, pure, fun, genuine.
What is your specialty?
Children most definitely are my specialty! I love being silly with them and letting them just direct the show. Adults intimidate me, unless they act like kids … ha ha! One of the things that I focused on when creating my Showit website was making it clear what my specialty was! I wanted it to scream “kids” so that people knew exactly what I loved to do!
What inspires your work?
Honestly, I am inspired by each of my subjects. While I enjoy looking at other artists’ work, I have found that trying to recreate a look doesn’t usually work for me, because all kids are different and will act differently. The joy of working with children is that they’re pretty genuine … and will do exactly what they feel like doing! So I usually try to plan a little and then just go with the flow and let each session be an inspiration in itself.
Where is your dream location to do a shoot or wedding?
Somewhere tropical, just because I love water and lush landscaping! Anywhere has to be better than Bakersfield! ha ha! Even though it has nothing to do with child photography, I’d love to do some underwater photography of cool sea creatures someday!
Divulge one of your dreams for your business:
Lately, I’ve been dreaming about owning a very cool building (old warehouse or house) and having it be a place where photographers/artists could rent out space to use on an as-needed basis. Something with great natural light, old brick walls and lots of character. I really don’t know how it would work or look, but you asked ;) Otherwise, as far as my photography business goes, I don’t have a specific dream … just continue to work hard and get better at what I do!
What do you love most about being a photographer?
I love working with kids and showing their personality through my images! I truly enjoy getting to know more about them and their character, whether they are shy and subdued or crazy and obnoxious! I also love the ability we have as photographers to make people feel good about themselves and seeing the beautiful person that God created them to be!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In all honesty, I haven’t really given much thought to the next five years. I try not to think about it, because that would mean my daughter would be going to college and that makes me feel old, broke and sad! But, hopefully with all four kids in school, I will have a little more time to devote to my business. I also see my daughter becoming more interested in photography, and it would be so cool to have her join me in business! We both have a heart for missions, so I would totally love to see her and I using photography as a way to help missionaries and orphanages around the world.
If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be & why?
Well, I was going to say that I don’t really have a specific answer for this, but I think I’d really like to meet Sgt. Showit Fast! ha ha! Seriously, though, I think I have “met” many people that I admire, but I wish I had more of an opportunity to have a really great in-depth talk with them instead of a “hi, my name is … and I think you’re great.” Unfortunately, I usually stumble over my words and look ridiculous, so it’s probably better for me to just say “hi!” The people I really want to meet are ones who do things differently … who don’t follow the crowd and whose faith in God is the center of their business and life.
As a fellow Showiteer, tell us what you love about Showit:
Honestly, I could go on and on about Showit, but I’ll try to condense it into just 10 paragraphs … ha, ha, I kid! Well, sort of. Well, for one, there is a great community of awesome people in the Showiteer Facebook group that are incredibly helpful! It truly feels like a family, and I have made some lasting friendships that I would not have had if I hadn’t been a Showiteer. I also love the fact that DJ and his Showit studs are actively involved in the Showiteer community … I love being a part of a community like that! As far as the Showit program itself, it has given me the opportunity to build a website that truly reflects who I am and in a totally unique way! No more templates that I never update because it takes too much time and work! Showit makes it so easy to add pictures … in fact, it’s not only easy, but it’s fun! I love all the options I have, and if I get tired of something, I can change it whenever I want! I remember the first time I opened the program, I felt a little overwhelmed, but after watching the getting started tutorial video and watching the Showit live show, I was rockin’ and rollin’ with my site! Within three days, I had my website up and running! I truly think the hardest part of the whole website process is the design itself and figuring out who you are and what you want your website to reflect. One more thing … I know, I know … sorry! But I am just starting to take advantage of the +site features, and they are so cool! I am constantly trying to think of ways I can use that feature to build my brand and provide even more for my clients!
What advice do you have for new photographers?
Find out who you are as a person and as a photographer. I think it took my awhile to do this, but I am glad to finally know what I really want to do. Also, work hard! Don’t rely on others to carry you through the process. Read books, online articles, blogs, discussion boards; study images; and even use pinterest.com to pin pictures that you are drawn to and see what they have in common and then learn how to do that with your work. Practice, practice, practice! I know it can be overwhelming, tiring, and frustrating at times, but like I always tell my kids, “Do hard things.” Because when we do hard things, we accomplish great things!
Be sure follow Anita:
Website: http://www.anitamphotography.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anitamphotography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/anitamphoto
