“As a child, I was the one who had the little camera with the drop-in film,” she said. “I would show up at our friends’ birthday parties or the [high school] senior trip, and I was the one documenting, taking the pictures.”
She took photography classes while attending Sam Houston State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and public relations. In the early 2000s, while running her custom greeting card business, her clients had a new request.
“My clients started saying, ‘I want me and my fiance’s picture on our save-the-date invitation; can you take the picture?’ Or they wanted their baby’s picture on the announcement,” Longoria said. “So, I started taking pictures for the clients.”
Eventually, she found she was taking more photos than doing actual design work. So, in 2011, she and her husband, Eric Longoria, opened Miranda Longoria Photography. “He carries equipment, and he’s been known to scout out locations for me,” she said. “He’s kind of the right-brain, and I’m the left-brain. When I need administrative advice, I go to him.”
The top three requests she receives for photography sessions are weddings, senior portraits and family portrait sessions.
“I capture moments as they happen versus trying to force the moments,” Longoria said. “A lot of times, the first thing I tell my clients is I’m going to put you in a pose, but feel free to laugh, breathe, giggle, snuggle and kiss, because we want to capture real moments.”
Prior to a session, Longoria will visit with clients to get a feel for their personalities.
“I like to narrow down the [photo session] locations based on what their personalities are,” she said. “Are they outdoor people or more urban people? Are they more active or more sit at home and cuddle on the couch? We’re not trying to make magazine layouts here. We want it to be real representations of who they are.”
Miranda Longoria Photography
[email protected]
972-313-5739
www.mirandalongoria.com
