Micah Simmons Unraveled: An Interview
Micah Simmons is a published photographer who specializes in photography and films with a documentary and storytelling twist. She offers birth, maternity, newborn, family and breastfeeding sessions for families in Northern VA, DC and Maryland. Her work is both emotive and heartwarming. Not only do we think Micah is a super cool chick, but we are stoked to have her as such an influential member within our community.
Micah, thanks for being such a badass. We love you.
If you are interested in learning from Micah, you can do so in the Academy, as she recently created a beautiful editing video for us on color grading in Lightroom when creating films.
Hi! I'm Micah, and my family and I live in Northern, Virginia. I'm a mama of four beautiful children and I'm blessed enough to be married to my best friend, we also have a cat and a dog. (Our cat merely tolerates us, but we love her anyways). I'm a big traveler, hiker, climber and I'm pretty much always open for an adventure. This also is a big part of how and why I love to document life. My absolute favorite thing to shoot is birth. I love to document a family and their journey into parenthood, I love the rawness and sheer strength of birth.
What inspires your art? My biggest inspiration to my art is my children. I'm a special needs mama, and he is my oldest, when he was born we didn't know what was in store for him. My love for documenting life quickly became more prevalent in that very moment.
What do you shoot with? Camera body and favorite lens? I'm a Nikon girl. I shoot with a Nikon D810 and my favorite lens is my 35mm 1.4.
What other ways do you express your creativity? Music, Writing & Nature. They all feed my soul.
How do you de-stress at the end of the day? This is a loaded question. Ha. With four littles it can be difficult. But I always emphasize the need to take care of self. Totally love to sit and watch a show with my hubby on the couch, with a cup of decaf coffee. I also often times do a little reading and meditation before bed.
What kind of music do you listen to while editing? Hm. This greatly varies on what I'm editing and the vibes I got from the family. I love music of all kinds, so you can find me usually jamming to anything from Old Town Funk music to Electronic, to country and hip hop and then right back Indie music.
What is your favorite book? Tuesday's With Morrie, By Mitch Albom
Name one movie that inspires you. Hidden Figures. But honestly I have so many movies I love. I'm a big movie person. Hidden figures was just the first that popped into my head right now.
How do you handle self-doubt or creative slumps? This is a tricky one. I often times don't know what inspires or inspired me during a certain slump until I'm through it. Usually when I'm going through one I find that I'm slacking in self care. So I always try to step that up. Exercise and hiking a big one for me. I also try to switch it up. Look for a new spot in my house with a pocket of light I love. Or shoot my littles rather than clients constantly, I try to think out of the box.
What has been the most difficult part of your creative journey? I'd say the most difficult part up until recently, has been staying true to myself and my art and vision. Saying no to people.
Who is one of your favorite photographers? My grandmother, Dorothy Hilton. She was a photojournalist and I learned and still learn a great deal of how I see the world from her. Besides her, I'm crazy inspired by and in love with Paige Driscoll of Santa Cruz Birth Photography & Doula Services.
