Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Pearson.
Christina, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always loved taking pictures. When I was a kid, my parents would get me those little disposable cameras all the time and indulge in the mini photoshoots, I would make them do. Any time we went on a trip, I would only ever ask for more cameras cause I wanted to be able to take as many pictures as possible to relive the trip over and over again.
As I got older, they gave me a digital camera for my birthday one year. I loved it but I was also so shy I would never ask my friends to participate in any of my ideas and photography fell to the back of my mind for years. A couple of years ago, I co-directed a promo video for my church and fell back in love with capturing the moment and all its emotions on camera. I bought a DSLR camera and some lenses and started creating again. It was sporadic and I still was scared to ever ask people if I could take their pictures.
Queue quarantine. March and April seemed to last forever but it brought my friends and me closer than ever and one day In May, while on a picnic, me and a friend started to talk about these beautiful flower farms in Alvin (Froeberg Farm) on a whim. I said “it would be fun to take pictures there.” And the dream started to come to life right there and then. My friends are insanely gorgeous and made that next day so easy and so fun. I went home exhausted and sweaty but felt more alive than I had in a while. I wanted to share the feeling so I decided to make an account to be able to show others. And from that day, I’ve started taking clients regularly and absolutely I love it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part, yes it has been fairly smooth. I would say any struggles that I have had have been internal. I have had no formal training beyond a few classes in college and therefore have to talk myself off the ledge a few times before showing up to a shoot! I do my best to educate myself on each situation or possible situation to be able to perform the best for each client.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Xtina Captures is a working name, just to go with the flow of my other Instagram pages as I am also a writer and like keeping all those separated. I am a photographer and I specialize in portraits! I recently have branched out into events and headshots and love doing those as well!
I think the most special thing for me to hear is that I make people feel comfortable with being themselves. I love being able to show and capture what I see in people and show them. For a brief moment that I hope lasts longer than the millisecond it took to press the shutter, I hope to show my clients how strong or fierce or soft or beautiful they -really – are.
I am very real when it comes to my expectations. I go in with a general vision but I love to let the people I am shooting bring their own ideas to the table as well. We are all creative in some way and I would never squash that in anyone else. If someone sees something that I don’t, I welcome the ideas and feedback!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being dependable and genuine. Showing up and being fully present has gotten me far in life. I don’t like “playing the game” in business or personal life. I’d rather win and lose on my own merit and not because I wasn’t real to myself.
I want to be able to bring that genuineness out in people too. Make them feel wholly accepted as they are and comfortable with being themselves. I gravitate towards people that make me feel comfortable being me and as a person and as a photographer, I wish to do the same.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9363919851
- Email: cpearson8912@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xtina.captures/
- Twitter: @chris_alex89
Image Credit:
Jon David Finney, Grace Strouhal, Brianna Walston, Rose Bolt, Sarah Robicheaux
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
