Meghan Quinn

What was your struggle to make it as a photographer like?
My struggle was to make money and keep doing my art for me. When I first came to California, I camped out on PCH in my Honda Accord while looking for an apartment for three weeks – it was fun, though, because the west coast is so pretty.

Then [my boyfriend and I] found an apartment and then I went through a couple jobs:
I first worked with retail in Santa Monica for one year and then quit because retail jobs held me back and didn’t allow me for flexibility; and they didn’t even pay me enough to make ends meet.

Within a month, got a job at Natural Health – a health magazine – for two years, starting out as photo assistant… then by my second year I was on the associate level, working full time and making more money and I felt like I deserved it. But then in May, everyone got laid off because the magazine got sent to New York.

Within a month – this past June – I got a job with The Advocate… when one door closes, another one opens and it’s so true in LA; it’s all about being brave enough to do what you want to do and something will open up. And it’s just knowing that you’re going to bounce back.

As photo editor I pull stock images for stories but a lot of it is calling people to get images from events or portraits to go along with stories. On rare occasion, I’ll get commissioned for a shoot… and I feel like I’m actually contributing than just talking about moisturizers. That was my last job – talking about yoga, beauty products and healthy food. I didn’t feel like all that mattered so I didn’t think I was going to do it… and as long as people are still fighting for gay and civil rights, it’s a job that will be there for me.

What do you take pictures of and why?
I like shooting my friends because I get a better connection [with them] and a lot of them are like my family and I like showing a beautiful and deep side of them more than anything.

I observe people and I capture what I love about them that… I feel like they don’t realize about themselves. I edit photos down to a degree. Some things that are off and unique.. I don’t like shooting model people because they’re like cookie cutters and boring. I like capturing the beautiful spirits of my friends and capturing the moments… everything I capture is why I love them so much and I want others to see how awesome they are.

Most artists don’t do it for the money… if I didn’t take photos, I don’t know what I’d be doing.

What was your childhood like?
I was a shy, quiet kid [who] moved around a lot so never got close to anyone. I was kind of a loner and my parents worked a lot so I felt like I never saw them… [Kids] picked on me for being pale and for having full lips so I was an observer… Sketch, my older brother by two years, totally acts like the younger one and it’s because he’s a big kid at heart. We weren’t very affluent and we grew up in a very rich area – Fairfax County – and it was really hard because they have warped perceptions of the world. I felt like I had to raise myself and … learn to entertain myself.

What is one experience that you vividly remember that changed your life?
One experience that changed my life was the last few months that I was in college. A lot of my friends were graduated and I only took one class so I could focus on my work and I had time to do my own thing and relax and I think that changed a lot because that’s where I became my own… and I felt like that DC march was one of the most unbelievable things that I ever felt because people actually gave a shit about something.

What do you want to tell aspiring photographers about success?
Success is about timing, place and luck. Success comes from good business sense. But I also think that you can feel successful when you create a great body of work that you’re proud of.

You’ve got to keep going. It might get slow at times but then sometimes when you least expect it, people catch on. Usually what you think is going to happen, the exact opposite happens. I thought I was going to be in New York working with Spin magazine!

www.meghanquinn.com

asterisk questions by Kathryn Davis