Stories
Morgan Pansing
Photography by Claudia Lucia
I completely loved exploring your website and the beautiful photos and reading the blog. I read a quote of yours, “as mothers and as women, I think we are constantly measuring ourselves up against perfection”. Can you comment on this and how you manage this pressure of having a career and family.
It's so hard to balance it all, right? I’m slowly learning to let go of this idea of perfection in all aspects of my life. Sometimes I have dishes in my sink that get piled up, and piles of laundry that need to be folded, but when I pick my kids up from school I strive to be present for them. They don't care if the laundry isn't folded, they just want my undivided attention for a short amount of time between their playdates and their activities and if I can give that to them and get off my damn phone for an hour or two to be present with them, then I'm feeling pretty good. I recently heard someone say "success is when you are striving towards your greatest potential". I can't remember where I read or heard it but I keep on thinking about it. If I am striving towards being the absolute best that I can be in all that I am doing then I consider that far greater than striving for the myth of perfection.
Your photography portfolio has a beautiful array of family and commercial shoots. What do you like about each challenge?
I have been loving my larger scale commercial shoots recently because I get to see all aspects of the creative process through from start to finish. It's so satisfying to help a brand establish a new visual identity and get them the images that they need to elevate their brand to the next level. My favorite part of my job is telling a visual story and I always hope to tell some type of relatable human story weather it be in my family shoots or my commercial work, my hope is to share aspects of our common human thread.
I was struck by how natural you keep your shots of people. Not too posed. As a photographer, how do you manage to get the photo you want without making people look too posed or self-conscious? I can say that you make me feel more relaxed in front of the camera than anyone ever!
You know how much I love working with you. You are forever a muse to me! And honestly this is one of the best compliments that I could get about my work. I hope to capture my subjects as they are in their most pure state. I want to show humanity and especially women as their multidimensional most honest and truthful selves. Beauty to me is about truth, and I want to show each woman's truth.
What are the challenges and benefits to being on your own as a photographer?
I love aspects of the freelance lifestyle and running my own business but it also has it’s challenges. I feel guilty if I’m not spending enough time building my brand and my business and I have major mom guilt if I’m not spending as much time with my kids as I would like. But I also really love having complete creative control of my vision and my brand. I’m working on letting go of the mom guilt, and my hope is that I am setting the example of following my dreams, working hard, and striving towards being the best that I can be.
{ Morgan is wearing the Asta Jumpsuit in Black }
Do you have to market yourself…or by now, are you known enough for people to pursue you?
I am the first to say that I am not the best at marketing myself, but I am learning as I go. I find that word of mouth and Instagram are the two things that bring me the most business.
Is it important for you to support other women who run their own business? Why?
YES!! I find that other female business owners are some of my greatest inspirations, some of my favorite people to work with, some of the most creative forces around, and my greatest supporters! I feel so grateful to have such an incredible community of female business owners and a tribe of women that I can count on to lift me up and whom I can lift up as well! I don’t know where I would be without you all!
{ Morgan is wearing the Mallory Dress in Cream }
I know that women’s issues and politics are a top priority for you and I am honored to have been chosen to participate in your recent Vote Your Change campaign.
Thank you so much for your support of our Vote Your Change campaign Rachel!! Having your voice in that project truly meant the world to me!
After witnessing the Kavanaugh hearings I was devastated and heartbroken and REALLY PISSED off. I had wanted to create images that reflect this time in which we are living and made a political statement for awhile. And after witnessing the blatant display of misogyny and patriarchy that confirmed Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, I knew that I could not remain silent. I met with my dear friends and amazing activists Lulu Brud and Gabrielle Weissman and we created our Vote Your Change campaign (@voteyourchange). Visually inspired by the Civil Right's Movement and the Women's Marches, we gathered together our community of women to make our voices heard, because together we can create change.