Today we’d like to introduce you to Mehroz Kapadia.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a 19-year-old Muslim American that has a huge passion for photography.
My journey began when I was 13 years old. I had gotten my first iPod touch, which included a camera. I immediately started capturing pictures of everything; from food to flowers to anything that caught my eye. When I was in middle school, Instagram had just been launched. I loved playing around with all of its cool features, such as the filters. I was fascinated at how a filter can change the mood of a photo entirely. Eventually, posting my pictures and getting positive feedback from my classmates and social-media followers made me feel I was good at something, which made me want to be even better at it.
I took an introduction to photography class my sophomore year of high school, where I first was able to use a DSLR camera. It truly was one of the best classes I have taken. It opened my eyes to the world of photography. This class taught me how to appropriately use photoshop, to developing pictures while in the ‘dark room.’ I wanted to take additional photography classes, but unfortunately, my high school did not offer any. I tried my best to keep taking photos but drifted away for the last 2 years of high school.
When I began my college career at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst a year ago, it was not clear to me about which major I wanted to pursue. I thought about environmental science because I always had a passion for the environment, then I thought about computer engineering after talking to my parents about different majors. This time was exceptionally hard for me. I felt I was being pushed by several different people, such as my school advisor and my family because I needed to declare a major before entering my sophomore year of college. When I began to think about what I truly am interested in, I thought about my first iPod touch I used to take pictures with when I was 13 years old. I looked through my old photographs from my high school. I reminded myself of my first passion: photography.
Since I am apart of the first American generation, my family did not understand the concept of pursuing photography. It took me several years to convince my parents. Instead, they believed in choosing a career that was academic related, and not as risk-taking. I understood where their concern came from and their reasoning, however, I knew this was my passion. I wanted to show my parents why I enjoy photography, by letting them see my artistic ability through the lens of my camera.
When my parents saw how happy I was taking pictures, my drive and work ethic towards photography they finally got on board with my decision of majoring in photography at UMass.
Right now, I am spending my time taking pictures of my friends and capturing our best moments. My current goal is to build an Instagram following and to be able to take pictures of other people so I can capture their best moments as well. For me, the best feeling comes from seeing the look on a person’s face when I have snapped something genuine and meaningful. For instance, this summer my friends and I attended our first Pride Parade in Boston. The images I was able to capture reflect the joyous, loving and accepting nature of that day and it is an incredible feeling to be able to have and share those memories with my camera.
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?
As I had mentioned before, my first year of college was highly stressful as far as declaring a major. As a South Asian woman, and a part of the first American generation in my family, my parents encouraged me to “live the American dream,” by aiming for a high paying job such as a doctor, engineer, lawyer, etc. because they never were given the opportunity to. Although they never forced me to do anything, I felt obligated to fulfill their wishes and I wanted to make them proud. So, I spent my first year switching from major to major trying to choose something I will sort of enjoy and will make my parents happy. Unfortunately, I was miserable all year — I was not happy with anything I tried. Eventually, my parents picked up on it and encouraged me to do something I like and, of course, I chose commercial photography. It is truly a relief to be able to do something I love while gaining the support from my family, which at one point I thought was impossible. But there is nothing impossible if you simply work for it.
I have also struggled with self-doubt. I found it hard to feel pleased with my work and I was afraid I would not be good enough to make it in this industry. I have learned to believe I have to try my best, especially because this is something I enjoy doing. I think it is important to take risks in life in order to eventually live your best life. Of course, there will be a lot of bumps, failures along the way, but I know one day I will feel completely accomplished and most importantly, happy. I know that I am good at photography and hard-working enough to be even better.
Please tell us about your business.
Portrait photography has recently struck my interest for several reasons. There are so many things you can do with a person and so many stories you can tell just by a facial expression or even something as small as hand placement. I have spent a lot of my summer watching endless video tutorials on YouTube about portrait photography and practicing it on my own by posing my friends in front of the camera. However, my best photos are the ones that are captured at the moment, when my friends are not paying attention. In these moments, I feel like I have captured a genuine mood that is photographed forever. When I go to edit these pictures, I can’t stop smiling at how authentic my friends are in the moment. I want to continue doing this for individuals I work with, I want to capture their best moments.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
I think a lot of women are dominant when it comes to creativity, for example, today in the makeup industry. Makeup companies have grown exponentially over the years because a lot of women have created careers out of creating and doing makeup and teaching others how to do it as well. Other than that, I do not think there are specific opportunities well positioned for women or men. Anyone can be qualified for any kind of job and gender should not be a factor. Unfortunately, that is not the mindset many people have. Which is why I think it is important that the media focuses on the challenges women face on a daily basis. It allows viewers to become aware of these challenges so they feel compelled to make a difference in the future. It also encourages women to persevere through these challenges as it creates a sense of community, meaning women recognize that they are not alone and can make a difference as a group.
Contact Info:
- Email: roze121@comcast.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayrosephoto
Image Credit:
@mayrosephoto
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