The Beginner Photography Podcast

Gaining Access and Experience in Concert Photography with Zenia Monteagudo

• Raymond Hatfield

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#579 Zenia Monteagudo is an experienced music and event photographer who has recently begun exploring family portraiture. Zenia shares her personalized journey into photography, starting from her early fascination with disposable and point-and-shoot cameras to a pivotal moment when she purchased a Sony camera on clearance at Target. This chance purchase set her on an unexpected path, leading to opportunities in music photography, including shooting concerts at iconic venues like Red Rocks.

KEY TOPICS COVERED

  1. Starting a Photography Journey & Building Confidence - Zenia’s chance transition from hobbyist to semi-professional highlights the role of curiosity and saying "yes" to new experiences, even without a portfolio. Building confidence can be a struggle, but validation from others—such as bands requesting to use her photos—provided the encouragement to pursue her passion professionally.
  2. Concert Photography: Skills, Challenges, and Opportunities - Zenia offers a frank look at shooting concerts, from initial “shot in the dark” gigs to handling pro gear, unpredictable lighting, and the high-energy atmosphere of music events. She emphasizes the need for adaptability, technical growth (moving from kit lenses and manual focus to more sophisticated equipment), and the thrill of capturing authentic moments.
  3. Transitioning Between Genres & The Power of Candid Photography - The episode contrasts concert photography with family portraiture and events, exploring Zenia’s process as she adapts to settings with different expectations, emotion levels, and technical requirements. Her candid approach, focused on real moments over posed photos, remains consistent.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTS

  • Photo Pass: Special permission or credentials granted (often by a venue or band) allowing a photographer to access areas for professional photography, particularly in concert settings. It often requires a portfolio and/or assignment from a publication.
  • Candid Photography: A style of photography where subjects are captured naturally, without posed arrangements or direct awareness of the camera. This approach centers on authenticity, emotion, and storytelling.

DISCUSSION & REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. What opportunities can arise from saying "yes" to experiences outside your comfort zone as a photographer?
  2. How does photographing candid moments at events or concerts build storytelling skills in photography?
  3. In what ways does the environment (concert, event, family session) influence the techniques and mindset you bring as a photographer?

RESOURCES:
Follow Zenia Monteagudo on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zen_e_ah_/

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Zenia Monteagudo:

Photograph anything and everything, like it's really hard to get a photo pass if you don't have a portfolio. So it's kind of like you gotta build your way up. And luckily I was able to start up here. And then, after I started taking photos at bigger venues, I would still go to like the smaller venues just to get everything and anyone.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, photo friends Raymond here, and welcome to the Beginner Photography Podcast, where every Tuesday I drop a brand new episode to help you capture better photos by learning from some of the world's most creative photographers. And here on Thursdays, I share a Rewind episode, which is a past conversation handpicked because it is just as valuable today as it was when it first aired. So whether you're brand new or you're revisiting with fresh ears. This one is packed with Timeless photo wisdom to help you grow behind the lens. In today's interview, I chat with community member Zenia Monte Gudo about how to build a concert portfolio from scratch. But first, the beginner of Photography podcast is brought to you by Clouds Spot. You know this you can sell your photos through prints, products, and of course digitals as well. You can set up a storefront in minutes and start earning more with every gallery you send. So grab your free forever account today over@deliverphotos.com and only upgrade when you're ready. Today's guest, Zenia is not only a member of the beginner photography podcast community, but she's also a really talented concert photographer. And I think what's crazy about concert photography is that, It's one of the absolute hardest tests that your camera will go through. And that's especially true with an entry level camera, from dim stages, intense bursts of bright light, lasers and like colored lights and stuff. It's absolutely crazy. But if you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to make it work. And as you'll hear, that's exactly what Zenia did. We also talk about, dealing with imposter syndrome when shooting next to somebody who's been doing it for decades and building a portfolio that stands out so that you can shoot more concerts. And remember, Zenia is part of the Beginner Photography podcast community, along with 6,000 other members just like yourself. So if you're not a part of the community yet, what are you waiting for? Come join us by heading over to beginner photo pod.com/group now. Zenia, my first question for you is, who are you and what do you do?

Zenia Monteagudo:

my name is Xenia and I do photography, or I do mostly music photography. and I have been trying to get into more of like family portrait type stuff. But I've been doing music photography for five years now, and I kind of fell into it, randomly. How so? I, um, bought a camera at Target years ago. It was a, a Sony a 3000. And, at before that I was just taking my pointin shoot everywhere and I, so this was detachable lens and I'm like, wow, this takes amazing photos. So, I started doing, Like community events, like, hey, you know, if there's like a brew fest or a parade or something, I would just contact whoever was in charge, Hey, can I photograph the event? And I kind of just started doing that more and more, and went to. concert of a band I really like and took some photos and then I get a message, from them and they're like, Hey, can we use some of your photos? I really like them. if you ever want a music pass, you're welcome to one. So that was like, oh, if I ever want a music pass. So then I kind of just asked for Music Pass for like every event that they had coming. And, they had some really cool, Events coming up at that time, like I was able to photograph in Red Rocks, PBS special, those kind of like things where it was like I was kind of new to the music photography world, and then I was like really thrown into it, like, at first.

Raymond Hatfield:

So how did you get into photography then? If so, I wanna know, why did you go to Target and why did you decide to buy that?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Well, well, I always, I mean, I always had a camera with me like. as a kid, like disposables or point and shoots later on. And then I went to Target and I saw this camera and I'm like, wow, this is beautiful. And it was like clearance. so I bought it and I went to Seattle with my family. Like that month. And I took this picture of my daughter and she's like, holding this butterfly, and I'm like, wow, this is amazing what this camera could do. and then from there I went and got like one of those like cowboy setups with lights and with, you know, contacted all my friends, like, I will take pictures of your kids and your babies and, anything that I could take pictures of. but at that time I kind of was gearing more towards that event stuff, so that whole like studio setup is overwhelms me.

Raymond Hatfield:

Right. It can do that in the beginning for sure. Yeah, there's, yeah, so many extra pieces there. Tell me, what was it about that photo of your daughter and the butterfly that made you think like, whoa, this can do some pretty amazing things.

Zenia Monteagudo:

just kind of the, the zoom in, like how that butterfly just froze. So we were in this, at the science museum in Seattle and it, and they have like this butterfly house and it's just like a thousand butterflies in here. And, this butterfly landed on her finger and it just like froze. And I was like, wow. You could, you know, way different than a point at you kind of thing where it's like, oh, here's a moment, but this is like, you could really zoom in on that butterfly and capture all these details. And, the milky background and stuff mm-hmm. That you could do with a non-point and shoot at that time.

Raymond Hatfield:

So in that moment, did you think my life is changing, like I'm going in a new direction? Or was it, was it a little bit, yeah. I mean,

Zenia Monteagudo:

yeah, it, it was, and I was like, I really love this, like, I love, like photo journalism, kind of like documentary photography. so I found myself, not like. Telling my kids like, Hey, stand here and I'm gonna take a picture of you. It was more like, go run amuck and I'll take a picture. Okay. So that's where I, was like, oh my God, I really love this. And then the whole event thing. And then, you know, I was, people started asking me to shoot events like, uh, the Brew Fest year that I've shot about. Six times or so now.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. That is awesome.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. So,

Raymond Hatfield:

so when you first started reaching out to these, events, brew Fest and, parades and whatnot, can you tell me like where you were at in your journey? Was this like a shot in the dark, like if they do it awesome. Or did you feel like you already had a portfolio and you were ready to go?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Oh no. It was a shot in the dark. Yeah. No, I mean I, uh, yeah, it was complete shot in the dark. Like, Hey, I have this camera and I wanna take some pictures. Do you think it'd be okay? Yeah, sure. Come on. so that's kind of how I built my portfolio. Wow. at that point. And so back, this was God, 2014, 15 or so. so back then some local venues still allowed you to bring in detachable lenses. so I was able to, take some photos from behind the pit at that time. Mm-hmm. It was like, I love that whole excitement of music photography.

Raymond Hatfield:

That, before we get into that, I got another question. Yeah. Was, was one of the first events that you shot a Brew Fest?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yes. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. So before you had showed up, did you have a plan of what you wanted to capture or how did you know if you were gonna be successful that day?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yes. So my plan, I felt comfortable just doing like, candid photography and the event had a different plan for me, which I wasn't comfortable with. So that was kinda like really stepping outside my comfort zone at that time. they wanted me to photograph like the award ceremony and had, you know. People stand there and, and that just kind of makes me uncomfortable or, or did at the time where I'm like, oh, shoot. Like, you know, in a snap of a moment, how do you get, it's 300 people and chaos. some of those pictures turned out, the others were awful. but it was a learning experience. But the candid photography ones were pretty good. Mm-hmm. Okay. I was happy with those.

Raymond Hatfield:

So when you decided to move forward with doing music, right, that first event that you went to, or that first concert that you went to, your favorite band, you start taking photos, what was it that you were looking for?

Zenia Monteagudo:

um, through, well, when tho those initial photos were, actually, I didn't have a photo pass then, so it was just. Hey, I'm gonna go to this concert, which was in, Vancouver, BC and just take photos of what I like to take photos of. Sure. Like that energy of people like, oh my God, I love this band. They have kind of like a big following of people who are like hardcore fans. So, like standing by the. The front of the stage waiting. And so that intensity of emotion is what I love to capture. Mm-hmm. And so I did that, without even thinking, Hey, they're gonna be like, Hey, can we use your pictures? and then when I. They gave me a photo pass for the first time and it, you get to bring in all your gear and, you know, have access to, the other side of the, the gate. And I was like, what? Like, it was like a dream come true. I was like, oh my God, this is it. Like I wanna do this for the rest of my life.

Raymond Hatfield:

Tell me what were some of those challenges that when you first started shooting? I'm sure that shooting, oh God, everyth life has gotten be difficult.

Zenia Monteagudo:

It was a mess. It was like, oh, you know, just not being, having full control of the camera at that time and not even having like the right lens. I think at that point I had like a kit lens or something. I don't even know what I had at that time. So you were shooting in

Raymond Hatfield:

some sort of like program mode?

Zenia Monteagudo:

yeah, it was in Portland, Oregon at, The crystal Ballroom. Mm-hmm. So, you know, it was a huge place with a ton of people. and looking back now, I look at those pictures and I'm like, they're awful. Um, but the thing I do like love about those pictures is that and, the intensity of the emotions. Like there was this kid who must have been about 14 and still to this day, this is one of my favorite photos. He was up there and he was like, I'm not moving. I love this band. I've never seen anyone do this. to these instruments before. and there's a picture of him like looking at Cooper, which is, the banjo player, and he was like, just like a magical moment. And I'm like, I'd love to capture that. And so I, I think that first event, I captured those emotions well, but holy cow, the pictures were, were blurry and, I just couldn't keep up with the lights and. So how do you change that now?

Raymond Hatfield:

Because I'm sure that your photography has come quite a way since then.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, just a, you know, different camera too. In five years, the camera world has changed a lot actually, with like low light situations and stuff. So I traded in that camera. I actually bought or sold my camera to a friend who he still has that camera. I love that. I get it, like attached to my camera. So, I bought a Sony, Sony A two and I got a manual focus lens, so I am like, I'm gonna teach myself how to do this with which I still have, and I love this lens. It's, um, an 85 1 0.4, and so no auto focus, and I just went at it like I'm. I actually shot just manual focus for four years recently. Oh, wow.

Raymond Hatfield:

For four years. Oh my gosh. So, yeah, I

Zenia Monteagudo:

refused. I was like, I refused to use autofocus. Why? I refused it. I don't know. I just, I felt more comfortable maybe from like years of like film shooting, like back then Uhhuh, where. Yeah. So I, that's kind of how I just went at it and taught myself with.

Raymond Hatfield:

Are you still shooting with that lens today or have you moved on to another focus now? I, I

Zenia Monteagudo:

shoot, well, I'm actually gonna, loan it to someone who's starting out with music photography. I'm like, here's my magic lens that I love so much. no, I shoot, auto focus now mm-hmm. And have different lenses. But yeah, I mean, at the time I just had like an fixed 85 1 0.4 and. which, you know, I find it easier actually to shoot with the, the manual focus and the high intensity of lights and to, to kind of get a clearer picture. Like maybe it's

Raymond Hatfield:

just I've never shot concerts before. Like this is a whole new world to me, and I'm sure, yeah, it's dark. As you mentioned there, there's lots of lights going on. Does that mess with the auto focus quite a bit.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah, it could. especially I don't shoot smaller venues a lot anymore, but like those like little bar kind of venues that have intense lights, it's just the camera wants to go focus everywhere and not where it's supposed to. But, Bigger venues, have amazing lights and a good space for the photographers. But, yeah, starting out is not like that where you're basically like crawling between a bunch of drinks and you're like, don't. Yeah. but yeah, I mean that lens I used it to shoot at, um. caverns in Tennessee, at a PBS special. So that was like one of the first events that I did that I'm like, holy cow, what am I doing here? and I got to meet my, like one of my favorite music photographers and shoot with him. And who's that? It was like, really? Michael, and I'm probably pronouncing his name wrong, uh, winter Rob. Mm-hmm. And he was the house photographer at Red Rocks for 20 years and has a really cool, he, it would be awesome to hear an interview with him actually. What would you wanna hear from,

Raymond Hatfield:

from Michael?

Zenia Monteagudo:

just kind of like his story and how, he shot at Red Rocks for 20 years and photographed like the Grateful Dead, you know, like huge bands and Wow. He has are, yeah, some really cool like art projects. He's really an inspiration, but so, yeah, I went, I asked that band, I'm like, Hey, can I, you know, you guys are gonna be at this, like live recording. Can I photograph there? And I was the only other photographer there besides michael and I was nervous. I was like, oh my God, he's gonna, like hate me. Like what are you doing here? Are you amateur? But he was like the sweetest guy. Like, he even like showed me his photos and was like, what do you think of this one? I'm like, you're asking me. and I did take some photos there that I really enjoyed. and yeah. And then that same week I photographed Red Rocks, which was like another dream come true. I was like, what am I doing here? And then Covid hit, so, and then Covid. Yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

I know, right? Threw a big wrench in everybody's concert plans for sure. when you were shooting there next to Michael, was there anything that you learned from him that you picked up? I mean, obviously you had tons of experience. Was there anything that you started implementing into your photography?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Kind of just to be maybe like a little more like confident.'cause he, you know, I'm like, what do you do with all the lights? And he's like, just pretend you know what you're doing. Kind of like, basically he didn't like view me there as like, oh, you're like, you know, an amateur. He, more like eye to eye and just, to keep doing what you're doing and the more you take pictures, the more you learn. Yeah. So that's basically what I got from him, from someone who at that time had been doing it for like 25 years.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Wow. So let me ask, obviously you've shot quite a few concerts up to this point. I know that concert photography is one of those things that I think sounds pretty cool, and I can think of some of my favorite bands that I would love to like go photograph. Yeah. If you had to start over, how would you get into concert photography? Would you do it the same way that you did or would you try something new?

Zenia Monteagudo:

no, actually I feel really blessed that I was able to do it the way I did. I do have like folks. Like ask me like, how can I do this? How do I get into it? And I think basically, just, I mean, photograph anything and everything, like it's really hard to get a photo pass if you don't have a portfolio. So it's kind of like you gotta build your way up. And luckily I was able to. Start up here. And then I, after I started taking photos at bigger venues, I would still go to like the smaller venues just to get everything and anyone. even actually one of the bands that I photographed years ago, they just sold out at Red Rocks for two nights. And at that point when I photographed them, they were like in a basement here in Montana. so yeah, it's An interesting journey and I don't think that there's like a set way of like getting into it. It's not like, you know, you have to go to school or do you know this, it's Basically whichever road leads you there. And I think everyone wants to be in or a different part of music photography. Like no one likes the same music But I photograph, I guess every, like, I don't even care about, you just love being there.

Raymond Hatfield:

You love the

Zenia Monteagudo:

energy. I just love being there. Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes I'm like, oh, wow, I didn't even know I would like this band. Or actually, my favorite part is like the interaction, like the band, the fans and the band, like the hardcore fans that are like, oh my God, like I've been waiting my whole life for this.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, really? What, what do you mean by that? So like you interacting with them or their interaction? Yeah.

Zenia Monteagudo:

So when you, when you're like at the photo pit at, before the show you only get three songs. You're up there, waiting for the band and then, the fans are there and they're like, Hey, are, what are you, you know, where, what are you shooting for? That kind of stuff. And just getting stories of like why they love the band, how they started listening to them. It's a good way to learn about a band that I know nothing about.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. That is cool. That is very cool. I bet you get to meet some very obviously very passionate people if it's gonna be passion, one of their

Zenia Monteagudo:

favorite bands. Very, yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. That is cool. Yeah. I wanna ask you about something earlier. You said to get a photo meet difficult and that you need like a portfolio to show how do you get a photo pass? Like, are you reaching out to the venue? Are you reaching out to the band and then looking? Uh, there's, there's different

Zenia Monteagudo:

avenues you could take. initially, you know, I was reaching out to the band, so the band that was, shooting for, and once I had, enough material to show, reach out to like local venues and say, Hey, do you need an extra shooter for, just. Like the house photographer's out or, just, Hey, can I photograph this? And a lot of the smaller venues are honestly like, please, we need, promo photos, so can you do this? Wow. and then there's the avenue of like, music magazines. There's a lot of those now. That like are very tiny music magazines and you could, request to shoot for them. But you normally have to write like a review and I'm not really into Oh, like

Raymond Hatfield:

of the band or Of the concert? Yeah, yeah, of the band. Oh, I see. Yeah. I would imagine that because of the internet, there's probably more bands than ever. They're probably not as big as before, but there's probably more bands than ever. Oh

Zenia Monteagudo:

yeah. There's a lot of bands.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Which would mean that there's probably more concerts than ever as well in small venues. Yeah. So that makes sense. So yeah, smaller venues, reaching out to those small venues, right? Mm-hmm. You said that they need some promo photos. So when you go to show up for a concert, do you try to take other. More promotional style photos of like the inside, the outside so that you can help them out? Or how does that work?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Uh, not really anymore. Just kind, well, tagging the venue is a, you know, a good way to get your name out there. but yeah, just mostly I just do the bands now. Mm-hmm. Um. Yeah, ta I mean, if you get the opportunity to shoot at a bigger venue than, tagging the venue and like, Hey, here's a photo and you're welcome to use it for, promotional purposes, just, photo credit me. And that's kind of a good way to get your name out there.

Raymond Hatfield:

Mm-hmm. So you mentioned earlier that you're thinking about focusing more on, family portraiture as well, right?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yes. I, yeah, I'm trying.

Raymond Hatfield:

So why the, I've done a few,

Zenia Monteagudo:

actually. I. done it every weekend for like the past three weekends now. Mm-hmm. Just family portraits. and I did a wedding, or I've done a few weddings, so, but those terrify me. Why? I don't know how you do it.

Raymond Hatfield:

Why do they terrify you? They're

Zenia Monteagudo:

just, the whole thing where everything needs to be perfect kind of thing. Seems kind of scary and it's a very like, emotional time in someone's life. So I could see how they could be kind of, touchy about everything. And so yeah, I did a wedding this summer and it turned out okay, but it's, I just pictured instruments in their hands. That's what I did. I was like, okay, I can do this.

Raymond Hatfield:

You're like, okay, this is a concert today. This is the most dressed up concert. This is a concert that we're doing.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. but yeah, family portraits, it, it just seems like there's so much, that. Like with music, the musicians are prepared, right? Because they're like, Hey, I don't wanna go on up on stage, with my shirt and, disheveled or, you kind of like fit check yourself. But with family portraits, it's, you wanna make sure, or at least it recently happened where I'm like, I wanna make sure that there's not like a giant cell phone in their pocket and Yes. Which what I think would ruin the, the photo. Or like recently I had a little girl with, a giant bandaid and I didn't notice the giant bandaid. And I mean, the mom was okay with it, but she's like, oh my God, I forgot to tell her to take the bandaid off. So, it just seems like there's a lot to notice in the photo. I. When you're doing like, those kind of like set, like look at me and smile kind of photos.

Raymond Hatfield:

So why are you transitioning away from concerts and shooting the camera? Uh,

Zenia Monteagudo:

well, I'm not completely transitioning. I'm just trying to, dip my toes somewhere else. Why is

Raymond Hatfield:

that?

Zenia Monteagudo:

I want to know, because I like taking pictures of people.

Raymond Hatfield:

Mm-hmm.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Mm-hmm. So why I'm trying to figure out

Raymond Hatfield:

people,

Zenia Monteagudo:

why,

Raymond Hatfield:

why, yeah.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Oh, the emotions and yeah, just capturing, like if you have a photo, then, years later you can come back and look at it and be like, oh my gosh, look how different everyone is. Like this weekend I took photos of my daughter's friend and the last time I did their family photos was two years ago, and they're like, oh my God, we didn't even realize we grew that much. Right? Yeah. Like I had no idea that, that's one of

Raymond Hatfield:

my favorite things about photography honestly, is that life moves so slow, but at the same time, so fast, fast. You don't, you don't notice it until it's, I don't wanna say until it's gone, but I mean, I feel the same way. So,

Zenia Monteagudo:

yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

A few years ago our whole family went on a, uh, on a cruise with other members of the family. And I still remember it as if it was like yesterday, you know? Yeah. I'm an adult. still remember it in that same frame of mind, but, we're getting ready to go on another one here soon and. I've been asking the kids like, do you remember this party by the cruise? And my daughter

Zenia Monteagudo:

was

Raymond Hatfield:

three at the time. She's like, no. And I'm like, how do you not remember this? And then you have to think, you're like, oh, she was three. And then you look at those photos and you're like, wow. She was actually teeny tiny. But I still view her in my head as the exact same thing. Exactly.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. Yeah. My daughter's 16 and I still view her as like

Raymond Hatfield:

a 3-year-old.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. So I mean, I've always. Like taken photos, since the beginning of like Facebook time before then I have like boxes and boxes of prints. so I've always been like that. A person with like the camera in the hand kind of thing. So the kids, are actually, they're like, we creep your Facebook all the time to find all of our old photos. They're like, we can't. So every day, like my daughter and her friend will text me and be like, Hey, what's on your Facebook memory today? Can you screenshot and send? Because yeah, just like every moment of like, Hey, we need a picture of this. And yeah. And I get, I grew up with a mom like that. That was, always. Taking pictures and as a Cuban mother who would make me go to like studios as a kid and have like these giant framed pictures, right? The house. So, I always loved doing that as a kid too.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, they got those, uh, what are those? Have you tried out any of the, uh, I don't know, I guess any of the names of them, but they have some of those services where like you can link your Facebook up to it and it'll make like a photo book of

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. A

Raymond Hatfield:

bunch of your

Zenia Monteagudo:

friends. I haven't, I haven't done that. I actually was just listening to one of the episodes where somebody was doing that, like at the end of.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, yeah, I, I know that I've heard a few people talk about it. Yeah. I've never tried any of'em. Yeah.

Zenia Monteagudo:

I just, I don't even remember which episode it was, but yeah, I just print to them. Mm-hmm. I just order like a box of prints and go from there and order like doubles and give them out. Like, Hey, here's your, awkward first day of school photo those are fun ones to give out, you know, like at the end of the school you're like, how did I grow so much? Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's another thing. You're like, I feel like you're the exact same kid today as you were at the beginning of the year. Yeah. And clearly you're not like, fair.

Zenia Monteagudo:

And another thing I, I was doing, during the winter, I was doing a lot of rover. Have you ever heard of that app? where like dog sitting? No, it's so, it's um, it's like a dog sitting app and you watch dogs in your house. So I did that for part of this winter and I was photographing the dogs and then giving the owners prints and they're like, oh my God. Thank you.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. That's cool.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Special. Yeah. So, so when it

Raymond Hatfield:

comes to like photography, I guess, tell me your philosophy behind photography when it comes to sharing the photos, because I know that a lot of people, even myself included sometimes will take a million photos and then they just kinda live on our computer. But it sounds like you're really purposeful about the photos that you print and, yeah.

Zenia Monteagudo:

A, a little of both actually. I have a ton of photos that are collecting dust on my computer right now.

Raymond Hatfield:

I don't think that's how it works, but I get what you're saying.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. Yeah. They're like, I, yeah. I was actually doing that this week and like cleaning'em out I sent some, I ordered some prints, And I'm gonna see what, they look like on there. I went to a first Friday like art show thing downtown this weekend and I saw, I mean, there were tons of photographers with art shows and I'm like, Hey, I think I could do that. what's stopping you? my own self-doubt, which is, you know what's funny? so we walked into this like art, store and they have like a ton of like Montana made stuff and we opened the book and I see my, like my boyfriend's truck and I took that same exact picture. That picture's in that book, this guy took that same picture and then I flip it and I like, this is my other same exact photo. So I'm like, wait, I could do this. Two of like same angles, same objects right in front of me. Like he was like, wait, aren't those yours? I'm like, they look identical.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. So what you're saying is that somebody who is, I don't know, for all intents and purposes, maybe a professional who's doing this. Yeah. You captured photos in the same artistic style angle?

Zenia Monteagudo:

The same. Yeah. It's crazy. I think it, like I posted it in the group, I'm like, this is nuts. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

So I'm like, okay. My own self-doubt is, yeah. Doesn't that give you the confidence to go ahead and do something a little,

Zenia Monteagudo:

yeah. Yeah. Okay. So

Raymond Hatfield:

a little, so how could you do that? Do you think that doing some sort of art show. Would be beneficial to you, or do you think that that wouldn't fit into what it is that you're doing?

Zenia Monteagudo:

No, I think I would like it and I think I have enough material now that I could make, a few prints and, and such. So

Raymond Hatfield:

then let me ask you if. Let's say, not if but when you set up your photo booth, right? Yeah. When you set up your art booth at this, uh, did you call it first Friday? Is that what it was called?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. Yeah. So, so basically, like local businesses just let you, display your art for a month and then so it changes every Oh,

Raymond Hatfield:

very cool. Okay. So let's say that you, you put up your photos.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

What do you want people to feel when they look at your photos?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Ooh, what do I want people to feel? Kind of, that I like intense moments. so kinda like, oh wow, look at that. Like, intense, dramatic moment. If it's with like, music photography, I also offered, I like bug photography. That's like something new to me now.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. Tell me more about this, the macro.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. So yeah, I kind of wanna have like a, a combination of music and bugs.

Raymond Hatfield:

Music and bugs. Oh, you know, it'd be cool. I'm not saying take this idea, but

Zenia Monteagudo:

put the instruments on the bugs. I wasn't even thinking of that. That

Raymond Hatfield:

is way better. Actually, I'm not even gonna tell you my idea. That idea is a hundred times better. I love that. You just have to get really, really teeny tiny, instrument. Teeny, tiny little instruments. Yeah. Oh man, that's so funny. It's like, I think I was telling you earlier, my kids of course,'cause they're kids like SpongeBob and I think it was the SpongeBob movie or whatever when, um. whoever was like taking animals outta the seat. This is getting ridiculous by the way, but like glued, not only like googly eyes on the animals, but like, oh my goodness, put them in instruments as if they were in bands. And I was like, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And clearly here you are, you have the exact same idea, which once again proves that you are within that actually headspace.

Zenia Monteagudo:

I actually have a, a whole like phase where I went and put go eyes on a ton of music photos. Like, because I print them. So I print and I just, yeah, put, I have googly eyes on.

Raymond Hatfield:

Did you share any of those photos? Like did you take a picture of the picture or scan it or something? Yeah, I did

Zenia Monteagudo:

take a picture of, uh, I'll send you a pic picture of the picture. It's pretty, it's just kind of funny. You look at it and it's like, you know, a very dramatic music photo and then. They have googly eyes, so it's,

Raymond Hatfield:

oh man, I love it. I'm all about that. So googly eyes

Zenia Monteagudo:

make everything

Raymond Hatfield:

better. Pretty funny. Yeah. Yeah. So it sounds to me like, we got the concert photography, you got the, the personal family photography, you got the family sessions, family portraits. Right. We're shooting bugs as well. And art. Yes. Boyfriend's truck. Is what you feel most compelled to capture? Just whatever you see in front of you? Or is there one style of photography that you feel pulls you in the most?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Uh, candid photography,

Raymond Hatfield:

canid photography. So whatever falls within that works for you? Yes.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yep.

Raymond Hatfield:

So how do you make more, I don't wanna say make more,'cause that is very contrived, but how do you capture candid moments? Like what do you look for?

Zenia Monteagudo:

moments. So I feel like I had not gone out and shot, just, I used, when I first, started shooting these events and had that camera, I would just, grab my camera and like, oh, there's an event, there's a parade, there's, any sort of gathering. I would take my camera and, and go out there and shoot. And I kind of slowly stopped doing that with like the more like concerts and. Bigger events that I did, but this past weekend I went out and I just, took my camera and shot random things and, it kind of brought that spark back. I feel. Like photography is kind of like a rollercoaster journey where you're like so into it and then you're like, oh, this is, what am I doing? And then so into it again. And you kinda like just have to keep finding that spark. And sometimes it changes, like with me now it's bugs.

Raymond Hatfield:

That is a great analogy. And I've heard like, peaks and valleys or whatever, but that is a rollercoaster is much better. And I can attribute that I have felt that same way for many years. I think somebody posted in the group just today actually, that they felt like the honeymoon phase of buying their camera felt like it was ending. And I remember thinking like, well, yeah, like it's gonna be that way, like forever. You know? Like, who gets into something and is like 100% passionate about it forever. You know what I mean? Like, we do still have lives. Yeah. And I think that we have to find a way for our cameras to fit within our lives. Yes. Um, and that can be, that could be the hard thing,'cause sometimes we chase. Possible business aspirations. Sometimes we chase, whatever we see on Instagram or whatever, but figuring out, I think how we can make the camera works for us is ultimately the only way that we can continue to find joy in photography long term, even though there will always be the, peaks and valleys for sure. That's interesting. Yeah.

Zenia Monteagudo:

It's kind of, like a, a journey that you have to like, keep falling in love with.'cause it, you know, if I think back to like five years ago, I'm like, oh my gosh, I could, request to take photos of, A band, like without a worry, kind of like, Hey, can I shoot your show? And, but back then it was like, impossible. Like, I'm gonna be denied this is, and now you mean it felt impossible? It felt, yeah, it felt impossible. It was like, who are you to, take pictures or Right. Um, but, so yeah, that, that part's a little easier now. and honestly, like When Covid hit, I, it was hard that had all these plans and then boom, it's gone. And, slowly, and I don't know if like a lot of people felt this during covid just, or, or you know, I guess people picked, a lot of people picked up cameras during Covid. Right. And, but I had to put my camera down because I was doing a lot of shows, so I'm like, what am I gonna do? Like, everything that I had planned for was, on hold for a very long time.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. So I found that, I feel like photographers went one of two ways. One, they either put down their cameras'cause they either didn't feel inspired, or two, they picked up their cameras more, really picked

Zenia Monteagudo:

up their cameras. Yeah. And went

Raymond Hatfield:

crazy with it. And I kind of, I struggle with that because I think for a long time I was shooting weddings so heavily mm-hmm. That I wasn't doing a lot of personal photography. But then it wasn't really until I had to put down my camera as a wedding photographer and while it helped that at the same time, I think in February of 2020 is when the Fuji X 100 V came out and I got it. And that was the first, that was actually the first like new camera that I ever bought.'cause I've, I've just always bought, used cameras

Zenia Monteagudo:

and then weddings went on hold

Raymond Hatfield:

and then weddings went on hold. Yeah, exactly. And I found that I used it 100% for just personal photography and I think it was the, it was getting a new camera and then having to shoot something different with it, which like, it almost is like, um, there's like a before and then there's an after in my head, like the timeline. Right. And I feel like everything after that moment. Weddings to me, kind of like went downhill as far as like my drive and the, their importance in my life and personal photography and personal projects really took off for me. And I don't know if I would've found that, honestly, if it wasn't for, being forced in that situation. so yeah, I, I completely understand where you're coming from. Like, I got shipped when, when

Zenia Monteagudo:

you shot your first wedding after Covid, were you excited?

Raymond Hatfield:

When I shot my first wedding after Covid, was it, lemme uh, let me figure what it was. Oh, no, honestly, I was so, it was in, I wanna say that it was in August of that year still. And I was, nervous because they still wanted to have like a big wedding and I was like, oh, this is, I don't know how this is gonna go, but they were very adamant about like, is there any way that you can test? and I was like, yes. So of course, and then I showed up. Obviously, being protected was very important to them. Everybody wore masks. but I think, I think there was just nervousness around that, and I don't think that I was able to put myself into that wedding, like, oh, I'm excited for this wedding type headspace. Yeah, again, it didn't feel the same. and I don't think, honestly, that a wedding has felt the same since then. And I think that that's just internal because like, I'm still shooting weddings that are exactly the same as there were pre covid, you know? Yeah. They just, they just don't feel the same to me anymore. So I think it was just an internal thing. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. But we have, I feel like everybody changed at, at that point in their photography. Everyone did.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. It, it like shook up the world in, in literally, yeah. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

A weird way. Yeah. Now let me ask, we're gonna switch gears here. I want to know a little bit more about you and, how did you find the group?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Oh, I was trying to find, podcasts, like photography podcast. And a lot of them are kind of like really deep in the business part or only family stuff. And I really, as you can see,'cause I like to take pictures of all sorts of things. Everything. It was, like, oh my goodness, I could just switch. listen to someone talk about, sports and weddings and, personal projects and, so no bugs yet

Raymond Hatfield:

though,

Zenia Monteagudo:

Nobu? No, no. I haven't

Raymond Hatfield:

had any bug for time. You to find that one. Yeah, I'm gonna have to find that just for you.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. it's really like cool to see what I'm like, oh, I didn't even know that. Like, flies had these little hairs and it's just interesting. I started take doing those photos this summer and you could just, I'm like in the bushes, like

Raymond Hatfield:

taking all these macro photos of bugs.

Zenia Monteagudo:

yeah, yeah. It's interesting to see kind of like that whole other world. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Raymond Hatfield:

So as far as, listening to the podcast goes, it was, for you, it was the variety of, topics that really drew you in? Yeah. The

Zenia Monteagudo:

variety of topics, definitely the variety of topics, not just the same. Kind of, only families or this, kind of Sure, sure. The whole. Entire, variety and the questions that you ask are really good. Oh, thank you. Like, I'm like, how do you come up with these?

Raymond Hatfield:

I think it's just like this, like it's a, it's, it's a conversation, you know, like, I couldn't have planned to ask. Yeah. Like sometimes I'll

Zenia Monteagudo:

be listening and I'm like, I really hope he, he like. You know, it goes this way. And I'm like, oh, thanks.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, that was something that I struggled with early on is like I wanted to be prepared. So I wrote like 40 questions for every interview and then I found that I just ultimately wasn't even listening to the interviews'cause I just wanted to get to the questions and, it's tough. Yeah, it can be tough sometimes. Oh, did you have, out of all the episodes that you've listened to, do you have a, guest who maybe said something that really stood out to you and impacted your photography?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah, and I can't remember his name'cause I'm terrible with names, but there's

Raymond Hatfield:

been a lot of it. But it was, uh,

Zenia Monteagudo:

it was somebody and he kind of got into doing music photography too, kind of by mistake, by mistake. And I listened to this like a month ago. And I think he was like shooting like the Rolling Stones all of a sudden. I'll go back and find it, but

Raymond Hatfield:

I'm not sure. I'm not sure who was the

Zenia Monteagudo:

way Yeah. he stood out. But a lot of the people that, you know, like professionals that you, you have interviewed that stand out or kind, you know, people who are just like, Hey, I started taking pictures and got into it this way. Like, way back when, like, mid nineties and such, so. It's kind of like that self-doubt of like, wait, can I do this? Wait, I am doing this. But just to hear, you know, other people's journeys, like they've been doing this for years and, it's not like they went to school and, became a photographer. They kind of just like worked and took pictures of things that they love. also, But their struggles, you know? Mm-hmm. When you have self-doubt of like, what am I doing here? Yeah, that could

Raymond Hatfield:

be difficult because, hold on, let me think in my head. are you trying to think of who it is? No, no, no. next week when this comes out, next week, I interview somebody who, she went to school to be like a dental hygienist, and she said that she loved going to school for it, but then the second that she was actually a dental hygienist. Absolutely hated it. And, um, uh, I was going somewhere with that Oh yeah. Because it is difficult, you know, it is difficult to know if you're gonna love something before you kind of commit to it. Right. But photography, you don't really have to do that. You can make a very soft commitment and get into it very slowly. And you can just go to Target and you can pick up a camera and you can take a few photos of your daughter with a butterfly. Yeah. But if you really want to be a doctor. You have to commit. You have

Zenia Monteagudo:

to commit. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Go to school. And then if you realize that you don't love it, that can be a very hard thing. So obviously it's, uh, it really depends on, on you as a person. But, yeah, that, that, that's great insight. So eventually you found yourself in the, uh, the Facebook group as well. There's a lot of groups on Facebook. Yeah. I'm

Zenia Monteagudo:

part of a few other Facebook groups. And honestly, people that are mean, they're mean in some of the other Facebook groups. yeah, like, I don't, enjoy when, you know, someone who's starting out will post a picture and they're like, go, like, burn it. That sucks. Throw it away. Whoa. Yeah. Like, don't be mean to people. so a, I feel like a lot of the, you know, other Facebook groups that I've been involved with over the years. It's, there's a lot of that like negativity of like, come on. Yeah. Like, don't, the concert photography ones are pretty bad about that too. Mm. Really? Like, that's garbage. It's like, no, I mean, the person just took a picture of like at like there local bar, don't say sucks.

Raymond Hatfield:

Right, right. Yeah. Just because somebody's not shooting at Red Rocks doesn't mean that the photo can't still be good.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, a lot of those, like smaller artists, really do need people to go to the little bar and take a photo of course. And you never know, if that little small artist is going to, be selling Red Rocks out two nights in a row, right. Yeah. It could happen, like those folks I took a picture of. But, but yeah, just like the atmosphere in the, Facebook group is really welcoming.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, good. I'm glad that you have found it. welcoming, it's my favorite place on the internet to be. yeah. Is there anything in the group that you've learned that, uh, you wish that you would've learned in your own journey? Maybe earlier?

Zenia Monteagudo:

you know, I'm learning a lot in the group about, the kind of like sharing photos with clients kind of thing. And, just that it's kind of a safe place to ask questions. Like if I have a question, I will go to that group and ask. So that's what I've learned to go there. You mean you're not gonna go to the

Raymond Hatfield:

group where they tell you to just burn your coat? No, I'm not gonna go to that group. Oh, okay. Yeah, no, some people don't love tough love, I guess. Geez.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. I guess what I've learned from that group is that I could freely just ask a question like, Hey, I'm doing this shoot, and like I did a newborn shoot recently and I asked on there for some help and got some links and some advice on, on what to do. So that's a whole nother

Raymond Hatfield:

genre of photography that we didn't get into at all.

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yes, it is.

Raymond Hatfield:

Um, quickly, did you like it? Which is a very

Zenia Monteagudo:

di very, very, very, very difficult one, right? Like newborn photography is like, like heart surgery to me.

Raymond Hatfield:

Was it because they're moving or just unpredictable? Why?

Zenia Monteagudo:

Yeah. Well the baby was, like two weeks old and, The mom's like, don't worry, she just sleeps all the time. No, that baby crying for three hours. She's like, and I saw her like a week later and she's like, you know, she just hasn't cried like that ever again. I'm like,

Raymond Hatfield:

great. Wow. Yeah. must be, yeah. Yeah.

Zenia Monteagudo:

So yeah, that's like a whole other thing of like, that's. Yeah, probably not for me, but

Raymond Hatfield:

I think the baby probably didn't like Sony cameras, so maybe, I bet if you switch to Fuji, maybe, uh, maybe, maybe a little different. Yeah. We'll see what, you know, we'll have to find out. Yeah. In the future. But yeah. Anyway. I'm just kidding. Sonia, I know that we are at the end of our time here. people are listening. They know that you can find you in the group, but where else can we find out, uh, more about you and your work?

Zenia Monteagudo:

On Instagram and then zenia and photography.com.

Raymond Hatfield:

All right. Today's action item being the one thing that if you implement it today, we'll move the needle forward in your photography is this, ask to photograph a local event. Events are a great way to not only hone your eye for a moment, but also learn how to work on the fly. So find an upcoming local event. Maybe it's a brew fest, maybe it's a parade, maybe it's a charity run a farmer's market. Just some sort of community gathering, right? And then just send a simple email to the organizer asking if you can photograph it. If it's a yearly event, maybe they have an Instagram page. You could send'em a dm. If it's a farmer's market, maybe there's a website available. Whatever it is, keep the email casual and honest. Let them know that you're a beginner, you're looking to practice, and then offer to share the images afterwards. And I think that you'd be surprised at how many organizers would just jump on this opportunity, and the confidence boost that you get from having a lanyard around your neck that says official photographer is pretty great as well. So go ahead, give it a try. All you gotta do is just Google events near me and see what pops up. All right. That is it for today. Until next week, remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon.