Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Alonzo.
Hi Monique , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been creating art since I could pick up a crayon. Obsessed with stories and building my own, I grew up playing pretend in the woods everyday.
Being an only child, you make due with what you have. I have often found comfort in stories of grand adventures filled with epic battles, seriously crazy plot twists, and overcoming hardships with friends and found family.
In 2016 I graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with my Bachelor’s in Fine Art. Photography is in my veins. It’s more than just point, capture, deliver product. I focus on what matters, remove any distractions and share a story with each pixel.
Working as a professional photographer for over a decade now, I started out as a portrait photographer at a corporate studio. While I am very thankful for the skills I learned from them, ultimately, I found out that it wasn’t for me. Many corporate studios see you, the client, solely as a number and give their photographers minimum creative control. Stick to the script and move along.
I want to make our sessions an experience to be remembered.
To build a story, a relationship.
I find you really capture the best portraits when you’re comfortable with who you’re working with. Someone you can be yourself with.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. It’s a constant battle of fighting Imposter Syndrome, uncertainty, and keeping confidence. Like most creative people, I find myself questioning if I really am good at what I do. I wonder often if I’m not just pretending to be a small business owner and true artist. I’m not so busy that I have to turn people away, I’m not fully booked months in advance, and other general struggles of being an independent artist.
What truly has helped is having such a solid support system. My friends and family constantly cheer me on, refer me to others, and encourage me to keep going. Especially in the moments I question if I should keep at it or not.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Cosplay and Thematic photographer.
Cosplay is a play on words for costume play. This means that people will dress up as their favorite characters from various forms of media. Anime, Comics, Movies, books, if there’s a type of nerdy medium, you can bet there are people dressing up as the characters. So think Comic Con, and that’s the most general way to put an idea on part of what I do.
I love to hear why people dress up as the characters they choose. Why they enjoy the series, and what draws them to that specific character. I then help them make portraits that embodies those feelings and put them in the characters world.
I feel like I can offer an insider perspective and truly understand what it is my clients are after in their images. I have been cosplaying for nearly 20 years. The love that goes into stepping into a character and the joy of having fun with friends is something I’m very familiar with.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Book a session!
I am local to the San Antonio area and I know a lot of cool locations that work for great backdrops for creating the world you want to be in. Along with on site locations, there are plenty of studios to shoot at as well.
You can also follow my Instagram page where I show off all my cool clients and their amazing cosplays. You can check out my art and keep an eye out for Convention appearances or planned work weekends where I discount some sessions.
Pricing:
- I try and make things affordable in a world that is quickly becoming not so much.
- On Site Locations range from $130 to $300+, with some give or take with travel fees and location permits.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wildmomo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildmomophotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildMomoPhoto
- Other: https://sites.google.com/view/wild-momo-portfolio/home
